The First New Species of Leptelmis Sharp, 1888 (Coleoptera, Elmidae) from the Philippines in the Last 50 Years

• Main Authors: Vera, Gavin Christian M, Sia, Johann Isaac L., Freitag, Hendrik, Delocado, Emmanuel D
• Format: text
• Published: Archīum Ateneo 2023
• Subjects: aquatic beetles; integrative taxonomy; new species; Philippine biodiversity; riffle beetles; Biology; Entomology; Life Sciences
• Online Access: https://archium.ateneo.edu/biology-faculty-pubs/142; https://doi.org/10.1163/22119434-bja10028
• Institution: Ateneo De Manila University

This paper describes Leptelmis kodadai sp. n., the first species of Leptelmis discovered from the Philippines in the last 50 years. Previously, Leptelmis Sharp, 1888 was represented in the Philippines with only one species, namely L. tawitawiensis Deleve, 1973 documented from Tawi-Tawi, the southwestern tip of the country. Due to habitus and genital differences with L. tawitawiensis, L. kodadai sp. n. collected from Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, and Bukidnon from the island of Mindanao was deemed new to science. Additionally, using the generated COI-3' gene sequences, the intraspecific distance of the L. kodadai sp. n. specimens was determined to be 0.72%. This paper generates the first barcodes of Philippine Leptelmis and provides an updated checklist for Southeast Asian species.