
Richard LeschenManaaki Whenua - Landcare Research · Systematics Team
Richard Leschen
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Publications (196)
In 2000, Cleide Costa published a paper presenting the state of knowledge of the Neotropical Coleopte ra, with a focus on the Brazilian fauna. Twenty-four years later, thanks to the development of the Coleoptera section of the Taxonomic Catalog of the Brazilian Fauna (CTFB - Catálogo Taxonômico da Fauna do Brasil) through the collaboration of 100 c...
Adaptive zones are defined as ecological opportunities for lineages to diversify. Cucujoid beetles provide a unique system to investigate adaptive zones, specifically the interplay between factors that may predict diversity and mechanisms such as competition that may limit diversification. Using a taxon-rich, time-calibrated phylogeny of cucujoid b...
Myopagyrtes tasmanicus new genus, new species, is described from Tasmania, Australia. It has reduced eyes and the hindwings are absent, unusual features among Agyrtodini. It was collected from leaf litter in forests, typically dominated by Nothofagus. It is hypothesised as related to the genus Agyrtodes Portevin and the New Zealand genus Chelagyrto...
Weevils are an unusually species-rich group of phytophagous insects for which there is increasing evidence of frequent involvement in brood-site pollination. This study examines phylogenetic patterns in the emergence of brood-site pollination mutualism among one of the most speciose beetle groups, the flower weevils (subfamily Curculioninae). We an...
Debris-cloaking, a method of concealment with material collected from the environment, has evolved repeatedly with the purpose of avoiding detection in adults or immatures of various invertebrates including beetles. Fungus beetles in the family Anamorphidae (Coccinelloidea) are small-sized spore feeders of predominantly surface-dwelling habits. Deb...
Aim
Although Antarctica hosted a diverse fauna and flora in the past, its modern climate is too extreme for many lineages: their recent extinction makes it difficult to include the continent in historical biogeographical analyses. We use southern temperate stream‐inhabiting beetles as a model to explore whether Antarctica may be included in histori...
Relationships of the anthicid subfamily Lagrioidinae are discussed in detail and evidence presented supporting treatment of this group as a distinct family, Lagrioididae, stat. nov., of Tenebrionoidea, unrelated to the family Anthicidae. Lagrioida rufula Fairmaire & Germain, 1860 is designated as the type species of Lagrioida Fairmaire & Germain, 1...
The leaf litter-inhabiting genus Sternodea Reitter (Cryptophagidae: Cryptophaginae: Caenoscelini) presently contains seven Palearctic species and up to 27 undescribed species from North and Central America. Here we describe Sternodea arcana, new species, ostensibly from Florida but possibly mislabeled, and likely originating from Mexico or Central...
Dysmorphocerinae is a subfamily of Cantharidae erected for a group of genera with a mainly gondwanan distribution whose adult forms could not be reliably assigned to any other subfamily. The systematic position and monophyly of Dysmorphocerinae remains questionable, as recent molecular and morphological studies have produced conflicting results. De...
Cedraderus, new genus is erected for a single species described from California, USA, Cedraderus constrictus (Fall, 1910), new combination, and distinguished from all other aderid genera based on the pronotum having subapical and sub-basal sulci, presence of a supraepipleural groove on the elytron, lack of sexual dimorphism and setal brush on the m...
Despite recent advances in high-throughput DNA sequencing technologies, a lack of locally relevant DNA reference databases limits the potential for DNA-based monitoring of biodiversity for conservation and biosecurity applications. Museums and national collections represent a compelling source of authoritatively identified genetic material for DNA...
An enigmatic cucujiform beetle, Alloterocucus atratus Li, Leschen, Liu, and Cai gen. et sp. nov., is reported from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. The character combination of the new fossil is not completely consistent with any of the known cucujoid or erotyloid families. Based on our phylogenetic analyses, Alloterocucus is assigned to Cucujoidea an...
New Zealand alpine environments host a diverse assemblage of insect lineages, with virtually every major insect group represented. The modern mountain ranges of New Zealand are relatively young and large areas of habitat above the tree line have only been in continual existence for the past one million years. We discuss the geological history and p...
