• This record comes from PubMed

Hide-and-Seek with Tiny Neotenic Beetles in One of the Hottest Biodiversity Hotspots: Towards an Understanding of the Real Diversity of Jurasaidae (Coleoptera: Elateroidea) in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

. 2021 May 09 ; 10 (5) : . [epub] 20210509

Status PubMed-not-MEDLINE Language English Country Switzerland Media electronic

Document type Journal Article

Jurasaidae are a family of neotenic elateroid beetles which was described recently from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest biodiversity hotspot based on three species in two genera. All life stages live in the soil, including the larviform females, and only adult males are able to fly. Here, we report the discovery of two new species, Jurasai miraculum sp. nov. and J. vanini sp. nov., and a new, morphologically remarkable population of J. digitusdei Rosa et al., 2020. Our discovery sheds further light on the diversity and biogeography of the group. Most species of Jurasaidae are known from the rainforest remnants of the Atlantic Forest, but here for the first time we report a jurasaid species from the relatively drier Atlantic Forest/Caatinga transitional zone. Considering our recent findings, minute body size and cryptic lifestyle of all jurasaids, together with potentially high numbers of yet undescribed species of this family from the Atlantic Forest and possibly also other surrounding ecoregions, we call for both field research in potentially suitable localities as well as for a detailed investigation of a massive amount of already collected but still unprocessed materials deposited in a number of Brazilian institutes, laboratories and collections.

See more in PubMed

Gould S.J. Ontogeny and Phylogeny. Harvard University Press; Cambridge, MA, USA: 1977. pp. 1–520.

Cicero J.M. Ontophylogenetics of cantharoid larviforms (Coleoptera: Cantharoidea) Coleopt. Bull. 1988;42:105–151.

McMahon D.P., Hayward A. Why grow up? A perspective on insect strategies to avoid metamorphosis. Ecol. Entomol. 2016;41:505–515. doi: 10.1111/een.12313. DOI

Johnston M.A., Gimmel M.L. Review of North American Dascillidae (Coleoptera: Dascilloidea), with descriptions of dramatic female wing reduction. Coleopt. Bull. 2020;74:731–757. doi: 10.1649/0010-065X-74.4.731. DOI

Bocakova M., Bocak L., Hunt T., Teräväinen M., Vogler A.P. Molecular phylogenetics of Elateriformia (Coleoptera): Evolution of bioluminescence and neoteny. Cladistics. 2007;23:477–496. doi: 10.1111/j.1096-0031.2007.00164.x. DOI

Bocak L., Bocakova M., Hunt T., Vogler A.P. Multiple ancient origins of neoteny in Lycidae (Coleoptera): Consequences for ecology and macroevolution. Proc. R. Soc. B. 2008;275:2015–2023. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2008.0476. PubMed DOI PMC

South A., Stanger-Hall K., Jeng M.-L., Lewis S.M. Correlated evolution of female neoteny and flightlessness with male spermatophore production in fireflies (Coleopteta: Lampyridae) Evolution. 2010;65:1099–1113. doi: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2010.01199.x. PubMed DOI

Kundrata R., Bocak L. Molecular phylogeny reveals the gradual evolutionary transition to soft-bodiedness in click-beetles and identifies Sub-Saharan Africa as a cradle of diversity for Drilini (Coleoptera: Elateridae) Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 2019;187:413–452. doi: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlz033. DOI

Ferreira V.S., Keller O., Branham M.A. Multilocus phylogeny support the nonbioluminescent firefly Chespirito as a new subfamily in the Lampyridae (Coleoptera: Elateroidea) Insect Syst. Divers. 2020;4:2. doi: 10.1093/isd/ixaa014. DOI

Crowson R.A. A review of the classification of Cantharoidea (Coleoptera), with the definition of two new families Cneoglossidae and Omethidae. Rev. Univ. Madrid. 1972;21:35–77.

