Urban taxonomy: a new beetle genus from an Asian mega-city underpins limited knowledge of the "new wilderness": computer scripts, tree files, datasets, open data.

Abstract. Urban ecology is a rapidly expanding discipline depicting cities as dynamic ecosystems thatfoster new ecological interactions between organisms. This study highlights the pivotal role ofbiodiversity research in urban landscapes, advancing urban ecology and spurring the emergenceof “urban taxonomy” – the discovery of new species in urban ecosystems. We describePunctaltica gen. nov., a remarkable new moss-inhabiting flea beetle (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae:Galerucinae) genus discovered from anthropogenic microhabitats in Shenzhen (China) city parks.Two species (P. shenzhenensis sp. nov. and P. montana sp. nov.) are reported, along withPunctaltica’s phylogenetic placement via multilocus molecular analysis. The lifecycle of P.shenzhenensis is documented via field and lab studies, detailing each developmental stage. Fieldsurveys show that moisture and seasons strongly affect the abundance of its population. Dryconditions (also features unusually large eggs, reaching up to 61% of adult size, and rare larval developmentthat is reduced to two instars. Upon examining the literature of new species discoveries fromurban areas, we underscore the significance of urban ecosystem research. Additionally, wediscuss urban taxonomy’s implications for future city development and park planning andmanagement. We advise preserving sizeable urban forest areas, even as parks, and minimizingartificial maintenance like chemicals, leaf removal, and plowing. This folder contains data from our study.