Jack C. Schuster

Altitudinal Distribution of Passalid Beetles (Coleoptera, Passalidae) and Pleistocene Dispersal on the Volcanic Chain of Northern Central America

The passalid beetle fauna of seven Guatemalan volcanoes is apparently quite uniform. A given species has a similar altitudinal range on different volcanoes. Of the 14 species, Chondrocephalus purulensis, C. granulifrons, and the flightless Ogyges laevissimus were not found below 1750 m. Dispersal of these species among the volcanoes probably occurred during the Pleistocene glacial periods when temperature depressions caused drops in the altitudinal limits of the montane wet forest and cloud forests allowing them to coalesce from one volcano to the next. The present insular distributions of these high-altitude species are post-glacial (interglacial?) refugia. Little evolutionary divergence has occurred since their isolation.

What Can Scarabaeoidea Contribute to the Knowledge of the Biogeography of Guatemala

Abstract Scarabaeoidea is one of the biogeographically best known groups of organisms for Nuclear Central America, especially Guatemala. They have been used to determine areas of endemism for cloud forests of the region and to analyze relationships among these endemic areas. A major north-south division of these areas is described. Lowland scenarios are also given. This information was used for justifying the establishment of biological reserves in the area and is a tool available for prioritization of reserve establishment that could be adapted to other parts of the world as well.

ODONTOTAENIUS FLORIDANUS NEW SPECIES (COLEOPTERA: PASSALIDAE): A SECOND U.S. PASSALID BEETLE

Larvae and adults of Odontotaenius floridanus New Species are described from the southern end of the Lake Wales Ridge in Highland Co., FL. This species may have evolved as a population isolated during times of higher sea level from the mainland species O. disjunctus (Illiger) or a close common ancestor. It differs notably from O. disjunctus in having much wider front tibiae and a less pedunculate horn. A key is given to the species of the genus.

PASSALIDAE: STATE OF LARVAL TAXONOMY WITH DESCRIPTION OF NEW WORLD SPECIES

Larvae of 12 New World Species of Passalidae are described and 7 species redescribed, bringing the total number of species described to 134 worldwide. A key is provided for all New World genera. Basic setal pattern differences differentiate New World Passalini from Proculini, with the latter tribe showing 2 basic groups of genera. Some exceptions to these basic patterns suggest possible nomenclatural changes.

First discovery of Quercus feeding Nepticulidae (Lepidoptera) in Central America.

Despite the high taxonomic diversity of oaks in Mexico and Central America, no Quercus feeding Nepticulidae have ever been recorded from the region. Here, we present seven species whose larvae are leaf-miners of Quercus (section Lobatae) in Guatemala. Except Stigmella nigriverticella (Chambers 1875), which was previously known from the United States, all other discovered species are new. We describe and name five new species (Stigmella jaguari Remeikis & Stonis, sp. nov., S. lauta Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov., S. sublauta Remeikis & Stonis, sp. nov., S. aurifasciata Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov. and S. guatemalensis Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov.); the remaining new species is described but left unnamed because of lack of adults (i. e. moths and genitalia are described from developed pupae). All seven treated species are illustrated with photographs of the leaf-mines, adults, and genitalia.

PETREJOIDES (COL: PASSALIDAE): FOUR NEW SPECIES FROM MESOAMERICA AND MEXICO WITH A KEY TO THE GENUS

Four new montane species of Petrejoides are described, 2 from Mexico, 1 from Guatemala and 1 from Panama. Larvae are described for 2 of the species. A revised key is given including all species of the genus.

Four new leaf-mining Acalyptris species from Guatemala and Belize, with new data on bionomics of Stigmella pruinosa (Lepidoptera: Nepticulidae).

This paper describes four new species: Acalyptris basicornis Remeikis & Stonis, sp. nov., A. peteni Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov., A. caribbicus Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov. (host-plant: Lantana involucrata L., Verbenaceae), and A. statuarius Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov. Another species, Stigmella pruinosa Puplesis & Robinson, is re-described, with new distribution records in Guatemala and with the first documentation of leaf-mines on Guazuma ulmifolia Lam. (Malvaceae). All five species are illustrated with photographs of the leaf-mines, adults, and genitalia.

Research Reports: Passalidae: New Larval Descriptions from Taiwan, Philippine Islands, Brunei and Ivory Coast

The larvae of Didimus africanus (Percheron), D. haroldi Kuwert, D. alvarodoi (?) Corella, D. parastictus (Imhoff), D. nachtigali Kuwert, Erionomus planiceps (Esch.), E. pilosus Arrow, Taeniocerus pygmaeus (Kaup) and Comacupes basalis (Smith) are described for the first time. Larvae of Leptaulax bicolor (F.), L. dentatus (F.) and Aceraius grandis (Burm.) are redescribed and compared with previous descriptions based on Indian specimens. Passalid larval literature is summarized to date; a total of 120 species (29 Old World) are now described.

A New Species of Petrejoides from Guatemala and Comments on Petrejoides michoacanae (Coleoptera: Passalidae)

Petrejoides caralae New Species is described from wet lowland forest of eastern Guatemala (450-950 m altitude). The aedeagus of Petrejoides michoacanae Schuster is described.

Phylogenetics of Ogyges Kaup and the biogeography of Nuclear Central America (Coleoptera, Passalidae)

Abstract A phylogenetic morphological analysis of the genus Ogyges Kaup, distributed in Nuclear Central America, from Chiapas, Mexico, to northwestern Nicaragua was undertaken. Five species of Proculejus Kaup, distributed north of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mexico, were selected as outgroup. Ogyges was recovered as monophyletic with three species groups: championi, laevissimus, and crassulus. Each species group shows a distinct, generally allopatric distribution. The O. championi species group, with ten species, is distributed in the Maya block, more specifically in the mountainous system north of the Motozintla-Comaltitlán fault in Chiapas, and north of the dry valleys of the Cuilco and Motagua rivers in Guatemala. The two remaining species groups are distributed in the Chortis block. The O. laevissimus species group, including seven species, ranges mostly along the Pacific Volcanic Chain from Guatemala to El Salvador, and from southeastern Honduras to the northwestern area of Nicaragua. The O. crassulus species group, with ten species, is distributed from northeastern Guatemala (Merendón) to northern Honduras. The Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mexico, the Motagua-Cuilco and Motozintla-Comaltitlán sutures zones in Chiapas and Guatemala, the lowland valleys of Colón and Comalí rivers between Nicaragua and Honduras (or, perhaps, the northern suture of the Siuna Terrane in Nicaragua), the Guayape fault system in Honduras, and the intricate dry valleys of Ulúa-Chamelecón-Olancho in Honduras, are hypothesized to have acted as barriers that affected the geographical distribution of Ogyges, as well as probably other montane organisms.