Lawrence J.F. Rhinorhipidae, a new beetle family from Australia, with comments on the phylogeny of the Elateriformia. Invertebr. Taxon. 1988;2:1–53. doi: 10.1071/IT9880001. DOI

Kundrata R., Bocakova M., Bocak L. The comprehensive phylogeny of the superfamily Elateroidea (Coleoptera: Elateriformia) Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 2014;76:162–171. doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2014.03.012. PubMed DOI

Bocak L., Kundrata R., Andújar Fernández C., Vogler A.P. The discovery of Iberobaeniidae (Coleoptera: Elateroidea), a new family of beetles from Spain, with immatures detected by environmental DNA sequencing. Proc. R. Soc. B. 2016;283:20152350. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2015.2350. PubMed DOI PMC

Malohlava V., Bocak L. Evidence of extreme habitat stability in a Southeast Asian biodiversity hotspot based on the evolutionary analysis of neotenic net-winged beetles. Mol. Ecol. 2010;19:4800–4811. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2010.04850.x. PubMed DOI

Bray T.C., Bocak L. Slowly dispersing neotenic beetles can speciate on a penny coin and generate space-limited diversity in the tropical mountains. Sci. Rep. 2016;6:33579. doi: 10.1038/srep33579. PubMed DOI PMC

Kundrata R., Bocak L. Taxonomic review of Drilini (Elateridae: Agrypninae) in Cameroon reveals high morphological diversity, including the discovery of five new genera. Insect Syst. Evol. 2017;48:441–492. doi: 10.1163/1876312X-48022161. DOI

Janisova K., Bocakova M. Revision of the subfamily Ototretinae (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) Zool. Anz. 2013;252:1–19. doi: 10.1016/j.jcz.2012.01.001. DOI

Ferreira V.S., Keller O., Branham M.A., Ivie M.A. Molecular data support the placement of the enigmatic Cheguevaria as a subfamily of Lampyridae (Insecta: Coleoptera) Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 2019;187:1253–1258. doi: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlz073. DOI

Ferreira V.S., Silveira L.F.L. A new suspected paedomorphic genus of net-winged beetles from the Atlantic Rainforest (Coleoptera, Elateroidea, Lycidae) Pap. Avulsos Zool. 2020;60:e202060(s.i.).35. doi: 10.11606/1807-0205/2020.60.special-issue.35. DOI

Kundrata R., Baena M., Bocak L. Iberobaenia andujari sp. nov., the third species of Iberobaeniidae (Coleoptera: Elateroidea) from southern Spain. Ann Zool. 2017;67:121–129. doi: 10.3161/00034541ANZ2017.67.1.014. DOI

Rosa S.P., Costa C., Kramp K., Kundrata R. Hidden diversity in the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest: The discovery of Jurasaidae, a new beetle family (Coleoptera, Elateroidea) with neotenic females. Sci. Rep. 2020;10:1544. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-58416-6. PubMed DOI PMC

Rosa S.P., Costa C., Kramp K., Kundrata R. Author Correction: Hidden diversity in the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest: The discovery of Jurasaidae, a new beetle family (Coleoptera, Elateroidea) with neotenic females. Sci. Rep. 2020;10:3769. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-60629-8. PubMed DOI PMC

Brancucci M. Morphologie comparée, évolution et systématique des Cantharidae (Insecta: Coleoptera) Entomol. Basil. 1980;5:215–388.

Tabarelli M., Aguiar A.V., Ribeiro M.C., Metzger J.P., Peres C.A. Prospects for biodiversity conservation in the Atlantic Forest: Lessons from aging human-modified landscapes. Biol. Conserv. 2010;143:2328–2340. doi: 10.1016/j.biocon.2010.02.005. DOI

Ribeiro M.C., Martensen A.C., Metzger J.P., Tabarelli M., Scarano F., Fortin M.J. The Brazilian Atlantic Forest: A shrinking biodiversity hotspot. In: Zachos F., Habel J., editors. Biodiversity Hotspots: Distribution and Protection of Conservation Priority Areas. Springer; Berlin/Heidelberg, Germany: 2011. pp. 405–434.

