Arquivo de artigos -

Low-intensity pasture management sustain dung beetle taxonomic and functional diversity in Cerrado/Caatinga transition zones

Mila Massuda — Thu, 20 Aug 2026 21:16:16 +0000

RESUMO: Increasing grazing pressure for food production is a major challenge for biodiversity conservation in tropical dryland, particularly in ecologically complex transition zones that harbor substantial global biodiversity. Despite their high conservation value, the effects of grazing management on biodiversity in drylands remain poorly understood. We investigated how land-use intensity and local environmental metrics influence both taxonomic and functional diversity of dung beetles in native habitats and pastures under contrasting management intensities within a Cerrado–Caatinga transition zone in Brazil. Species richness was significantly higher in native areas and low-intensity pastures than in high-intensity pastures. Vegetation heterogeneity negatively affected the abundance of small- and medium-sized dung beetles in native areas and high-intensity pastures, while exerting positive effects in low-intensity pastures. Soil sand content showed contrasting effects on functional richness, increasing it in low-intensity pastures but reducing it in high-intensity pastures. Although dung beetle species composition differed among land-use types, low-intensity pastures shared a substantially greater number of species with native habitats than high-intensity pastures. Implications for insect conservation Our results demonstrate that low-intensity pasture management sustains both taxonomic and functional diversity of dung beetles and enhances habitat permeability for species originating from native environments. Promoting less intensive grazing practices in dryland transition regions can therefore represent an effective strategy to reconcile livestock production with insect conservation and the maintenance of key ecosystem services.

doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-026-00811-x

O post Low-intensity pasture management sustain dung beetle taxonomic and functional diversity in Cerrado/Caatinga transition zones apareceu primeiro em .

Systematics of giant neotropical fireflies and their kin (Lampyridae: Lampyrinae)

Mila Massuda — Tue, 18 Aug 2026 02:54:34 +0000

RESUMO: The Lampyrinae tribe Cratomorphini includes some of the largest and most widespread New World fireflies. Their overlapping genus-level diagnoses are based on a few traits related to sexual signaling known to be fast-evolving and labile withingenus in other Lampyrinae taxa. To clarify the taxonomy and investigate the morphological evolution in Cratomorphini, Lamprocerini, and closely related taxa, we inferred the phylogenetic relationships of 50 species using 97 adult morphological characters contrasting the results of Maximum Parsimony Analysis and Bayesian Inference. Using a statistical framework, we demonstrate that terminalia and genitalic traits are less homoplastic than signaling or other somatic traits. Cratomorphini was recovered as polyphyletic, with four distinct clades, as follows: (i) Cratomorphus (partim: the type species, C. splendidus, and associated species) + Erythrolychnia bipartita; (ii) Cratomorphus (partim; transferred here to Nyctocera gen. nov. [Lamprocerini]); (iii) Cratomorphus (partim; transferred here to Bituca gen. nov. [Lampyrinae incertae sedis]) and (iv) (Micronaspis ((Aspisomoides, Pyractomena) Aspisoma)). Based on these results, we redefine Cratomorphini and Lamprocerini and present updated diagnoses for both tribes. We propose a new tribe, Aspisomini trib. nov. and establish two new genera: Nyctocera gen. nov. (within Lamprocerini sensu nov.) and Bituca gen. nov. (incertae sedis). Four species formerly assigned to Cratomorphus sensu nov. are transferred – three to Nyctocera gen. nov., and one to Bituca gen. nov. – and all are redescribed based on type and additional material. We illustrate all diagnostic features, and provide updated keys to the genera of Cratomorphini sensu nov., Aspisomini trib. nov., and Lamprocerini sensu nov. Additionally, we identify and discuss synapomorphies for clades previously recovered only in DNA-based phylogenies. Our work stresses the need for thorough investigations of morphological data, especially of the terminalia and genitalia, to elucidate the phylogeny of fireflies.

doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0354465

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A review of Sisyphini dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) endemic to Mauritius: insights from subfossil evidence and phylogenetic analysis

Mila Massuda — Tue, 18 Aug 2026 02:52:43 +0000

RESUMO: Five indigenous species of Scarabaeinae are known from Mauritius island, classified into 2 genera: the monotypic Nesovinsonia Martínez & Pereira, 1959 and Nesosisyphus Vinson, 1946. This study conducts a taxonomic review of the latter genus and evaluates its recent extinction using historical and new occurrence records, subfossils, and species distribution model (SDM). We provide the first molecular phylogeny and evaluate the evolutionary relationships of Nesosisyphus by comparing 2 different phylogenetic trees: the first, based on a Ultraconserved Elements dataset, and the second one, on 4 loci (28S, 16S, COI, and CAD). We identify 5 Mauritian Nesosisyphus species, including a new extinct one from a Mid-Holocene (∼4,200years BP) subfossil. We diagnose, illustrate, and provide an updated key to all the sisyphine species from Mauritius, as well as their occurrence map. The lectotypes and paralectotypes of N. pygmaeus and N. rotundatus are here designated. Our SDM analysis reveals a broader past distribution ranges, now confined to small and disjunct forest patches, likely due to the extensive forest contraction and local extinctions.

doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/isd/ixag025

O post A review of Sisyphini dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) endemic to Mauritius: insights from subfossil evidence and phylogenetic analysis apareceu primeiro em .

