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A revision of the genus Cantabrogeus Salgado, 2000, with description of three new hypogean species endemic to the Cantabrian mountains (Coleoptera, Leiodidae, Cholevinae, Leptodirini) The two previously known species of the genus Cantabrogeus (Coleoptera, Leiodidae, Cholevinae, Leptodirini) are redescribed, and three new species are described: Cantabrogeus antimachus n. sp., C. cultellus n. sp. and C. fresnedai n. sp. One of these (C. antimachus n. sp.) is tripliod (3n = 33) and the first known parthenogenetic species of Leiodidae. The relationships between the different taxa are discussed based on external morphological characters and the structure of male and female genitalia, as well as the distribution of the species in the different areas in the Cantabrian mountains (NW Iberia). Analyses of molecular data (fragments of seven mitochondrial and nuclear genes) confirms the monophyly of Cantabrogeus and its sister–group relationship with Fresnedaella, as well as its inclusion within the paraphyletic series Quaestus. The parthenogenetic species (C. antimachus n. sp.) has a derived position within Cantabrogeus, which, according to previous estimates of the molecular rate, probably diversified during the Pliocene–Pleistocene in the Cantabrian karst areas, of a high tectonic complexity.

Description of Bathysciola liqueana n. sp. from the central Pyrenees. Designation of lectotypes and distribution data for species of the B. meridionalis group (Jacquelin du Val, 1854) (Insecta, Coleoptera, Leiodidae, Cholevinae, Leptodirini) We describe a new species of the genus Bathysciola Jeannel, 1910 (B. liqueana n. sp.) belonging to the ‘meridionalis’ group. It was collected in a subterranean environment, in Liqué cave, Larroque massif, Moulis, Ariège, France. The closest species is Bathysciola meridionalis (Jacquelin du Val, 1854), also known from Ariège. The new species differs mainly in morphological characteristics of the aedeagus: short, wide, with rounded apex in B. liqueana n. sp. whereas it is long, narrow, with pointed apex in B. meridionalis. We discuss the taxonomical position of the new species and provide illustrations of structures showing the differences between the two species, along with distribution data, including for B. finismillennii Fresneda & Salgado, 2006. We designate lectotypes of B. meridionalis and B. nitidula Normand, 1907.

On the presence of Catops subfuscus Kellner, 1846 in the Pyrenees (Coleoptera, Leiodidae, Cholevinae, Catopini) We provide new distribution data for Catops subfuscus Kellner, 1846. We update the geonemy of the species and, based on recent data, we confirm its presence in the subterranean environment on both sides of the Pyrenean massif. Illustrations of the aedeagus and a distribution map are provided.

Abstract Background Cave organisms have been used as models for evolution and biogeography, as their reduced above-ground dispersal produces phylogenetic patterns of area distribution that largely match the geological history of mountain ranges and cave habitats. Most current hypotheses assume that subterranean lineages arose recently from surface dwelling, dispersive close relatives, but for terrestrial organisms there is scant phylogenetic evidence to support this view. We study here with molecular methods the evolutionary history of a highly diverse assemblage of subterranean beetles in the tribe Leptodirini (Coleoptera, Leiodidae, Cholevinae) in the mountain systems of the Western Mediterranean. Results Ca. 3.5 KB of sequence information from five mitochondrial and two nuclear gene fragments was obtained for 57 species of Leptodirini and eight outgroups. Phylogenetic analysis was robust to changes in alignment and reconstruction method and revealed strongly supported clades, each of them restricted to a major mountain system in the Iberian peninsula. A molecular clock calibration of the tree using the separation of the Sardinian microplate (at 33 MY) established a rate of 2.0% divergence per MY for five mitochondrial genes (4% for cox1 alone) and dated the nodes separating the main subterranean lineages before the Early Oligocene. The colonisation of the Pyrenean chain, by a lineage not closely related to those found elsewhere in the Iberian peninsula, began soon after the subterranean habitat became available in the Early Oligocene, and progressed from the periphery to the centre. Conclusions Our results suggest that by the Early-Mid Oligocene the main lineages of Western Mediterranean Leptodirini had developed all modifications to the subterranean life and were already present in the main geographical areas in which they are found today. The origin of the currently recognised genera can be dated to the Late Oligocene-Miocene, and their diversification can thus be traced to Miocene ancestors fully adapted to subterranean life, with no evidence of extinct epigean, less modified lineages. The close correspondence of organismal evolution and geological record confirms them as an important study system for historical biogeography and molecular evolution.

A new troglobiomorphic Trechus Clairville, 1806 and evidence of multiple colonizations in the subterranean environment of the Cantabrian mountains (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Trechinae) We describe Trechus (Trechus) valenzuelai n. sp. from the Cantabrian area of Spain: Sierra de Cuera, Asturias. The species was collected in the subterranean environment, in caves and dolines. Morphological examination revealed that the new species is sister to Trechus escalerae Abeille de Perrin, 1903 within the T. saxicola clade. A synapomorphy of the male genitalia, shared by T. valenzuelai n. sp. and T. escalerae, is described and illustrated: the endophallus has a sclerotised piece shaped like a club, elongated, robust, strongly sclerotised and with a membranous sac covered with small spicules at the base. We discuss the taxonomy of the new species and provide illustrations of structures showing the differences between T. escalerae and T. valenzuelai n. sp., along with biogeographical and distributional data and hypotheses regarding the speciation events based on previously pubished molecular data, and the geological structure and the palaeoclimatology of their geographical area. We hypothesize that in this clade, the colonization of the subterranean environment was the result of multiple, independent and simultaneous colonization processes. A lectotype is designated for T. escalerae.

New distribution data for the hypogean Cholevinae from the Moroccan Atlas (Coleoptera, Leiodidae) The authors report new findings on the distribution of Speonemadus maroccanus (Jeannel, 1936), Nargus (Demochrus) rufipennis (Lucas, 1846), Choleva (Choleva) kocheri Henrot, 1962 and Catops fuscus fuscoides Reitter, 1909. The geonemy of these species is updated and the research is illustrated with maps of their distribution.