Annotated checklist of the Hydrophiloidea of Switzerland (Coleoptera)

Abstract

Access to large, high-quality databases is one of the major needs in biodiversity studies. Faunistical data are essential but are often scarce and have to be compiled from various sources. On the basis of more than 30,000 occurrences obtained from specimens held in museum and private collections, as well as from literature data, we present the first updated checklist of the Swiss species of Hydrophiloidea (Georissidae, Helophoridae, Hydrochidae, Hydrophilidae, and Spercheidae) since 1900. In total, 105 species are retained as part of the Swiss fauna, while 16 species, which were recorded from Switzerland in the past, are excluded from this list, either due to insufficient documentation or because their records were based on misidentified material. Cercyon alpinus, Cercyon castaneipennis, Cercyon tatricus, Helophorus montenegrinus, Megasternum immaculatum, Pachysternum capense, and Paracymus scutellaris are recorded for the first time in Switzerland. This work is a further step towards the comprehension of the whole Swiss beetle fauna.