A new species of Ancystroglossus Chaudoir (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Galeritini) from the Atlantic Forest of Brazil

Mila Massuda — Tue, 18 Aug 2026 02:51:38 +0000

RESUMO: Ancystroglossus caparaoensis sp. nov. (Coleoptera: Carabidae) is described based on specimens collected near a waterfall in the Caparaó National Park, an Atlantic Forest Conservation Unit in the Southeast Region of Brazil. The new species is most similar to A. strangulatus Chaudoir, 1863, from which it differs in the antennomeres 5–11 brown, rather than white or cream, in the rounded posterior pronotal angles, and the absence of an eighth elytral carina in each elytron. An updated identification key to adults of Ancystroglossus species is provided, together with photographs of the primary types of A. deplanatus Reichardt, 1967, A. dimidiaticornis Chaudoir, 1863, A. gracilis Chaudoir, 1863, A. punctatus Reichardt, 1967 and A. strangulatus Chaudoir, 1863.

doi: https://doi.org/10.12976/jib/2026.86.1.3

O post A new species of Ancystroglossus Chaudoir (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Galeritini) from the Atlantic Forest of Brazil apareceu primeiro em .

Hidden Diversity and Range Expansion in the Cis bilamellatus Species Group (Coleoptera: Ciidae) from the Atlantic Forest

Mila Massuda — Tue, 18 Aug 2026 02:50:23 +0000

RESUMO: The Cis bilamellatus group comprises species in which males bear single anterocephalic and anterior pronotal plates, females have the pronotum generally widest near the posterior edge, the outer apical angle of the protibiae is toothed in males and expanded with spines in females, and both sexes exhibit subseriate to seriate, dual elytral vestiture. While examining specimens collected in the Atlantic Forest of South and Southeast Brazil, we uncovered previously unrecognized diversity of the group, leading to the description of two new species herein: Cis igor sp. nov. and Cis infuscus sp. nov. Both share the characteristics of the group, except for possessing a single type of elytral vestiture. Cis igor sp. nov. resembles Cis pickeri Lopes-Andrade et al. from South Africa and Cis clarki Blair from Australia, but has shorter and thinner dorsal setae, and narrower male cephalic and pronotal plates. Cis infuscus sp. nov. differs from all other bilamellatus species in having broader cephalic and pronotal projections and a very large male abdominal sex patch. We provide available data on host fungi, the geographic distribution of the new species, additional records for Cis occamy Rosa-Oliveira & Lopes-Andrade, and an identification key to males of the Brazilian species of the group.

doi: https://doi.org/10.3161/00034541ANZ2026.76.20.20

O post Hidden Diversity and Range Expansion in the Cis bilamellatus Species Group (Coleoptera: Ciidae) from the Atlantic Forest apareceu primeiro em .

Illustrated catalog of Homophileurus species from Colombia (Melolonthidae: Dynastinae: Phileurini)

Mila Massuda — Tue, 18 Aug 2026 02:49:22 +0000

RESUMO: Five species of Homophileurus are recorded for Colombia, including two new records from the Amazonian and Orinoquian regions: Homophileurus amazonicus and Homophileurus integer. The five species are diagnosed and illustrated. Additionally, based on their distribution in neighboring countries, two other species are likely to occur in Colombia and are illustrated. An identification key to all seven species is provided.

doi: https://doi.org/10.15446/caldasia.v48.122258

O post Illustrated catalog of Homophileurus species from Colombia (Melolonthidae: Dynastinae: Phileurini) apareceu primeiro em .

