image: This is a drawing of Calathus carballalae, one of the new species found in Ethiopia. view more
Credit: ESA
There are more than 150 species of beetles in the genus Calathus, 17 of which have only been found in the mountains of the Ethiopian Highlands. Now scientists have found two new ones — Calathus juan and Calathus carballalae — and have described them in Annals of the Entomological Society of America.
C. juan is named for Juan Novoa, the son of one of the authors, in recognition of his help on various beetle-collecting expeditions. Adults are black and shiny, and are 9.5-11.5 millimeters long. It was found under stones at the base of giant, tree-like plants called lobelias (Lobelia rhynchopetalum) at almost 3,600 meters above sea level.
C. carballalae is named for Regina Carballal, the wife of the first author, also for collaboration on Coleoptera-collecting expeditions. It was found under stones on barren soil nearly 4,150 meters above sea level.
The full article is available at http://tinyurl.com/q87leyt
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1603/AN14022
Annals of the Entomological Society of America is published by the Entomological Society of America, the largest organization in the world serving the professional and scientific needs of entomologists and people in related disciplines. Founded in 1889, ESA today has nearly 7,000 members affiliated with educational institutions, health agencies, private industry, and government. Members are researchers, teachers, extension service personnel, administrators, marketing representatives, research technicians, consultants, students, and hobbyists. For more information, visit http://www.entsoc.org.
Journal
Annals of the Entomological Society of America