Silphidae (Insecta: Coleoptera) de Colombia: Diversidad y distribución (original) (raw)

2016, Boletin de la Sociedad Entomologica Aragonesa

The Silphidae, with 183 described species, is a small family in the order Coleoptera. With most of its species occurring in North America, Europe, and Asia, there is no information about this group in Colombia, with the exception of research connected with forensic entomology. In order to evaluate the taxonomic status of this family at the national level in Colombia, a total of 690 in- dividuals from 15 entomological collections were revised. Three species belonging to two genera and two subfamilies are reported: Nicrophorus didymus, Oxelytrum cayennense and O. discicolle, and new State records are listed for these species. We propose a new synonymy, of O. nairoi with O. discicolle. Direct observation identified important morphological variation discriminating species, especially within the genus Oxelytrum, justifying the need to catalogue taxon-specific characteristics in more detail for species de- termination. We include an in-depth illustrated determination key for the Silphidae of Colombia, including their distribution maps. In addition, we highlight the need to increase the sampling effort for these species in critical areas with different carrion baits of various sizes.