The genera of the Gondwanan tribe Picrotini are redefined, resulting in the recognition of 22 genera. Thirteen new genera and 10 new species are described: Austroscelis gen. nov. (type species: Cryptophagus gibbipennis Blackburn, 1892), Bellascelis gen. nov. (type species: Bellascelis pecki sp. nov.), Chileothortus gen. nov. (type species: Chileoth...
Despite recent advances in high-throughput DNA sequencing technologies, a lack of locally relevant DNA reference databases may limit the potential for DNA-based monitoring of biodiversity for conservation and biosecurity applications. Museums and national collections represent a compelling source of authoritatively identified genetic material for D...
Invertebrates make up the majority of all living species on earth. Nevertheless, our understanding of the global distribution of terrestrial biodiversity and regional patterns therein has thus far been almost entirely based on vertebrate and vascular plant patterns. Here we try to provide some information on the global biogeography of the largest i...
Cerambycinae is the second-largest subfamily of longhorn beetles in the Southern Hemisphere. The phylogeny of Cerambycinae is poorly known, resulting in a highly artificial tribal-level classification and a largely speculative evolutionary history. We reconstructed the phylogenetic relationships of Cerambycinae at the generic level using anchored h...
Beetles constitute the most biodiverse animal order with over 380 000 described species and possibly several million more yet unnamed. Recent phylogenomic studies have arrived at considerably incongruent topologies and widely varying estimates of divergence dates for major beetle clades. Here, we use a dataset of 68 single-copy nuclear protein-codi...
The enigmatic Australo-Pacific genus Geochus Broun includes 26 described species from New Zealand and one from Lord Howe Island. They are abundant in leaf litter, and most species are easily recognized as adults by their odd squat form, lack of tarsal claws and flattened larvae that mine dead leaves. In older classifications, Geochus was placed in...
Basado en material recolectado en la zona del bosque templado lluvioso del sur de Chile, se describe un nuevo género y especie de Salpingidae. Se presentan imágenes del adulto de la especie y de aspectos morfológicos que incluyen cabeza, tórax, abdomen, piezas bucales, alas y edeago. Se destacan sus caracteres diagnósticos y se establecen diferenci...
With over 380,000 described species and possibly several million more yet unnamed, beetles represent the most biodiverse animal order. Recent phylogenomic studies have arrived at considerably incongruent topologies and widely varying estimates of divergence dates for major beetle clades. Here we use a dataset of 68 single-copy nuclear protein codin...
The subalpine Chalcolampra speculifera Sharp, 1882 group of leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae: Chrysomelinae) is revised to include the fully winged Chalcolampra speculifera Sharp, which is redescribed, and two new brachypterous species, C. apicula sp. nov. and C. lyriformis sp. nov.. A key to the species is provided. These Chalcolampra Blanchard, 1853 s...
The first fossil representative of the cleroid family Trogossitidae is described from mid‐Cretaceous Burmese amber. Microtrogossita qizhihaoi Li & Cai gen. et sp. nov. is unique among Trogossitidae in the relatively widely separated procoxal and mesocoxal cavities, weakly asymmetrical antennal clubs, coarsely facetted eyes, coarse sculpture of dors...
The New Zealand species of the water scavenger beetle genus Berosus Leach, 1817 are reviewed based on freshly collected material and museum specimens. Four species are recognized: Berosus pallidipennis (Sharp, 1884) widespread in the North and South Islands, B. muellerorum sp. nov. from the eastern part of the North Island, and B. halasi sp. nov. a...
Dated species-level phylogenies are crucial for understanding the origin and evolutionary history of modern faunas, yet difficult to obtain due to the frequent absence of suitable age calibrations at species level. Substitution rates of related or more inclusive clades are often used to overcome this limitation but the accuracy of this approach rem...
In the subfamily Erotylinae (Coleoptera: Erotylidae), several nomenclatural concerns in the Australian fauna are corrected for upcoming publications. Spelling and attribution of the genus “Aulacochilus” is discussed and is correctly cited as Aulacocheilus Dejean, 1836. The species Episcaphula tetrastica Lea, 1921, becomes Aulacocheilus leai (Mader,...
