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The Philippine islands are one of the key biodiversity hotspots in the Indo-Pacific area. Knowledge of moss-inhabiting flea beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Alticinae), a diverse and ecologically and morphologically enigmatic group in the Philippines is described. Six species from the Philippines are recorded, belonging to three genera: Benedictus luzonicus Sprecher-Uebersax et al., 2009 (recorded from the Philippines previously), Ivalia antennata sp. nov., I. caligulata sp. nov. and I. postfasciata (Chen, 1934), comb. nov. (transferred from Chabria Jacoby, 1887), Cangshanaltica mindanaoensis sp. nov., and C. luzonica sp. nov. Cox1 barcode sequences of Ivalia antennata and Cangshanaltica mindanaoensis are presented. Biogeography and diversity of moss-inhabiting flea beetles in the Philippines are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The representatives of the genus Cercyon Leach occurring in the Greater Antilles are reviewed. Ten species are recorded, of which five are described here as new: C. gimmeli sp. n. (Dominican Republic), C. armatipenis sp. n. (Dominican Republic), C. taino sp. n. (Dominican Republic), C. sklodowskae sp. n. (Jamaica) and C. spiniventris sp. n. (Dominican Republic). Diagnoses and detailed distributional data are also provided for C. floridanus Horn, 1890 (distributed in southeastern United States of America and Cayman Islands), C. insularis Chevrolat, 1863 (endemic to the Antilles), C. praetextatus (Say, 1825) (widely distributed in the New World incl. Greater Antilles), C. quisquilius (Linnaeus, 1761) (an adventive species of Paleartic origin) and C. nigriceps (Marshall, 1802) (an adventive species probably of Oriental origin). Cercyon armatipenis, C. gimmeli, C. taino form a group of closely related species only distinguishable by male genitalia and DNA sequences. A key to the Great Antillean Cercyon is provided and important diagnostic characters are illustrated. The larvae of C. insularis and C. taino were associated with adults using COI barcode sequences, illustrated and diagnosed. Full occurrence data, additional images and COI barcode sequences were submitted to open access on-line depositories in an effort to provide access to complete data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new species of the genus Elocomosta Hansen, 1989 (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae: Sphaeridiinae: Coelostomatini), E. lilizheni sp. n., is described from Guangxi Province, China. It is compared in detail with the only other known species of the genus, E. nigra Hansen, 1989 from Borneo, and the genus is diagnosed from the remaining coelostomatine genera. The new species is unusual among Hydrophilidae by having extremely reduced eyes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to understand the identity of the Central American species of the genus Phaenonotum Sharp, 1882, the type specimens of the species described by Sharp (1882) deposited in the David Sharp collection in the Natural History Museum in London have been re-examined. The following species are redescribed: Phaenonotum apicale Sharp, 1882, P. collare Sharp, 1882, P. dubium Sharp, 1882 (confirmed as junior synonym of P. exstriatum (Say, 1835)), P. laevicolle Sharp, 1882, P. rotundulum Sharp, 1882 and P. tarsale Sharp, 1882. Lectotypes are designated for P. apicale, P. collare, P. rotundulum and P. tarsale. External diagnostic characters and morphology of male genitalia are illustrated. A table summarizing diagnostic characters allowing the identification of the species is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A detailed examination of specimens of Cryptopleurum sichuanicum Ryndevich, 2005 from high altitudes of Sichuan Province, China, revealed that the species belongs in the genus Nipponocercyon Satô, 1963 previously endemic to Japan. The species is here transferred in Nipponocercyon, and N. sichuanicus (Ryndevich, 2005), comb. n. is redescribed and compared with N. shibatai Satô, 1963. The male genitalia of N. sichuanicus is described for the first time. An adapted diagnosis of Nipponocercyon is provided, and reasons for the inclusion of N. sichuanicus into Nipponocercyon and the general distribution of the genus are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent hydrophiloid species Helophorus (Gephelophorus) sibiricus (Motschulsky, 1860) is recorded from the early Miocene deposits of Kartashevo assigned to the Ombinsk Formation. A detailed comparison with recent specimens allowed a confident identification of the fossil specimen, which is therefore the oldest record of a recent species for the Hydrophiloidea. The paleodistribution as well as recent distribution of the species is summarized, and the relevance of the fossil is discussed. In addition, the complex geological settings of the Kartashevo area are briefly summarized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on the fossil beetles assigned previously to the family Hydrophilidae described from the localities in the southern part of the Upper Rhine Graben: Brunstatt (France, Alsace) and Kleinkems (Germany, Baden-Württemberg) (both dated ca. to Eocene-Oligocene boundary, 34 Ma). The identity of Escheria convexa Förster, 1891 is fixed by the designation of its neotype, the species is redescribed, illustrated, transferred from the hydrophilid genus Hydrobius Leach, 1815 to the genus Copelatus Erichson, 1832 (Coleoptera: Adephaga: Dytiscidae) and compared with other fossil representatives of Copelatus. The identity of the remaining three species, Hydrobius crassipunctatus (Förster, 1891), H. dimidiatus (Förster, 1891) and H. punctulatus (Förster, 1891), is briefly evaluated on the basis of the original descriptions and illustrations only, because their types were lost or destroyed during World War II; all three species are removed from the fossil record of the Hydrophiloidea and placed into Polyphaga incertae sedis. The geology and stratigraphy of Brunnstatt and Kleinkems are discussed briefly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new species of the genus Elocomosta Hansen, 1989 (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae: Sphaeridiinae: Coelostomatini), Elocomosta lilizheni sp. n., is described from Guangxi Province, China. It is compared in detail with the only other known species of the genus, Elocomosta nigra Hansen, 1989 from Borneo, and the genus is diagnosed from the remaining coelostomatine genera. The new species is unusual among Hydrophilidae by having extremely reduced eyes.

The Chinese species of the genera Omicrogiton Orchymont, 1919, Peratogonus Sharp, 1884 and Mircogioton Orchymont, 1937 are reviewed, diagnosed and keyed. Mircogioton and Omicrogiton are reported for the first time from China, Peratogonus for the first time for mainland China. Five species are recognized: Omicrogitoncoomani Balfour-Browne, 1939 (Guangdong, Hongkong), Omicrogitonhainanensis sp. n. (Hainan), Omicrogitonroberti sp. n. (Hainan), Mircogiotoncoomani Orchymont, 1937 (Yunnan), and Peratogonusreversus Sharp, 1884 (Guangdong, Jiangxi, Taiwan). Lectotype of Omicrogitoncoomani is designated. Mircogiotoncognitus (Malcolm, 1981), syn. n. is considered a junior subjective synonym of Mircogiotoncoomani Orchymont, 1939. Species of Mircogioton and Omicrogiton inhabit decaying banana trunks, whereas Peratogonusreversus was always collected from moist forest leaf litter.

The Cuban fauna of the genus Berosus Leach, 1817 is reviewed based on newly collected material as well as historical and type specimens. Nine species are recognized, including three recorded from Cuba for the first time: Berosus infuscatus LeConte, 1855, Berosus interstitialis Knisch, 1924 (= Berosus stribalus Orchymont, 1946 syn. n.) and Berosus metalliceps Sharp, 1882. Only one of the nine Cuban species, Berosus chevrolati, remains endemic to Cuba, as two other species previously considered as endemic to Cuba are recorded from elsewhere: Berosus quadridens from Mexico and Central America and Berosus trilobus from the Dominican Republic. Notes on biology and Cuban distribution are provided for all nine species. Berosus quadridens Chevrolat, 1863, stat. restit. is removed from synonym with Berosus truncatipennis and considered a valid species.