Taxonomic revision of genus Ablattaria Reitter (Coleoptera, Silphidae) employing geometric morphometrics

The genus Ablattaria Reitter, 1884 (Coleoptera: Silphidae: Silphinae) is revised. Four taxa are recognized as valid species: Ablattaria arenaria (Kraatz, 1876), A. cribrata (Ménétries, 1832), A. laevigata (Fabricius, 1775) and A. subtriangula Reitter, 1905. Ablattaria laevigata var. meridionalis Ganglbauer, 1899 is newly treated as a junior subjective synonym of A. laevigata. Lectotypes are designated for Phosphuga arenaria Kraatz, 1876, Ablattaria arenaria var. punctigera Reitter, 1884, Ablattaria arenaria var. alleoni Portevin, 1926, Silpha cribrata Ménétries, 1832, Silpha laevigata Fabricius, 1775, Silpha gibba Brullé, 1832, Ablattaria gibba var. costulata Portevin, 1926, Ablattaria gibba var. distinguenda Portevin, 1926, Ablattaria gibba var. punctata Portevin, 1926 and Ablattaria subtriangula Reitter, 1905. The distribution of all taxa is mapped, based on material examined. Geometric morphometric methods were used to evaluate shape variability in Ablattaria. Results indicated sexual dimorphism in all species. Shape inconsistency was found between the sexes of all taxa when tested independently. The first two relative warp axes indicated 65.17% shape variation in males and 65.72% in females. Canonical variate analysis separated the taxa studied. There was minimal overlap between some groups in both sexes. Differences in body shape between populations of A. laevigata from Central Europe, Italy and Greece + Turkey were also examined. Relative warps implied 58.01% shape variability on both axes in males and 64.78% in females. CVA revealed noticeable overlaps between the groups, although the Italian population demonstrated a higher separation in both sexes.

本研究对1884年Reitter建立的鞘翅目（Coleoptera）埋葬甲科（Silphidae）埋葬甲亚科（Silphinae）的Ablattaria属（Ablattaria Reitter, 1884）开展了分类修订。本次修订共确认4个有效物种：Ablattaria arenaria（Kraatz, 1876）、A. cribrata（Ménétries, 1832）、A. laevigata（Fabricius, 1775）以及A. subtriangula Reitter, 1905。其中，Ablattaria laevigata var. meridionalis Ganglbauer, 1899 被新处理为A. laevigata的主观次异名（junior subjective synonym）。研究为以下类群指定了选模标本（lectotype）：Phosphuga arenaria Kraatz, 1876、Ablattaria arenaria var. punctigera Reitter, 1884、Ablattaria arenaria var. alleoni Portevin, 1926、Silpha cribrata Ménétries, 1832、Silpha laevigata Fabricius, 1775、Silpha gibba Brullé, 1832、Ablattaria gibba var. costulata Portevin, 1926、Ablattaria gibba var. distinguenda Portevin, 1926、Ablattaria gibba var. punctata Portevin, 1926以及Ablattaria subtriangula Reitter, 1905。本研究基于检视的标本材料，对所有类群的分布范围进行了制图呈现。研究采用几何形态测量法（geometric morphometric methods）评估Ablattaria属的体形变异情况，结果显示所有物种均存在雌雄二型性（sexual dimorphism）：单独检验各类群时，均发现雌雄个体间存在显著体形差异。前两个相对扭曲轴分别解释了雄性65.17%、雌性65.72%的体形变异量。典范变量分析（canonical variate analysis, CVA）可有效区分本研究涉及的所有类群，部分类群的雌雄个体组间仅存在极小的形态重叠区域。此外，本研究还检视了中欧、意大利以及希腊+土耳其的A. laevigata种群间的体形差异：相对扭曲分析显示，雄性两轴合计解释了58.01%的体形变异，雌性则为64.78%；典范变量分析显示各类群间存在一定的重叠，但意大利种群在雌雄个体中均表现出更高的分类区分度。