Journal of Animal Diversity

Journal of Animal Diversity

Notes on the Indian species of Phaeochrous Laporte, 1840 (Coleoptera: Hybosoridae), with three new country records

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Priyanka Ghosh 1
Irtiza Wani 1
Debika Bhunia 1
Denis Keith 2
Shipra Sonali 1
Devanshu Gupta 1
1 Zoological Survey of India, M Block, New Alipore, Kolkata, 700053, West Bengal, India
2 120 rue Gabriel Péri, F–28000 Chartres, France
10.22034/JAD.2025.7.4.4
Abstract
The genus Phaeochrous Laporte, 1840 (Coleoptera: Hybosoridae) is a poorly studied group of saprophagous beetles in India, with limited taxonomic and distributional information available. The present study is based on the examination of 245 dried and pinned museum specimens housed in the National Zoological Collections of the Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata. Six taxa of Phaeochrous were identified, including three taxa —P. emarginatus suturalis Lansberge, 1885, P. compactus Kuijten, 1978, and P. separabilis Zhang, 1990—recorded for the first time from India. In addition, new distributional data are provided for P. emarginatus emarginatus Laporte, 1840, P. enigmaticus enigmaticus Kuijten, 1978 and P. diversipes Kuijten, 1928. With these additions, the Indian fauna of Phaeochrous now comprises a total of eight species. Diagnostic features and male genitalia of all examined species are illustrated to aid accurate identification. The distributional ranges of each species within India are mapped and discussed in relation to their known global distribution. These new records significantly expand the known range of Phaeochrous species in the Indian subcontinent and contribute to a better understanding of the diversity, distribution, and biogeographical patterns of Hybosoridae in the Oriental Region.
Keywords
New distribution records
Oriental
Palaearctic
Phaeochrous
Scarabaeoidea
taxonomy
Subjects
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