えりも研究, (18): 1–9.
New to Japan: Ptiliola kuntzei (Coleoptera: Ptillidae); Trixagus cariniforns (Coleoptera: Throscinae).
New to Hokkaido, Japan: Pacrillum machuricum (Hydrophilidae); Peltocercyon subopacipennis (Hydrophilidaea); Acrotrichis thoracica (Ptiliidae); Megarthrus aino (Staphylinidae); Microrhagus pectinicornis (Eucnemidae); Matsudanoeus...
In preparation for upcoming studies, several new taxa of Australian Erotylinae (Coleoptera: Erotylidae) need to be described to make names available. New genera and species in Dacnini and Megalodacnini are described. Echinothallis banderbearella, new genus and species (Dacnini); Microdacne, new genus, with four new species (Dacnini), M. gloriousa,...
Rove beetles of the tribe Quediini are abundant predators in humid micro-habitats of forested, open, synanthropic or subterranean ecosystems, with just over 800 species distributed across the temperate and subtropical regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Previous molecular phylogenies included only a limited representation of this diversity but have...
The Asian species of Bironium are reviewed and three new species are described: B. lobatumsp. nov. and B. yunnanumsp. nov. from South China and B. sulcatumsp. nov. from Thailand. Bironium atripenne (Pic) and B. amicale Löbl are placed in synonymy with B. grouvellei (Achard) and B. elegans Löbl, respectively. Lectotypes are designated for B. atripen...
A phylogenetic reconstruction of the genus Eupines King was conducted with the inclusion of representatives of Brachyglutini from New Zealand, Australia, and New Caledonia. We assembled a dataset consisting of the nuclear large subunit rRNA (28S) gene and the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene from a total of 73 species represe...
Phylogenetic studies of Aleocharinae rove beetles, arguably one of the least known and the largest insect lineages, are compromised by its enormous taxonomic diversity. DNA, a powerful resource for phylogenetics, is not available for numerous extant aleocharine species. We provide a broad comparative morphological study of Aleocharinae to frame mol...
The Aderidae (Coleoptera: Tenebrionoidea) of New Zeland are revised to include four genera and fourteen species. Three genera are described as new: one distributed throughout the Australasian region (Zenascus gen. n.) one endemic to the north and south islands of New Zealand (Transrenus gen. n.), and one that is endemic to the south island of New Z...
Phylogenetic studies of Aleocharinae rove beetles, arguably one the least known of one of the largest insect lineages, are compromised by its enormous taxonomic diversity. DNA, a powerful resource for phylogenetics, is not available for numerous extant aleocharine species. We provide a broad comparative morphological study of Aleocharinae to frame...
To date monotypic, endemic New Zealand tyrine genus Phormiobius Broun, 1917 (Staphylinidae: Pselaphinae: Pselaphitae) (type species: P. halliBroun, 1917) is revised to include six species, five of which are new: P. brouni sp. nov., P. graceae sp. nov., P. matau sp.nov., P. pseudhalli sp. nov., and P. ramsayi sp. nov. A lectotype is designated for P...
Mesozoic lophocaterids are relatively rare and here we describe and illustrate two new genera and two new species, Mesolophocateres pengweii Yu, Leschen & Ślipiński gen. et sp. nov. and Parayixianteres parvus Yu, Leschen & Ślipiński gen. et sp. nov. based on seven well-preserved adults from the mid-Cretaceous amber of northern Myanmar. The new taxa...
Alpine invertebrate populations are expected to be highly sensitive to a changing climate because temperature plays an important role in their development, reproduction, and survival. However, high levels of rarity and endemism make it particularly challenging to measure climate effects on this group because interpretation of monitoring data is und...
Australonotha gen. nov. (type species: A. monteithi sp. nov.) is described for two specimens collected from Mount Bellender Ker, Queensland, Australia. Apart from having a monocondylic meso-metaventrital articulation, Australonotha shows similarities with other erotylid subfamilies including Dacninae, Cryptophilinae and some smaller bodied glabrous...