Mittermeier R.A., Turner W.R., Larsen F.W., Brooks T.M., Gascon C. Global biodiversity conservation: The critical role of hotspots. In: Zachos F.E., Habel J.C., editors. Biodiversity Hotspots: Distribution and Protection of Conservation Priority Areas. Springer; Berlin, Heidelberg/Germany: 2011. pp. 3–22.

Joly C.A., Metzger J.P., Tabarelli M. Experiences from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest: Ecological findings and conservation initiatives. New Phytol. 2014;204:459–473. doi: 10.1111/nph.12989. PubMed DOI

Silva J.M.C., Pinto L.P., Hirota M., Bedê L., Tabarelli M. Conservação da Mata Atlântica brasileira—Um balanço dos últimos dez anos. In: Cabral D.C., Bustamante A.G., editors. Metamorfoses florestais: Culturas, ecologias e as transformações históricas da Mata Atlântica. Prismas; Curitiba, Brazil: 2016. pp. 435–458.

Rezende C.L., Scarano F.R., Assad E.D., Joly C.A., Metzger J.P., Strassburg B.B.N., Tabarelli M., Fonseca G.A., Mittermeier R.A. From hotspot to hopespot: An opportunity for the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Perspect. Ecol. Conserv. 2018;16:208–214. doi: 10.1016/j.pecon.2018.10.002. DOI

Morellato L.P.C., Haddad C.F.B. Introduction: The Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Biotropica. 2000;32:786–792. doi: 10.1111/j.1744-7429.2000.tb00618.x. DOI

Ribeiro M.C., Metzger J.P., Martensen A.C., Ponzoni F.J., Hirota M.M. The Brazilian Atlantic Forest: How much is left, and how is the remaining forest distributed? Implications for conservation. Biol. Conserv. 2009;142:1141–1153. doi: 10.1016/j.biocon.2009.02.021. DOI

Haddad N.M., Brudvig L.A., Clobert J., Davies K.F., Gonzalez A., Holt R.D., Lovejoy T.E., Sexton J.O., Austin M.P., Collins C.D., et al. Habitat fragmentation and its lasting impact on Earth’s ecosystems. Sci. Adv. 2015;1:e1500052. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.1500052. PubMed DOI PMC

Myers N., Mittermeier R.A., Mittermeier C.G., da Fonseca G.A.B., Kent J. Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities. Nature. 2000;403:853–858. doi: 10.1038/35002501. PubMed DOI

Laurance W.F. Conserving the hottest of the hotspots. Biol. Conserv. 2009;142:1137. doi: 10.1016/j.biocon.2008.10.011. DOI

Almeida F.F.M., Carneiro C.D.R. Origem e evolução da Serra do Mar. Rev. Bras. Geociênc. 1998;28:135–150. doi: 10.25249/0375-7536.1998135150. DOI

Instituto Florestal . Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar: Plano de Manejo. Secretaria do Meio Ambiente, Instituto Florestal, Divisão de Reservas e Parques Estaduais; São Paulo, Brazil: 2008. pp. 1–441.

França F., Melo E., Santos C.C. Flora de inselbergs da região de Milagres, Bahia, Brasil: I—Caracterização da vegetação e lista de espécies de dois inselbergs. Sitientibus. 1997;17:163–184.

Prado D.E. As Caatingas da América do Sul. In: Leal I.R., Tabarelli M., Silva J.M.C., editors. Ecologia e Conservação da Caatinga. Editora Universitária da UFPE; Recife, Brazil: 2003. pp. 3–73.

Leal I.R., Tabarelli M., Silva J.M.C. Ecologia e Conservação da Caatinga. Editora Universitária da UFPE; Recife, Brazil: 2003. pp. 1–822.

