Contribution to the knowledge of the beetle fauna (Insecta, Coleoptera) of Malta: new records of seven species with supporting DNA barcodes

Abstract

We report the presence of seven species of Coleoptera newly found on the Maltese Islands in the central Mediterranean. The first species records from the Maltese Islands include: Ancylopus melanocephalus (Olivier, 1808) (Endomychidae), Aplidia transversa (Fabricius, 1801) (Scarabaeidae), Cercyon quisquilius (Linnaeus, 1761) (Hydrophilidae), Hyperaspis duvergeri Fürsch, 1985 (Coccinellidae), Lebia cruxminor (Linnaeus, 1758) (Carabidae), Smicronyx pauperculus Wollaston, 1864 (Curculionidae), and Oxytelus sculptus Gravenhorst, 1806 (Staphylinidae). The morphological identification of each newly reported species was also confirmed through DNA barcoding.

Keywords

• Carabidae
• Coccinellidae
• Curculionoidea
• Endomych