A new species of Alfieriella Wittmer, 1935 (Coleoptera, Cryptophagidae), Alfieriella senguptai sp. n. from China and India, is described. This is the first formal record of the genus Alfieriella and the tribe Hypocoprini from the Himalayan region. Alfieriella senguptai is the largest member of Alfieriella, and its presence in a cold, high-altitude...
The New Zealand endemic genus Simkinion Park and Pearce, 1962 is redescribed and diagnosed to include six species, four of which are new: S. convexum sp. n., S. corniculum sp. n., S. schomannae sp. n. and S. tepaki sp. n. Two species are redescribed: S. bimanum Park and Pearce and S. prelaticum Park and Pearce. Sexes are dimorphic, with males havin...
The species-rich genus Eupines King of New Zealand is revised to include 48 species, with 22 known species redescribed. Twenty-two new species are described: Eupines (Byraxis) brevis sp. n., E. (B.) caesta sp. n., E. (B.) carinata sp. n., E. (B.) coalita sp. n., E. (B.) complector sp. n., E. (B.) dugdalei sp. n., E. (B.) gigas sp. n., E. (B.) grace...
Nitidulidae includes some 4500 species under 350 genera in ten subfamilies, making it the most species‐rich family in Cucujoidea. In this study, we present a phylogeny of the family based on five gene regions (COI, 28s, CAD, H3, Wingless) for 73 ingroup taxa representing nine of the ten currently recognized subfamilies of Nitidulidae, including the...
The New Zealand endemic beetle genus Saphydrus Sharp, 1884 (Coleoptera : Hydrophilidae : Cylominae) is studied in order to understand its phylogenetic position, species-level systematics, biology and distribution, and to reveal reasons for its rarity. The first complete genus-level phylogeny of Cylominae based on two mitochondrial (cox1, 16S) and t...
The larvae of three species of Toramus Grouvelle and one species of Loberoschema Reitter are described, and morphological character states of larval Toramini Sen Gupta and within Toramus are discussed. Larvae of Toramus attach their exuviae to the distal portions of their abdomen, with each exuvia from the preceding instar attached to one another t...
Onysius Broun, 1886, is transferred from the endemic New Zealand Chalcodryidae to Promecheilidae, reducing the number of genera of the former to two (Chalcodrya and Philpottia). Onysius shares several adult characters with Promecheilidae, including the abdominal ventrites 3 and 4 not connate and the tegmen subdivided into a basale and apicale (larv...
The Australian species Austroporus doctus (Blackburn) is reported from New Zealand for the first time. Adults are illustrated and diagnosed, and late-instar larvae are fully described and illustrated. In addition, a summary of prior larval descriptions of Phalacridae is provided. This represents the first description of the morphology and habitat o...
The leaf beetle subfamily Chrysomelinae is reviewed for New Zealand. The native fauna consists of six genera, three new, all of which are described: Aphilon Sharp, 1876; Caccomolpus Sharp, 1886; Chalcolampra Blanchard, 1853; Mauroda gen. nov.; Nanomela gen. nov.; Zeaphilon gen. nov.. Chalcolampra is the senior synonym of Cyrtonogetus Broun, 1915 (c...
Aim
During the late Oligocene (23 mya) the New Zealand landmass was reduced to approximately 18% of its current area. It has been hypothesized that this event, known as the Oligocene Drowning, caused population bottlenecking and mass extinction. Using phylogenetic methods, we examine the effect of this and other environmental events on the hyper‐di...
New Zealand is an island continent that completed its split from the Gondwanan continent at 52 Ma, harbouring an iconic biota of tuatara, kiwi and weta. The sooty mould community is a distinctive trophic element of New Zealand forest ecosystems that is driven by plant-feeding sternorrhynchan Hemiptera. These produce honeydew, which supports fungal...
The staphylinid subfamily Pselaphinae is generally depauperate at high latitudes. We examine one exception, the tribe Pselaphini, at the southern extreme of its global distribution, the New Zealand subantarctic islands and the Chatham Islands, an archipelago farther north. Currently, only two species are known from remote Campbell Island (Pselaphot...
