DOI: 10.15468/4rp767
title: Taxonomic Review of the Australian Genus Pediomorphus Chaudoir, 1878 (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Abacetini)

description: This dataset contains the digitized treatments in Plazi based on the original journal article Will, Kipling (2019): Taxonomic Review of the Australian Genus Pediomorphus Chaudoir, 1878 (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Abacetini). The Coleopterists Bulletin 73 (3): 629-645, DOI: 10.1649/0010-065X-73.3.629, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1649/0010-065x-73.3.629ABSTRACTThe Australian genus Pediomorphus Chaudoir, 1878 is reviewed and eight new species are described: Pediomorphus maximus Will, new species and Pediomorphus crenulatus Will, new species from New South Wales; Pediomorphus minor Will, new species from South Australia; Pediomorphus punctatus Will, new species from Northern Territory; Pediomorphus storeyi Will, new species from Queensland; Pediomorphus semilaevis Will, new species from Northern Territory and Queensland; Pediomorphus robustus Will, new species from Queensland and Western Australia; and Pediomorphus obtusus Will, new species from Queensland, Northern Territory, and Western Australia. A key to the 13 species of the genus is provided.Key Words: ground beetles, taxonomy, new species, key to speciesDOI.org/ 10.1649/0010-065X-73.3.629Zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub: 48CFB8E9-AA28-413D-98CB-1841B65ED236The genus Pediomorphus was described by Chaudoir (1878) to include the single Australian species Pediomorphus planiusculus Chaudoir (Fig. 1). He pointed out it had a superficial resemblance to European Pedius Motschulsky, but specific characters clearly placed it in Abacetini. Three additional species were described by Sloane (1889, 1900), and the final species described prior to this contribution was added by Straneo (1960) in the distantly related abacetine genus Fouquetius Maindron (now a junior synonym of Holconotus Schmidt-Goebel), then moved into Pediomorphus recently (Will 2015). Eight additional species are described here, bringing the total to 13. All are endemic to mainland Australia.The characteristically enlarged labial palps with a setose, ventral sensorium (Fig. 14) and depressed body form suggests that these beetles might have a specialized diet and/or behavior as compared to their close relatives in Australian Loxandrus LeConte that lack these character states. However, little is known of the life history of these beetles. Most collection records for adults are from lights, evidence of their proclivity and ability to fly. Hand-collected specimens have been consistently taken from open forests and pastures (Sloane 1900; Moore 1965) but without more specific habitat information. Specimens have been collected almost year-round, although most are from summer months. Only a few species are known from a series of specimens and multiple collecting events. Larvae are not known. Therefore, the new species described here are mostly based on limited numbers of specimens. Fortunately, the external morphology is relatively distinctive and male genitalia, known for all but one species, are decisive. Therefore, all newly described species, even those based on a single specimen, are clearly distinctive. Like most insect taxa, focused collecting effort that covers more of the continent and across seasons will undoubtedly reveal more undescribed diversity in the genus.It is my hope that this work will stimulate future collecting and observation activity.