Leal I.R., Silva J.M.C., Tabarelli M., Lacher T.E., Jr. Changing the course of biodiversity conservation in the caatinga of northeastern Brazil. Conserv. Biol. 2005;19:701–703. doi: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2005.00703.x. DOI

Santos J.C., Leal I.R., Almeida-Cortez J.S., Fernandes G.W., Tabarelli M. Caatinga: The scientific negligence experienced by a Dry Tropical Forest. Trop. Conserv. Sci. 2011;4:276–286. doi: 10.1177/194008291100400306. DOI

Vieira F.A., Novaes R.M.L., Fajardo C.G., Santos R.M., Almeida H.S., Carvalho D., Lovato M.B. Holocene southward expansion in seasonally dry tropical forests in South America: Phylogeography of Ficus bonijesulapensis (Moraceae) Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 2015;177:189–201. doi: 10.1111/boj.12241. DOI

Cardoso D.B.O.S., Queiroz L.P. Caatinga no contexto de uma metacomunidade: Evidências da biogeografia, padrões filogenéticos e abundância de espécies em Leguminosas. In: Carvalho C.J.B., Almeida E.A.B., editors. Biogeografia da América do Sul: Padrões e processos. Roca; São Paulo, Brazil: 2010. pp. 241–260.

Pennington R.T., Prado D.A., Pendry C. Neotropical seasonally dry forests and quaternary vegetation changes. J. Biogeogr. 2000;27:261–273. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2699.2000.00397.x. DOI

Tabarelli M., Vicente A. Conhecimento sobre plantas lenhosas da Caatinga: Lacunas geográficas e ecológicas. In: Silva J.M.C., Tabarelli M., Fonseca M.T., Lins L.V., editors. Biodiversidade da Caatinga: Áreas e Ações Prioritárias para a Conservação. Ministério do Meio Ambiente; Brasília, Brazil: 2004. pp. 101–111.

Ulysséa M.A., Brandão C.R.F. Ant species (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from the seasonally dry tropical forest of northeastern Brazil: A compilation from field surveys in Bahia and literature records. Rev. Bras. Entomol. 2013;57:217–224. doi: 10.1590/S0085-56262013005000002. DOI

Bravo F., Calor A. Artrópodes do Semiárido: Biodiversidade e Conservação. Printmídia; Feira de Santana, Brazil: 2014. pp. 1–298.

Velloso A.L., Sampaio E.V.S.B., Pareyn F.G.C. Ecorregiões Propostas para o Bioma Caatinga. Associação Plantas do Nordeste, Instituto de Conservação Ambiental; Recife, Brazil: 2002. pp. 1–80.

Ministério do Meio Ambiente Áreas Prioritárias para a Conservação, Utilização Sustentável e Repartição de Benefícios da Biodiversidade Brasileira ou Áreas Prioritárias para a Biodiversidade. Portaria nº 463, de 18 de Dezembro de 2018. [(accessed on 18 January 2021)]; Available online: http://areasprioritarias.mma.gov.br/2-atualizacao-das-areas-prioritarias.

Bocak L., Matsuda K. Review of the immature stages of the family Lycidae (Insecta: Coleoptera) J. Nat. Hist. 2003;37:1463–1507. doi: 10.1080/00222930210125362. DOI

Werneck F.P., Costa G.C., Colli G.R., Prado D.E., Sites J.W., Jr. Revisiting the historical distribution of Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests: New insights based on palaeodistribution modelling and palynological evidence. Glob. Ecol. Biogeogr. 2011;20:272–288. doi: 10.1111/j.1466-8238.2010.00596.x. DOI

Wilson E.O. Biodiversity research requires more boots on the ground. Nat. Ecol. Evol. 2017;1:1590. doi: 10.1038/s41559-017-0360-y. PubMed DOI

