Abstract
Despite centuries of active research on Eurasian Lucanidae, the absence of species with vestigial hindwings has remained a significant knowledge gap. This study addresses this gap by establishing the new genus Geonigidius Xin, Gong, Zhong & Qi, gen. nov., with Geonigidius sinensis Xin, Gong, Zhong & Qi, sp. nov. from the southern Xizang Autonomous Region, China, as its type species. The species exhibits the key feature of vestigial hindwings, which has not been reported unreported in any Eurasian congeners. A checklist of tribe Figulini Burmeister, 1847 species from China and an identification key for Chinese genera of Figulini are provided.
References
- Araya, K. & Obuchi, T. (1993) Life histories of Japanese lucanid beetles (Coleoptera: Lucanidae). 4. Figulus Macleay, 1819 (Part 1). Nature and Insects, 28 (13), 43–47.
- Bartolozzi, L. (2015) A new species of Penichrolucanus Deyrolle 1863 (Coleoptera Lucanidae) from the Philippines. The Coleopterists Bulletin, 69 (3), 389–394. https://doi.org/10.1649/0010-065X-69.3.389
- Catalogue of Life (2025) Figulini Burmeister, 1842. Available from: https://www.catalogueoflife.org/data/taxon/9JZJQ (accessed 10 October 2025)
- Darwin, C.R. (1859) On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. John Murray, London, 502 pp. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.68064
- Durie, J.I., Pryke, J.S., Basson, R.J. & Roets, F. (2024) Colophon scholtzi sp. nov.: a newly described highly threatened stag beetle (Coleoptera: Lucanidae) from South Africa. African Entomology, 32, e18313. https://doi.org/10.17159/2254-8854/2024/a18313
- Fujita, H. (2010) The Lucanid Beetles of the World. Mushi-Sha, Tokyo, 472 pp., 248 pls.
- Grossi, P.C. & Almeida, L.M. (2010) Revision of the genus Altitatiayus Weinreich (Coleoptera, Lucanidae, Lucaninae). Revista Brasileira de Entomologia, 54 (4), 588–600. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0085-56262010000400009
- Holloway, B.A. (2007) Lucanidae (Insecta: Coleoptera). Fauna of New Zealand. Lincoln, Canterbury, New Zealand, 61, 254 pp.
- Hosoya, T. & Araya, K. (2005) Phylogeny of Japanese Stag Beetles (Coleoptera: Lucanidae) Inferred from 16S mtrRNA Gene Sequences, with Reference to the Evolution of Sexual Dimorphism of Mandibles. Zoological Science, 22 (12), 1305–1318. https://doi.org/10.2108/zsj.22.1305
- Huang, H. & Chen, C.-C. (2010) Stag Beetles of China I. Formosa Ecological Company, Taipei, 288 pp.
- Huang, H. & Chen, C.-C. (2013) Stag Beetles of China II. Formosa Ecological Company, Taipei, 716 pp.
- Huang, H. & Chen, C.-C. (2017) Stag Beetles of China III. Formosa Ecological Company, Taipei, 524 pp.
- Kakinuma, S. (2019) A new species of Bomansius Lacroix (Coleoptera: Lucanidae) from Vanuatu, with redescriptions of its genus and its only congener, Bomansius gabrieli Lacroix, 1978. Insecta Mundi, 0728, 1–12.
- Kavanaugh, D.H. (1985) On wing atrophy in carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae), with special reference to Nearctic Nebria. In: Ball, G.E. (Ed.), Taxonomy, Phylogeny and Zoogeography of Beetles and Ants. Dr W. Junk Publishers, Dordrecht, pp. 409–431.
- Kim, S.I. & Farrell, B.D. (2015) Phylogeny of world stag beetles (Coleoptera: Lucanidae) reveals a Gondwanan origin of Darwin’s stag beetle. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 86, 35–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2015.02.015
- Lin, J.-Z. (2023) Checklist of Nigidius Macleay, 1819 of Taiwan with a key to its identification (Coleoptera: Lucanidae). Studies and Reports-Taxonomical Series, 19 (2), 439–442.
- Lin, Z.-W., Yang, X.-T., Wang, P. & Xie, G.-L. (2025) A new species of the genus Morimospasma Ganglbauer, 1889 (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) from Chongqing, China. Zootaxa, 5673 (4), 593–597. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5673.4.7
- Mizunuma, T. & Nagai, S. (1994) The Lucanid Beetles of the World. Mushi-Sha, Tokyo, 338 pp., 156 pls.
- Munks, S., Richards, K., Meggs, J., Wapstra, M. & Corkrey, R. (2004) Distribution, habitat and conservation of two threatened stag beetles, Hoplogonus bornemisszai and H. vanderschoori (Coleoptera: Lucanidae) in north-east Tasmania. Australian Zoologist, 32 (4), 586–596. https://doi.org/10.7882/AZ.2004.004
- Paulsen, M.J. (2006) Monographic revision of the southern South American stag beetles of the genera Pycnosiphorus Solier and Erichius Maes (Coleoptera: Lucanidae: Lucaninae), and molecular systematics of Lucanidae. Ph.D Dissertation, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, 196 pp.
- Paulsen, M.J. & Hawks, D.C. (2014) A review of the primary types of the Hawaiian stag beetle genus Apterocyclus Waterhouse (Coleoptera, Lucanidae, Lucaninae), with the description of a new species. ZooKeys, 433, 77–88. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.433.8022
- Qi, Z.H., Monte, C., Cai, C.Y., Song, H.T. & Liang, G.H. (2025) Cretofigulus (Coleoptera: Lucanidae: Lucaninae): a new genus with two new species in mid-Cretaceous amber from northern Myanmar. Palaeoentomology, 8 (5), 538–551. https://doi.org/10.11646/palaeoentomology.8.5.10
- Switala, A.K., Sole, C.L. & Scholtz, C.H. (2014) Phylogeny, historical biogeography and divergence time estimates of the genus Colophon Gray (Coleoptera: Lucanidae). Invertebrate Systematics, 28, 326–336. https://doi.org/10.1071/IS13054
- Wollaston, T.-V. (1854) Insecta Maderensia; being an account of the insects of the islands of the Madeiran group. John Van Voorst, London, 634 pp. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.9060
- Zhan, Z.-H. & Yang, Z.-H. (2025) Chinese stag beetles illustrated. Chongqing University Press, Chongqing, 748 pp.
- Yi, D. (2023) Lucanidae of the World. Design Spacetime, Seoul, 190 pp., 160 pls.