A catalogue for the eight Goniaceritae genera that occur in New Zealand is presented, treating a total of 62 species. Seventeen holotypes are confirmed, 38 lectotypes and 99 paralectotypes are designated herein for all valid species but Eupines acceptus Broun, for which type material was not located. One synonymy is proposed: Anabaxis electrica (Ki...
Leptusa atriceps and L. antarctica, flightess representatives of the nearly global genus Leptusa in the remote and widely distributed subantarctic islands, are taxonomically revised. Identity and the widely disjunct distribution of L. atriceps on Falkland, South Georgia, Marion, Crozet and Kerguelen Islands are confirmed. Leptusa antarctica is foun...
The origin and early evolutionary history of polyphagan beetles have been largely based on evidence from the derived and diverse ‘core Polyphaga’, whereas little is known about the species-poor basal polyphagan lineages, which include Scirtoidea (Clambidae, Decliniidae, Eucinetidae, and Scirtidae) and Derodontidae. Here, we report two new species A...
A detailed morphological re-description of the New Zealand endemic monotypic genus Hoangus Ukrainsky, 2006
is given, along with illustrations of genitalia and key diagnostic characters. The genus is transferred from
Cranophorini to Coccidulini based on several morphological characters: its more or less parallel-sided terminal
labial palpomere, maxi...
Etheophanus Broun is considered a molytine based on the form of the pharyngeal plate, presence of a small spiculum relictum in the male, and presence of a pair of small internal apodemes on the antero-lateral corners of the 5th abdominal ventrite of the female. Examination of primary type specimens and newer material confirm one new species Etheoph...
The first thorough molecular phylogeny of the superfamily Cleroidea, represented by 377 taxa, and the first with an emphasis on Trogossitidae, was undertaken. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian analyses were performed on a four‐gene dataset (18S, 28S, cox1, cytb) of 395 taxa (along with 18 outgroups), including all 16 currently recognized families of...
This tribute commemorates the life and work of Guillermo (Willy) Kuschel, who made substantial contributions to the understanding of weevil systematics, evolution and biology. Willy was born in Chile in 1918 and studied philosophy, theology and biology. He became fascinated by weevils early on and completed his Ph.D. degree on South American Erirhi...
Kuschelysiusnew genus is described for four species, K. hollowayaenew species, K. durusnew species, K. verbalisnew species and K. nitensnew species, which are found in alpine regions along the length of the South Island of New Zealand. The genus most closely resembles members of the genus Eugnomus but is distinguished from them by the presence of a...
The 2016 International Weevil Meeting was held immediately after the International Congress of Entomology (ICE). It built on the topics and content of the 2016 ICE weevil symposium Phylogeny and Evolution of Weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea): A Symposium in Honor of Dr. Guillermo "Willy" Kuschel. Beyond catalyzing research and collaboration, the...
Hydrophilidae (water scavenger beetles) is well known as an aquatic beetle family; however, it contains ca. 1,000 secondarily terrestrial species derived from aquatic ancestors. The New Zealand endemic genus Rygmodus White is a member of the hydrophilid subfamily Cylominae, which is the early-diverging taxon of the largest terrestrial lineage (Cylo...
The New Zealand members of the genus Anabaxis Raffray are revised to accommodate three species, including one new species: Anabaxis chathamensis sp. nov. A key and an illustrated catalogue to the described species from New Zealand and Australia are included. Lectotypes are designated for A. brevis Oke, A. electrica King, A. foveolata Broun, A. inus...
Species of the genus Epuraea Erichson, 1845 from New Zealand are revised and redescribed. The New Zealand fauna comprises six species. One new species, Epuraea glabrata sp. nov. is described. Epuraea mayendorfii (Reitter, 1873) is provided as a valid replacement name for Nitidula lateralis (White, 1846), not Nitidula lateralis C. R. Sahlberg, 1820....
Three new genera of Synchitini are described from New Zealand, including two monotypic genera, Oparara Leschen and Lord, new genus (type species Oparara marskeae Leschen and Lord, new species) and Tarphionivea Leschen and Lord, new genus (type species T. lindsayae Leschen and Lord, new species). The New Zealand Bitoma Herbst comprise members of mul...