Marinoni R.C., Dutra R.R.C. Famílias de Coleoptera capturadas com armadilha Malaise em oito localidades do Estado do Paraná, Brasil. Diversidades alfa e beta. Rev. Brasil Zool. 1997;14:751–770. doi: 10.1590/S0101-81751997000300021. DOI

Cancello E.M., Silva R.R., Vasconcellos A., Reis Y.T., Oliveira L.M. Latitudinal variation in termite species richness and abundance along the Brazilian Atlantic Forest hotspot. Biotropica. 2014;46:441–450. doi: 10.1111/btp.12120. DOI

Silva R.R., Brandão C.R.F. Ecosystem-wide morphological structure of leaf-litter ant communities along a tropical latitudinal gradient. PLoS ONE. 2014;9:e93049. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0093049. PubMed DOI PMC

Santos R.M., Schlindwein M.N., Viviani V.R. Survey of bioluminescent Coleoptera in the Atlantic rain forest of Serra da Paranapiacaba in São Paulo State (Brazil) Biota Neotrop. 2016;16:1–8. doi: 10.1590/1676-0611-BN-2015-0045. DOI

Silveira L.F.L., Khattar G., Vaz S., Wilson V.A., Souto P.M., Mermudes J.R.M., Stanger-Hall K.F., Macedo M.V., Monteiro R.F. Natural history of the fireflies of the Serra dos Órgãos mountain range (Brazil: Rio de Janeiro)—One of the ‘hottest’ firefly spots on Earth, with a key to genera (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) J. Nat. Hist. 2020;54:275–308. doi: 10.1080/00222933.2020.1749323. DOI

Azevedo C.O., Molin A.D., Penteado-Dias A., Macedo A.C.C., Rodriguez V.A., Dias B.Z.K., Waichert C., Aquino D., Smith D.R., Shimbori E.M., et al. Checklist of the genera of Hymenoptera (Insecta) from Espírito Santo state, Brazil. Bol. Mus. Biol. Mello Leitão. 2015;37:313–343.

Zaher H., Young P.S. As coleções zoológicas brasileiras: Panorama e desafios. Cien. Cult. 2003;55:24–26.

Carvalho M.R., Bockmann F.A., Amorim D.S., Brandão C.R.F., de Vivo M., Figueiredo J.L., Britski H.A., de Pinna M.C.C., Menezes N.A., Marques F.P.L., et al. Taxonomic impediment or impediment to taxonomy? A commentary on systematics and the cybertaxonomic-automation paradigm. Evol. Biol. 2007;34:140–143. doi: 10.1007/s11692-007-9011-6. DOI

Bockmann F.A., Almeida E.A.B., Castro R.M.C., Garófalo C.A., Groppo M., Jr., Hsiou A.S., Kohlsdorf T., Langer M.C., Mantelatto F.L.M. Fund biodiversity collections. Nature. 2011;472:295. doi: 10.1038/472295d. PubMed DOI

MacDonald S., Ashby J. Museums: Campus treasures. Nature. 2011;471:164–165. doi: 10.1038/471164a. PubMed DOI

Matos-Maraví P., Wahlberg N., Freitas A.V.L., Devries P., Antonelli A., Penz C.M. Mesoamerica is a cradle and the Atlantic Forest is a museum of Neotropical butterfly diversity: Insights from the evolution and biogeography of Brassolini (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 2021 doi: 10.1093/biolinnean/blab034. DOI

Falaschi R.L., Amaral D.T., Santos I., Domingos A.H.R., Johnson G.A., Martins A.G.S., Viroomal I.B., Pompéia S.L., Mirza J.D., Oliveira A.G., et al. Neoceroplatus betaryiensis nov. sp. (Diptera: Keroplatidae) is the first record of a bioluminescent fungus-gnat in South America. Sci. Rep. 2019;9:11291. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-47753-w. PubMed DOI PMC

Costa C., Vanin S.A., Colepicolo Neto P. 1986. Larvae of Neotropical Coleoptera, XIV. First record of bioluminescence in the family Staphylinidae (Xantholinini) Rev. Bras. Entomol. 1986;30:101–104.