An extraordinary new genus and species of horseshoe crab beetle (Ptiliidae: Cephaloplectini) from the Brazilian Atlantic biome

Mila Massuda — Tue, 18 Aug 2026 02:48:04 +0000

RESUMO: Clepsammia gaia Chaul & Lopes-Andrade gen. et sp. n. is described herein, representing the first new taxon of Cephaloplectini (Ptiliidae) proposed in more than 80 years. The species is blind and flightless, as are all other known members of the tribe, but it exhibits a highly distinctive morphology, characterized by a conspicuous mid-body constriction bearing spongiform setae. The description is based on five specimens collected from a single locality in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, found 30–40 cm deep below the soil surface. An updated identification key to the genera of Cephaloplectini is provided. We also compile an extensive list of putative or confirmed ant hosts of Cephaloplectini species, which indicates a broad host spectrum, spanning multiple ant subfamilies and genera across the tribe’s geographic range. Finally, we discuss possible explanations for the morphological modifications observed in C. gaia relative to other members of the tribe.

doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11756-026-02271-9

O post An extraordinary new genus and species of horseshoe crab beetle (Ptiliidae: Cephaloplectini) from the Brazilian Atlantic biome apareceu primeiro em .

Two new species of Cyclocephala Dejean, 1821 (Coleoptera, Melolonthidae, Dynastinae) with remarkably long antennal lamellae

Mila Massuda — Tue, 18 Aug 2026 02:46:47 +0000

RESUMO: Cyclocephala everardoi Grossi, Santos & Almeida, 2016 and Cyclocephala machadoi Grossi, Santos & Almeida, 2016 comprise a distinct species group within Cyclocephala Dejean, 1821. This group was previously characterized by species with subtrapezoidal or parabolic clypeus, large eyes, antennae with long lamellae and parameres with a spine-like process on each lateroventral region. Here, two new species of the group are described from Brazil: Cyclocephala catimbauensis sp. nov., from the Caatinga biome in Pernambuco state, and Cyclocephala nhumirim sp. nov., from the Pantanal biome in Mato Grosso do Sul state. The new species are illustrated along with their differential diagnoses. An identifi cation key and a distribution map for species of the group are provided. Additionally, a brief discussion on the characters that defi ne the “machadoi” group is also presented.

doi: https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2026.1079.3309

O post Two new species of Cyclocephala Dejean, 1821 (Coleoptera, Melolonthidae, Dynastinae) with remarkably long antennal lamellae apareceu primeiro em .

A new species of Phanaeus MacLeay, 1819 of the Phanaeus splendidulus species group (Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae: Phanaeini) from the Northeastern Atlantic Forest of Brazil

Mila Massuda — Tue, 18 Aug 2026 02:45:35 +0000

RESUMO: The Phanaeus splendidulus species group comprises five valid species, distributed from the eastern slopes of the Andes through the Brazilian Atlantic Forest to Northeastern Argentina. New distribution records of Phanaeus splendidulus (Fabricius, 1781) have been reported, interpreted by some authors as relictual populations of this species. In this study, we describe a new species of the Phanaeus splendidulus species group, collected in the Northeastern Atlantic Forest and in the Brejos de Altitude of Brazil. The description is based on external morphology of males and females, male genitalia and geographic distribution. We also provide photographic plates of Phanaeus nordestinus sp. nov., a distribution map of the species and a revised identification key for the Phanaeus splendidulus species group.

doi: https://doi.org/10.1590/1806-9665-RBENT-2026-0031

O post A new species of Phanaeus MacLeay, 1819 of the Phanaeus splendidulus species group (Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae: Phanaeini) from the Northeastern Atlantic Forest of Brazil apareceu primeiro em .

Two new Hypselotropis (Coleoptera: Anthribidae, Anthribinae, Ptychoderini) species from the Amazon Biome and first report for the family of two setiferous sex patches on male abdominal ventrites

Mila Massuda — Tue, 18 Aug 2026 02:43:51 +0000

RESUMO: The genus Hypselotropis, belonging to the Anthribidae family (fungus weevils) and the Ptychoderini tribe, comprises 19 species predominantly distributed in the Neotropical region. The genus exhibits high diversity and structural modifications in males that suggest sexual selection. This study aimed to describe two new species of Hypselotropis collected in the Brazilian Amazon and to document a significant sexual character for the family. Hypselotropis yanomami sp. n. is described from Serra da Mocidade (Roraima State), a region in the northern Brazilian Amazon with limited accessibility and few previous scientific studies. Hypselotropis mura sp. n. is described from Careiro Castanho, a municipality also located in the Amazon biome (Amazonas State). An updated taxonomic key to all known Hypselotropis species is provided, along with new data on the distribution of the genus. Additionally, setiferous sex patches on abdominal ventrites I and II of males of Hypselotropis yanomami sp. n. is reported, a sexually dimorphic characteristic recorded for the first time in the family Anthribidae.

doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11756-026-02246-w

O post Two new Hypselotropis (Coleoptera: Anthribidae, Anthribinae, Ptychoderini) species from the Amazon Biome and first report for the family of two setiferous sex patches on male abdominal ventrites apareceu primeiro em .