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94

NOVITATES CARIBAEA

, No. 10, 2016

Measurements

. Body length: 21.0 mm, maximum body width: 7.5 mm, pronotum width:

6.0 mm.

Comments

. Previous collections of

N

.

hispaniola

were made between late June and early

December. The new specimen was collected in September, so it falls near the middle of

these dates. This species has been taken both from carrion traps and at black lights between

730-1930 m above sea level. The present specimen collection at 1540 m falls near the midpoint

of these elevations. The forest at Zapotén is dominated by mountain pine (

Pinus occidentalis

)

mixed with a variety of broadleaf vegetation. In contrast with the continental species of the

genus which have large distributions,

N. hispaniola

appears to have the smallest distribution

range of any New World species (Fig. 2), being restricted to the southwestern corner of the

Dominican Republic, a region less than 100 km

2

(Sikes & Peck, 2000). This border region of

Haiti and the Dominican Republic is a troubled habitat insufficiently protected even if located

in a remote montane area and within a national park. This area of unique biodiversity must be

saved from the ravages of poverty and indiscriminate exploitation by the producers of charcoal

and squatting peasants that damage these forests. The Enriquillo-Bahoruco-Jaragua biosphere

reserve, which includes this national park and two other adjacent parks, has been recognized as a

region containing a very important representation of the biodiversity in the Dominican Republic,

including a large number of threatened endemic species (León

et al

., 2011). This unique beetle

is a rare species potentially threatened with extinction. As commented by its describers, such

species possessing unique morphological characteristics are very important for phylogenetic

studies (e.g., Sikes & Venables, 2013) to better understand the evolution of the whole group.

The divergence data analysis of Sikes & Venables (2013) estimated that the speciation event

that resulted in

N. hispaniola

splitting from its sister species

N. pustulatus

occurred between

35-15 million years ago. It would be interesting to investigate whether

N. hispaniola

is also

a parasitoid of snake eggs as it has been documented for

N. pustulatus

(Smith

et al

., 2007).

The conservation status of

N. hispaniola

should be further investigated and its conservation

should become a priority in the park management plans.

Figure 2. Map of Hispaniola showing the approximate distribution of localities at which

Nicrophorus hispaniola

has been collected.