First records of the Palaestes abruptus Sharp, 1899 and P. nicaraguae Sharp, 1899 (Coleoptera: Cucujidae) from South America, with a checklist of flat bark beetles from the continent Author Jaskula, Radomir https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8949-848X Department of Invertebrate Zoology and Hydrobiology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland radomir.jaskula@biol.uni.lodz.pl Author Michalski, Marek https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8001-4140 Department of Experimental Zoology and Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland Author Marris, John W. M. Entomology Research Collection, Bio-Protection Research Centre, Lincoln University, Christchurch, New Zealand text Biodiversity Data Journal 2021 2021-02-17 9 62576 62576 http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.9.e62576 journal article http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.9.e62576 1314-2828-9-e62576 5780C885FCA55A8B9AEA1F99FE119637 Palaestes abruptus Sharp, 1899 Materials Type status: Other material . Occurrence: sex: 2 males ; lifeStage: adult ; Taxon: higherClassification: Animalia; Arthropoda; Insecta; Coleoptera; Cucujidae' Palaestes; kingdom: Animalia; phylum: Arthropoda; class: Insecta; order: Coleoptera; family: Cucujidae; genus: Palaestes; specificEpithet: abruptus; Location: higherGeography: South America; Peru; Pasco Region; Oxapampa Province; Pozuzo District; Pozuzo; continent: South America; country: Peru ; countryCode: PE; stateProvince: Pasco Region; county: Oxapampa Province; municipality: Pozuzo District; locality: Pozuzo ; verbatimElevation: 750-1430 m ; Identification: identifiedBy: Radomir Jaskula ; dateIdentified: 2020-12; identificationReferences: Sharp 1899; identificationRemarks: Pictures of type material were used to confirm identification; Event: eventDate: 2019-11 ; year: 2019; month: 11; habitat: mountain rain forest; eventRemarks: col. Alexander Sokolov; Record Level: collectionID: RJC (Radomir Jaskula Collection, Lodz , Poland); ownerInstitutionCode: RJC/CUC-0008; RJC/CUC-0009; basisOfRecord: PreservedSpecimen Description Small beetles with strongly flattened bodies; body length (measured from the top of clypeus to the end of elytra) of two studied Peruvian males: 14.7 mm (Fig. 1 a) and 13.6 mm (Fig. 1 b). Head black with mandibles black; pronotum yellow-orange; basal part of elytra yellow-orange, while the second half is black; scutellum black; antennae black, except for the last two antennomeres which are brown-orange; legs yellow-orange, except apical parts of femur, tibia and tarsus which are black; tarsal claws brown-orange. Sexual dimorphism very visible with males having very large mandibles. Distribution Previously, this species was only known from Panama and Costa Rica ( Sharp 1899 , Jin et al. 2020 ). The locality is mountainous rain forest at altitudes ranging from 750 to 1430 m (Fig. 2 ). This is the first record from Peru and South America. Ecology Cucujidae larvae and adults are known to live under the bark of dead trees ( Thomas and Leschen 2010 ); however, very little is known about biology and ecology of the Palaestes species. Sharp (1899) reported that "Mr Champion informs me that these insects are chiefly found between the thin crevices of sappy timber, and that they are often seen on the wing in forest clearings". This indicates that the habit of Palaestes is similar to that of other cucujids. The only published account of the biology specifically for P. abruptus was by Jin et al. (2020) , who recorded the only known larva of the species from a rotten log in Costa Rica, found in association with an adult female. Palaestes larvae and adults are probably predatory on small invertebrates living under the bark of dead trees, as has been noted for Platisus zelandicus Marris & Klimaszewski, 2001 ( Watt et al. 2001 ) and Cucujus spp. (e.g. Palm 1941 , Mamaev et al. 1977 , Smith and Sears 1982 , Horak and Nakladal 2009 , Mazzei et al. 2011 , Bonacci et al. 2012 , Bonacci et al. 2020 , Zdenek et al. 2012 ). However, it cannot be excluded that they feed also as scavengers or as opportunistic omnivores, feeding on various types of organic debris, such as wood and phloem debris, as recorded for some Cucujus species ( Nikitskiy et al. 2000 , Horak and Nakladal 2009 , Horak 2011 ). Detailed studies of the phenology, food and habitat preferences and behaviour of Palaestes species are needed.