Machado R.J.P., Kawada R., Rafael J.A. New continental record and new species of Austromerope (Mecoptera, Meropeidae) from Brazil. ZooKeys. 2013;269:51–65. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.269.4255. PubMed DOI PMC

Brown B.V., Hash J.M., Hartop E.A., Porras W., Amorim D.S. Baby killers: Documentation and evolution of scuttle fly (Diptera: Phoridae) parasitism of ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) brood. Biodivers. Data J. 2017;5:e11277. doi: 10.3897/BDJ.5.e11277. PubMed DOI PMC

Viviani V.R. Fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) from southeastern Brazil: Habitats, life history, and bioluminescence. Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 2001;94:129–145. doi: 10.1603/0013-8746(2001)094[0129:FCLFSB]2.0.CO;2. DOI

Viviani V.R., Santos R.M.D. Bioluminescent Coleoptera of biological station of Boracéia (Salesópolis, SP, Brazil): Diversity, bioluminescence and habitat distribution. Biota Neotrop. 2012;12:21–34. doi: 10.1590/S1676-06032012000300001. DOI

Silveira L.F.L., Mermudes J.R.M. Memoan ciceroi gen. et sp. nov., a remarkable new firefly genus and species from the Atlantic Rainforest (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) Zootaxa. 2013;3640:79–87. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.3640.1.6. PubMed DOI

Silveira L.F.L., Mermudes J.R.M. Ybytyramoan, a new genus of fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae, Lampyrinae, Photinini) endemic to the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest, with description of three new species. Zootaxa. 2014;3835:325–337. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.3835.3.2. PubMed DOI

Silveira L.F.L., Souto P.M., Mermudes J.R.M. Four new species of Luciuranus fireflies from the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) Zootaxa. 2018;4413:173–186. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.4413.1.7. PubMed DOI

Silveira L.F.L., Roza A.S., Vaz S., Mermudes J.R.M. Description and phylogenetic analysis of a new firefly genus from the Atlantic Rainforest, with five new species and new combinations (Coleoptera: Lampyridae: Lampyrinae) Arthropod Syst. Phylogeny. 2021 in press.

Vaz S., Silveira L.F.L., Rosa S.P. Morphology and life cycle of a new species of Psilocladus Blanchard, 1846 (Coleoptera, Lampyridae, Psilocladinae), the first known bromeliad-inhabiting firefly. Pap. Avulsos Zool. 2020;60:e202060(s.i.).24. doi: 10.11606/1807-0205/2020.60.special-issue.24. DOI

Nascimento E.A. The current status of knowledge on Lycidae Laporte, 1836 from Brazil (Insecta: Coleoptera) Check List. 2013;9:323–328. doi: 10.15560/9.2.323. DOI

Roza A.S., Quintino H.Y.S., Mermudes J.R.M., Silveira L.F.L. Akamboja gen. nov., a new genus of railroad-worm beetle endemic to the Atlantic Rainforest, with five new species (Coleoptera: Phengodidae, Mastinocerinae) Zootaxa. 2017;4306:501–523. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.4306.4.3. DOI

Roza A.S., Mermudes J.R.M. A new genus of railroad-worm beetles from the Atlantic Rainforest from Brazil (Coleoptera: Phengodidae, Mastinocerinae) Pap. Avulsos Zool. 2020;60:e202060(s.i.).10. doi: 10.11606/1807-0205/2020.60.special-issue.10. DOI

Ikeda H., Nishikawa M., Sota T. Loss of flight promotes beetle diversification. Nat. Comm. 2012;3:648. doi: 10.1038/ncomms1659. PubMed DOI PMC

Find record

Citation metrics

Loading data ...

Archiving options

Loading data ...