Taophila is a genus of leaf beetles in the subfamily Eumolpinae.[1] The genus is endemic to New Caledonia.[2][3]

Taophila
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Chrysomelidae
Subfamily: Eumolpinae
Tribe: Eumolpini
Genus: Taophila
Heller, 1916
Type species
Taophila subsericea
Heller, 1916

Taxonomy

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Taophila was first established in 1916 by the Austrian entomologist Karl Borromaeus Maria Josef Heller for a single described species, Taophila subsericea. The genus remained monotypic for nearly a century, until two further species were described in 2007. In 2010, the genus was revised by G. Allan Samuelson, who added another nine species.[2]

In 2014, entomologists Jésus Gómez-Zurita and Anabela Cardoso made a morphological and molecular phylogenetic study of the genus, using the results to propose two new subgenera: Jolivetiana and Lapita.[3] The subgenus Lapita was later found to be a junior homonym of the fly genus Lapita Bickel, 2002, and moreover the group has many morphological differences to Taophila s. str., so it was renamed to Tricholapita and elevated in rank to genus in 2020.[4]

Species

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Taophila contains 21 species, which are divided into two subgenera:[2][3][5][4][6]

Species now in Tricholapita Gómez-Zurita & Cardoso, 2020 (formerly the subgenus Lapita Gómez-Zurita & Cardoso, 2014 nec Bickel, 2002[3]):[4]

  • Taophila aphrodita Gómez-Zurita, 2014[3]
  • Taophila atlantis Platania & Gómez-Zurita, 2019[5]
  • Taophila gaea Gómez-Zurita, 2014[3]
  • Taophila hermes Platania & Gómez-Zurita, 2019[5]
  • Taophila kronos Platania & Gómez-Zurita, 2019[5]
  • Taophila mars Samuelson, 2010[2]
  • Taophila oceanica Platania & Gómez-Zurita, 2019[5]
  • Taophila olympica Platania & Gómez-Zurita, 2019[5]
  • Taophila ouranos Platania & Gómez-Zurita, 2019[5]
  • Taophila riberai Platania & Gómez-Zurita, 2019[5]
  • Taophila tridentata Platania & Gómez-Zurita, 2019[5]

T. cancellata Samuelson, 2010[2] was tentatively transferred to Dematochroma in 2014,[3] then was proposed as a synonym of Dumbea striata in 2023.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b Platania, L.; Gómez-Zurita, J. (2023). "Current knowledge on the diversity of Eumolpinae (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae) in New Caledonia". ZooKeys (1177): 41–55. doi:10.3897/zookeys.1177.101293. hdl:10261/337235. PMC 10483691. PMID 37692319.
  2. ^ a b c d e Samuelson, G. A. (2010). "Review of Taophila, a genus endemic to New Caledonia (Coleoptera : Chrysomelidae : Eumolpinae)" (PDF). Zootaxa. 2621: 45–62. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.2621.1.3.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Gómez-Zurita, J.; Cardoso, A. (2014) [Published online 7 October 2013]. "Systematics of the New Caledonian endemic genus Taophila Heller (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae, Eumolpinae) combining morphological, molecular and ecological data, with description of two new species". Systematic Entomology. 39 (1): 111–126. doi:10.1111/syen.12038. S2CID 86311766.
  4. ^ a b c Gómez-Zurita, J.; Platania, L.; Cardoso, A. (2020). "A new species of the genus Tricholapita nom. nov. and stat. nov. (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae, Eumolpinae) from New Caledonia". Zootaxa. 4858 (1): 85–94. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4858.1.5. PMID 33056243. S2CID 222833055.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Platania, L.; Cardoso, A.; Gómez-Zurita, J. (2020) [Published online 8 November 2019]. "Diversity and evolution of New Caledonian endemic Taophila subgenus Lapita (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Eumolpinae)". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 189 (4): 1123–1154. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlz119.
  6. ^ a b Platania, L.; Gómez-Zurita, J. (2021). "Integrative taxonomic revision of the New Caledonian endemic genus Taophila Heller (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae, Eumolpinae)". Insect Systematics & Evolution. Advance Articles (2): 111–184. doi:10.1163/1876312X-bja10021. S2CID 240236803.
  7. ^ Gómez-Zurita, J. (2017). "Insights on the genus Acronymolpus Samuelson with new synonymies and exclusion of Stethotes Baly from the fauna of New Caledonia (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Eumolpinae)". ZooKeys (720): 65–75. doi:10.3897/zookeys.720.13582. PMC 5740434. PMID 29290725.