Stephen Baca

Louisiana State University | LSU · Department of Entomology

Prionohydrus cambyreta sp. nov. is described from the Iberá wetlands, Corrientes Province, Argentina. Diagnostic characters are described and illustrated in detail, and the new taxon is compared with the other four South American species of Prionohydrus Gómez & Miller, 2013. In external appearance, P. cambyreta is very similar to P. matogrossensis...

The Notomicrus traili species group (Coleoptera: Noteridae) is a lineage of aquatic beetles distributed throughout South America and extends into Mexico and the West Indies. Previous research has revealed a species complex within this group, with multiple distinct clades sharing overlapping distributions and lineages attributed to N. traili and the...

The Notomicrus traili species group (Coleoptera: Noteridae) is a lineage of aquatic beetles distributed throughout South America and extends into Mexico and the West Indies. Previous research has revealed a species complex within this group, with multiple distinct clades sharing overlapping distributions and lineages attributed to N. traili and the...

Beetles are arguably the most diverse group of animals on Earth with over 400 000 described species. Yet the timing of main diversification events among these insects remains debated. The use of phylogenomic data generated using next‐generation sequencing recently resolved most recalcitrant phylogenetic relationships across Coleoptera. However, lim...

The New World species of the minute aquatic beetle genus Notomicrus Sharp compose a much greater diversity than their Old World congeners, with 14 of the 17 known Notomicrus species occurring in the Neotropics. A recent phylogenetic study recovered four primary New World species groups and found that there are a number of undescribed species across...

Notomicrinae (Coleoptera: Noteridae) is a subfamily of minute and ecologically diverse aquatic beetles distributed across the Southeast Asia, Oceania, and the Americas. We investigate the evolution of Notomicrinae and construct the first species-level phylogeny within Noteridae using five nuclear and mitochondrial gene fragments. We focus on the ge...

Abstract. Adephaga is the second largest suborder of beetles (Coleoptera) and they serve as important arthropod predators in both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. The suborder is divided into Geadephaga comprising terrestrial families and Hydradephaga for aquatic lineages. Despite numerous studies, phylogenetic relationships among the adephagan...

Suphisellus grossoi sp. n. is described from the Reserva Natural del Bosque de Mbaracayú, Canindeyú department, Paraguay. Diagnostic characters are described and illustrated in detail. New records are provided for S. flavolineatus (Régimbart, 1889) and S. grammicus (Sharp, 1882), which are also briefly diagnosed. Suphisellus melzeri Zimmermann, 192...

The Neotropical tribe Dorynotini is characterized by a conspicuous tubercle or spine adorning the elytra, which, along with a few other characters, has been used to differentiate its recognized five genera and two subgenera. However, relationships among these taxa and the evolutionary origin of the pronounced tubercle remain speculative. Here we pr...

The Neotropical tribe Dorynotini is characterized by a conspicuous tubercle or spine adorning the elytra, which, along with a few other characters, has been used to differentiate its recognized five genera and two subgenera. However, relationships among these taxa and the evolutionary origin of the pronounced tubercle remain speculative. Here we pr...

Notomicrus petrareptans sp. n. is described from an inselberg seepage in southwestern Suriname. This species is diagnosable by a combination of its weakly punctate elytra, respective shapes of the pro- and mesotarsal claws (males), and long and slender median lobe of the aedeagus. This is the first member of the subfamily Notomicrinae to be describ...

Suphisellus epleri sp. nov. is described from Veracruz, Mexico. The new species is characterized by (1) size; (2) elytra brownish-red, moderately punctate, each with three light-yellow spots; and (3) aedeagus with median lobe curved with width nearly uniform along its length. In appearance, S. epleri is very similar to S. neglectus Young 1979 with...

The beetle suborder Adephaga has been the subject of many phylogenetic reconstructions utilizing a variety of data sources and inference methods. However, no strong consensus has yet emerged on the relationships among major adephagan lineages. Ultraconserved elements (UCEs) have proved useful for inferring difficult or unresolved phylogenies at var...

The first molecular phylogenetic hypothesis for the aquatic beetle family Noteridae is inferred using DNA sequence data from five gene fragments (mitochondrial and nuclear): COI, H3, 16S, 18S, and 28S. Our analysis is the most comprehensive phylogenetic reconstruction of Noteridae to date, and includes 53 species representing all subfamilies, tribe...

Evolutionary radiations have intrigued biologists for more than 100 years, and our understanding of the patterns and processes associated with these radiations continues to grow and evolve. Recently it has been recognized that there are many different types of evolutionary radiation beyond the well-studied adaptive radiations. We focus here on mult...

Recent systematic and morphological studies on the family Noteridae have suggested that the Neotropical species Noterus buqueti Laporte, 1835 does not fit within the generic limits of Noterus Clairville, 1806 or any other currently described genera within the family. The burrowing water beetle genus Canthysellus Baca and Toledo, new genus (Coleopte...

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The systematics of the water beetle family Noteridae (Coleoptera: Adephaga) are investigated. The phylogeny of the family is inferred from molecular sequence data from four gene fragments and three-dozen adult morphological characters. Taxon sampling including representatives of nearly all described genera and numerous adephagan outgroups. Resultin...

The burrowing water beetle genus Liocanthydrus Guignot, 1957 is redefined and its species are revised. Of the four current species, three are recognized as belonging to the genus and redescribed: L. angustus (Guignot, 1957), L. octoguttatus (Zimmermann, 1921) and L. uniformis (Zimmermann, 1921). The fourth species, L. buqueti (Laporte, 1835) is fou...