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Corresponding author: Tukazban Iskandarova ( tukazban.iskandarova.1@iliauni.edu.ge ) Academic editor: Mark Kalashian
© 2024 Tukazban Iskandarova, Shota Japarashvili, Natalia Bulbulashvili, Armen Seropian.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Iskandarova T, Japarashvili S, Bulbulashvili N, Seropian A (2024) The first record of Ripiphoridae (Coleoptera, Cucujiformia, Tenebrionoidea) family in Georgia. Caucasiana 3: 19-23. https://doi.org/10.3897/caucasiana.3.e115578
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The Ripiphoridae family is reported from Georgia for the first time, based on the collected specimens of Macrosiagon bimaculata (Fabricius, 1787), Ptilophorus dufouri (Latreille, 1817), and Ripiphorus subdipterus (Bosc d'Antic, 1792). Collection data, along with photographs of the preserved specimens, are provided.
Caucasus, new records, Polyphaga, wedge-shaped beetles
The wedge-shaped beetles (Ripiphoridae) have long attracted the attention of entomologists due to the uniqueness of their ecology, which sets them apart from all the Coleoptera, as they are the only among them known for endoparasites that develop, at least partially, in the bodies of other animals. Members of the family differ in their host preferences. The larvae of Ripiphorinae species typically target various species of aculeate Hymenoptera, while some species of Ripidiinae attack cockroach nymphs, and Pelecotominae species target beetles' larvae. The developmental cycle is inadequately studied, known for only a few species, and is characterized by hypermetamorphic larvae, a characteristic shared with blister beetles (Meloidae) (Heitmans et al. 1994).
This small family includes 38 genera comprised in six subfamilies with about 400 species distributed worldwide (
The material for the present study was collected in 2021-2023, during individual forays to Gori and the vicinity of Tbilisi, organized within the Caucasus Barcode of Life (CaBOL - https://ggbc.eu/). The specimens were collected by hand, during the day from the stems of the weathered plants, then preserved in 96% ethanol and deposited in the collection of ISU for further genetic studies. For identification, the keys by
Subfamily Ripiphorinae, Gemminger 1870
Genus Macrosiagon Hentz, 1830
GEORGIA – Shida Karlti region • 3♀♀; Gori; 41.9811°N, 44.0921°E; 586 m a.s.l.; steppe, Eryngium sp.; leg. Bulbulashvili N.; 6 Aug 2022; CaBOL-IDs: 1027991, 1027992, 1027993 (Fig.
The sampling data of Georgian specimens corresponds to that of
A Western Palaearctic species known from North Africa, the Iberian Peninsula, France, Italy, Hungary, Bulgaria, Poland, Montenegro, Israel, Russia, the Caucasus (but not from Georgia), Kazakhstan, Iran (as “Persia”), and Turkestan. From the neighboring territories, M. bimaculata is recorded in Armenia, Turkey, and Ukraine (Crimea) (
Ripiphorus subdipterus Bosc d'Antic, 1792
GEORGIA – Tbilisi • 1♂; Dighomi Vill.; 41.7799°N, 44.7092°E; 657 m a.s.l.; Paliurus spina-christi dominated shrubland, dried Achillea sp.; leg. Bulbulashvili N., Seropian A.; 24 Jul. 2021; CaBOL-ID: 1011779 (Fig.
According to
A Western Palaearctic species, known from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, France, Italy, the Iberian Peninsula, Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Crete, Cyprus, Montenegro, North Africa, and Israel. From the neighboring territories, R. subdipterus is recorded in Armenia and Azerbaijan (
Genus Ptilophorus Dejean, 1834
GEORGIA – Tbilisi • 2♀♀; Dighomi Vill.; 41.7781°N, 44.7003°E; 476 m a.s.l.; Paliurus spina-christi dominated shrubland, twigs; leg. Bulbulashvili N., Seropian A.; 27 Apr 2023; CaBOL-IDs: 1035452 (Fig.
Unlike most wedge-shaped beetles, the adults of Ptilophorus have mouthparts adapted to feeding on liquid food, although the feeding behavior has never been observed (
A Western Palaearctic species, known from North Africa, the Iberian Peninsula, France, Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Israel, Iran, and the Caucasus (but Georgia). From the neighboring territories, P. dufouri is recorded in Armenia, Turkey, and Ukraine (Crimea) (
According to
We would like to thank the anonymous reviewers and the Caucasiana editorial team for their help in shaping the manuscript. The authors are solely responsible for the content of this publication.
The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
No ethical statement was reported.
The study was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research under grant number 01DK20014A.
TI and SJ led the writing, AS and NB performed specimen collecting, AS prepared photos.
Tukazban Iskandarova https://orcid.org/0009-0009-6144-3511
Shota Japarashvili https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9674-3719
Armen Seropian https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3777-9954
All of the data that support the findings of this study are available in the main text or Supplementary Information.