Three new species of beetle were discovered in the fourth year of a Kenting National Park insect survey in southern Taiwan, and a further three species found in the country for the first time, park HQ said Oct. 16.
The new endemic species are Euhemicera lanae, Strongylium ohmomoi, Gonocephalum pengi, found by a Taiwan-Japan research team led by assistant professor Lan Yen-chiu of Tainan City-based University of Kang Ning, professor Lee Hou-jing of the Department and Graduate Institute of Entomology, National Taiwan University, Lee Chi-feng of the Insect Systematics Laboratory, Applied Zoology Division of Taichung City-based Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute, and Kimio Matusmoto and Katsumi Akita of Japan.
All three species are types of tenebrionid or darkling beetles. Euhemicera lanae is 5.8 to 6.6 millimeters long and found on tree trunks. It specializes in playing dead, making it difficult to spot. Strongylium ohmomoi is 4.5 mm long and very similar in appearance to Strongylium shigeoi, found in central Taiwan. Gonocephalum pengi is about 6.3 to 6.7 mm long.
The three species discovered for the first time in Taiwan are Gonecephalum senkakuense, Cneocnemis angustulus, Platydema takeii, which have been previously found on the Diaoyutai Islands, in Indonesia and Japan, respectively.
In addition to identifing various beetle species, this year’s research program involves an international cooperative effort to build a digitized database of the park’s insect species. (SDH)
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