First Documented Record for a Species of Concern, Rhadine caudata (Leconte) (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Platynini), from North Carolina, USA Author(s): Kathryn N. Riley and Robert A. Browne Source: The Coleopterists Bulletin, 68(2):239-240. 2014. Published By: The Coleopterists Society URL: http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1649/0010-065X-68.2.239
BioOne (www.bioone.org) is a nonprofit, online aggregation of core research in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences. BioOne provides a sustainable online platform for over 170 journals and books published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses. Your use of this PDF, the BioOne Web site, and all posted and associated content indicates your acceptance of BioOne’s Terms of Use, available at www.bioone.org/page/ terms_of_use. Usage of BioOne content is strictly limited to personal, educational, and non-commercial use. Commercial inquiries or rights and permissions requests should be directed to the individual publisher as copyright holder.
BioOne sees sustainable scholarly publishing as an inherently collaborative enterprise connecting authors, nonprofit publishers, academic institutions, research libraries, and research funders in the common goal of maximizing access to critical research.
The Coleopterists Bulletin, 68(2): 239–240. 2014.
SCIENTIFIC NOTE
FIRST DOCUMENTED RECORD FOR A SPECIES OF CONCERN, RHADINE (LECONTE) (COLEOPTERA: CARABIDAE: PLATYNINI), FROM NORTH CAROLINA, USA
CAUDATA
KATHRYN N. RILEY AND ROBERT A. BROWNE Department of Biology and the Environmental Program, Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, NC 27109, U.S.A.
[email protected]
and West Virginia (NatureServe 2006; Bousquet 2012). The global conservation status of this species, last reviewed in April 1990, is “vulnerable (G3)” (i.e., at moderate risk of extinction or elimination). The conservation status of R. caudata has not been assessed at the national or subnational level. Two states list it as a species of concern: Virginia as S3 and Alabama as S2. Although previously characterized as troglophilic (Barr 1985), information provided by the late Richard Hoffman, previously Curator (Emeritus) of Invertebrates at Virginia Museum of Natural History (VMNH), raises question as to the degree of association with caves for this species. The small number of cave records suggests it may be better regarded as a trogloxene. Pitfall trapping in Virginia has accumulated about 60 specimens of R. caudata from epigaean sites, many being from higher altitudinal locations across the state, with most specimens stored in the VMNH. There are few records of caves in areas of Virginia where R. caudata has been collected (R. L. Hoffman, personal communication). The closest site in Virginia to PMSP where R. caudata has been reported is Carroll County, located approximately 45 km from Pilot Mountain. Although there are no known caves within PMSP, there are extensive fissures in the cliffs of Pilot Mountain which could potentially harbor trogloxenic/troglophilic species. The specialized habitat preference and apparent rapid decline in the number of reported locations of R. caudata raises questions about the long-term health of the species, not only in North Carolina but throughout its range.
Within the genus Rhadine LeConte (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Platynini), there are 60 species, the majority subterranean. Almost all of the species are located in the western United States, with Rhadine caudata (LeConte, 1863) one of only two eastern species. Rhadine caudata is a medium-sized (8–10 mm), brachypterous (incapable of flight) species easily identified by its spined elytra. It has been previously characterized as troglophilic, preying on the eggs of common cave crickets (Barr 1985). Five specimens of R. caudata were collected in July and August 2009 from five areas within Pilot Mountain State Park (PMSP), North Carolina (see Riley 2010 for additional information). Three individuals were collected in pitfall traps located in an approximately 85-year-old deciduous forest. The remaining two individuals were collected from pitfall traps located in a forest which was logged approximately 10 years prior. All collection sites are located within or adjacent to the Mountain section of PMSP. The GPS locations for the five individuals are as follows: N 36.34068° W 80.46236°, N 36.34152° W 80.4608°, N 36.32888° W 80.46248°, N 36.342416° W 80.45785°, and N 36.34258° W 80.45778°. Specimens were confirmed as R. caudata by Terry Erwin, Curator of Coleoptera, Department of Entomology, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. Two specimens are currently stored in the Department of Biology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, while the remaining three were used for genetic analysis at another institution. This is a new state record for R. caudata in North Carolina. Barr (1985) describes this species as rare but widely distributed in the eastern USA It is considered abundant only in Cumberland Caverns (Warren County, Tennessee) and McElroy Cave (Van Buren County, Tennessee) (Barr 1985). This species has previously been recorded in Alabama, Arkansas, District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, Wisconsin,
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This work was supported by funding from the Biology Department and the Environmental Program of Wake Forest University. We would like to thank Pilot Mountain State Park personnel for 239
240
THE COLEOPTERISTS BULLETIN 68(2), 2014
permission to collect within the park. Additionally, we thank the late Dr. Richard Hoffman for providing information regarding the presence of R. caudata in Virginia and to Dr. Terry Erwin for taxonomic confirmation of R. caudata and all of his assistance with this publication.
REFERENCES CITED Barr, T. C. 1985. Pattern and process in speciation of trechine beetles in eastern North America (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Trechinae) [pp. 371–372]. In: Taxonomy, Phylogeny, and Zoography of
Beetles and Ants (G. E. Ball, editor). Dr. W. Junk Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands. Bousquet, Y. 2012. Catalogue of Geoadephaga (Coleoptera, Adephaga) of America, north of Mexico (in three parts). ZooKeys 245: 1–1722. NatureServe. 2006. NatureServe Explorer. Available from: www.natureserve.org (Accessed 5 September 2013). Riley, K. N. 2010. Ground beetles as biodiversity indicators for age structure in Piedmont forests? MSc thesis, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC. (Received 10 September 2013; accepted 23 March 2014. Publication date 18 June 2014.)
