Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Responsive image
Issue: Vol. 5666 No. 3: 29 Jul. 2025
Type: Article
Published: 2025-07-29
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5666.3.8
Page range: 437-444
Abstract views: 198
PDF downloaded: 4

Description of Aleochara (Xenochara) ichikawai sp. nov., the first confirmed myrmecophilous species of Aleochara Gravenhorst, 1802 from the East Palearctic Region (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae)

The Kyushu University Museum; 6-10-1 Hakozaki; Higashi-ku; Fukuoka; 812-8581 Japan
Kyushu University; 744 Motooka; Nishi-ku; Fukuoka; 819-0395 Japan
Tsukiyoshi-machi 32-17; Kawagoe-shi; Saitama; 350-0825; Japan
Coleoptera ant-associated beetles convergent evolution ecological specialization Lasius fuliginosus species group morphological comparison Palearctic biogeography

Abstract

A new species of the genus Aleochara Gravenhorst, 1802, Aleochara (Xenochara) ichikawai Maruyama, Nozaki & Kamezawa, sp. nov., is described based on specimens collected from nests of the Lasius fuliginosus species group in Japan and the Russian Far East. This species represents the first confirmed case of a myrmecophilous Aleochara in the East Palearctic Region. Although initially misidentified as the European species A. fumata Gravenhorst, 1802, morphological comparison revealed consistent differences that justify its recognition as a distinct, undescribed species. The new species exhibits a close ecological association with ants but lacks distinct morphological adaptations to myrmecophily. Its discovery contributes to our understanding of the multiple independent origins of ant-association within Aleocharinae. It highlights the Lasius fuliginosus species group as a potential driver of such evolutionary transitions.

 

References

  1. Boudinot, B.E., Borowiec, M.L. & Prebus, M.M. (2022) Phylogeny, evolution, and classification of the ant genus Lasius, the tribe Lasiini and the subfamily Formicinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Systematic Entomology, 47, 113–151. https://doi.org/10.1111/syen.12522
  2. Donisthorpe, H. (1927) The guests of British ants: their habits and life-histories. George Routledge & Sons, London, 224 pp.
  3. Franc, V. (1993) Myrmecophilous beetles of Slovakia with special reference to their endangerment and perspectives for protection. Acta Universitatis Carolinae Biologica, 36 (1992), 299–324.
  4. Hölldobler, B., Möglich, M. & Maschwitz, U. (1981) Myrmecophilic relationship of Pella (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) to Lasius fuliginosus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Psyche: A Journal of Entomology, 88, 347–374. https://doi.org/10.1155/1981/75317
  5. Klimaszewski, J. (1984) A revision of the genus Aleochara Gravenhorst in America north of Mexico (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae, Aleocharinae). Memoirs of the Entomological Society of Canada, 129, 1–211. https://doi.org/10.4039/entm116129fv
  6. Klimaszewski, J., Webster, R.P. & Brunke, A. (2017) A new cryptic species of Aleochara Gravenhorst associated with Marmota monax (Linnaeus) burrows and caves in North America (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae). Insecta Mundi, 0600, 1–11.
  7. Maruyama, M. (2001) Aleochara (Xenochara) Gravenhorst (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Aleocharinae), new to Japan. Elytra, 29, 486.
  8. Maruyama, M. (2004) A permanent slide pinned under a specimen. Elytra, 32, 276.
  9. Maruyama, M. (2006) Revision of the Palearctic species of the myrmecophilous genus Pella (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Aleocharinae). National Science Museum Monographs, 32, 1–207.
  10. Maruyama, M. & Hlaváč, P. (2003) A new genus and species of myrmecophilous Aleocharini from Morocco (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae), associated with Aphaenogaster (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae). Annales de la Société entomologique de France, New Series, 39, 225–228. https://doi.org/10.1080/00379271.2003.10697378
  11. Maruyama, M., Komatsu, T., Kudo, T., Shimada, T. & Kinomura, K. (2013) The guests of Japanese ants. Tokai University Press, Minamiyana, 208 pp.
  12. Maruyama, M. & Parker, J. (2017) Deep-time convergence in rove beetle symbionts of army ants. Current Biology, 27, 920–926. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2017.02.030
  13. Maruyama, M. & Smetana, A. (2004) The myrmecophilous species of Quedius hirticornis Sharp, 1889 complex (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Staphylinini, Quediina). Elytra, 32, 299–313.
  14. Maus, C., Mittman, B. & Peschke, K. (1998) Host records of parasitoid Aleochara Gravenhorst species (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) attacking puparia of cyclorrhapheous Diptera. Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift, 45, 231–254. https://doi.org/10.1002/mmnd.19980450209
  15. Newton, A. (2025) StaphBase. Version August 2022. In: Bánki, O., Roskov, Y., Döring, M., Ower, G., Hernández Robles, D.R., Plata Corredor, C.A., Stjernegaard Jeppesen, T., Örn, A., Pape, T., Hobern, D., Garnett, S., Little, H., DeWalt, R.E., Ma, K., Miller, J., Orrell, T., Aalbu, R., Abbott, J. & Adlard, R. (Eds.), Catalogue of Life. Version 10 April 2025. Catalogue of Life, Amsterdam. Available from: https://www.catalogueoflife.org/data/dataset/1204 (accessed 28 June 2025) https://doi.org/10.48580/dg9ld-3gk
  16. Nomura, S. (2008) A new genus Dendrolasiophilus and a new synonym in the subtribe Batrisina, tribe Batrisini (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Pselaphinae) from Japan. Elytra, 36, 133–148.
  17. Nozaki, T. & Maruyama, M. (2022) Taxonomy of Homoeusa Kraatz, 1856 (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae) from the East Palearctic: I. Homoeusa rufescens (Sharp, 1874) and a new allied species. ZooKeys, 1121, 39–58. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1121.85489
  18. Pace, R. (1993) Aleocharinae della Cina (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae). Bollettino del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Verona, 17, 69–126.

How to Cite

Maruyama, M., Nozaki, T. & Kamezawa, H. (2025) Description of Aleochara (Xenochara) ichikawai sp. nov., the first confirmed myrmecophilous species of Aleochara Gravenhorst, 1802 from the East Palearctic Region (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae). Zootaxa, 5666 (3), 437–444. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5666.3.8