FNZ 62 - Trechini (Insecta: Coleoptera: Carabidae: Trechinae) - Future studies
Townsend, JI 2010. Trechini (Insecta: Coleoptera: Carabidae: Trechinae). Fauna of New Zealand 62, 101 pages.
(
ISSN 0111-5383 (print),
ISSN 1179-7193 (online)
;
no.
62.
ISBN 978-0-478-34717-9 (print),
ISBN 978-0-478-34716-6 (online)
).
Published 16 Jun 2010
ZooBank: http://zoobank.org/References/0D2B064C-C2E0-41F8-AB9A-BEB2E4B41412
Future studies in New Zealand
This publication reflects part of almost a lifetime’s study of New Zealand Carabidae. It reveals there are still gaps in our knowledge of the Trechini because of the apparent rarity of some species. Until now I have waited for more specimens of some of the cave species to become available before describing them, but there has to be a time when a study must be finished, and as a result this has left some of the information in this publication less complete than I would have wished. For example, there is some uncertainty about Neanops pritchardi; it would have been nice to have a good male specimen of Scototrechus morti instead of having to rely on dismembered parts of long-dead specimens found on cave ledges; it would have been nice to check the shores of D’Urville Island to see if Maoritrechus rangitotoensis does occur there or rediscover it in the Hauraki Gulf; a fully chitinised specimen of Waiputrechus from Northland and an example of the opposite sex would have been great; and as for the large and difficult genus Duvaliomimus there will be new species to describe, and DNA studies may be required to unravel the complex of populations living in the Tararuas south to within the city limits of Wellington. Similar problems exist near Auckland and Dunedin, so there is more work to be done by future researchers.
Finally, a word of caution should be sounded about collecting specimens in caves. Beetles can cope with the underground habitat better than humans and collecting them is not without its exciting moments. Deuve (1993) while collecting the unique specimen of Dongodytes fowleri Deuve from a cave in China reported “ A lone individual of a blind carabid beetle was discovered running over a steep mud slope at the edge of an unexplored pitch. The acrobatics necessary to capture the fleeing beetle nearly resulted in the rapid exploration of the pitch!”