Apterodela unipunctata (Fabricius, 1775) Duran & Gough, 2019

Duran, Daniel P. & Gough, Harlan M., 2019, Unifying systematics and taxonomy: Nomenclatural changes to Nearctic tiger beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Cicindelinae) based on phylogenetics, morphology and life history, Insecta Mundi 2019 (727), pp. 1-12 : 5

Apterodela unipunctata (Fabricius, 1775) , new combination

Rivalier (1950) described Apterodela as a subgenus of Cylindera and designated C. ovipennis Bates, 1883 as the type. Given the polyphyly of Cylindera ( Gough et al. 2019; this study) and a monophyletic and morphologically distinct Apterodela ( Sota et al. 2011) , we recognize the clade as a full genus.

The Nearctic species, A. unipunctata , is strongly supported (Bootstrap = 98) as sister to A. ovipennis in our phylogeny ( Fig. 1 ) and is remarkably similar in morphology to species of Apterodela from Asia. Like the other members of the genus, it is large (14–18 mm), with a coarsely striated concave frons, flattened ovate elytra with reduced maculations, dark infuscations and prominent subsutural foveae.

Ecologically, A. unipunctata is unlike any other species of Nearctic Cicindelini . Adult beetles are typically found when they cross forest trails and openings, but they also frequent darker closed-canopy forested areas where they may hunt in or on the leaf litter. The first author has collected beetles in dense late-succession oak forest in areas that were over 100m from a trail or opening. It is quite likely that most casual observations of this species are biased towards edges, as it is more likely to be seen when crossing trails and light gaps. Asian Apterodela species share similar forest-dwelling natural history and affinity for leaf litter ( Fig. 3 ).

Figures

Figure 1. Maximum-likelihood phylogenetic hypothesis for North American lineages Ellipsoptera, Dromochorus, Brasiella, and Cylindera. Maximum-likelihood phylogeny inferred in IQ-TREE based on three mitochondrial fragments (16S, COX3 and CytB). Taxon naming follows previous naming conventions with different colors highlighting new generic groupings we propose. * denotes the C. lemniscata specimen from GenBank and † denotes the chimera specimen.

Figure 3. In situ photographs of Apterodela spp. A) Apterodela ovipennis (Asia). B) Apterodela unipunctata (North America).