Novitates Caribaea #10

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NEW HISPANIOLA LOCALITY RECORD FOR THE ENDEMIC
BEETLE NICROPHORUS HISPANIOLA SIKES & PECK, 2000
(COLEOPTERA: SILPHIDAE: NICROPHORINAE)
Daniel E. Perez-Gelabert
Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).
Department of Entomology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, P.O. Box
37012, Washington, DC 20013-7012, USA (e-mail:
ABSTRACT
The endemic Hispaniolan beetle Nicrophorus hispaniola Sikes & Peck, 2000, is reported
from the locality of Zapotén, Sierra de Bahoruco, Dominican Republic, a national park outpost
near the border with Haiti. This species appears restricted to Sierra de Bahoruco and Sierra de
Neiba in the southwestern corner of the Dominican Republic.
Keywords: Nicrophorus hispaniola, Silphidae, Sierra de Bahoruco, conservation.
Título: Nuevo registro de localidad en la Hispaniola para el escarabajo endémico Nicrophorus
hispaniola Sikes & Peck, 2000 (Coleoptera: Silphidae: Nicrophorinae).
RESUMEN
Se reporta el escarabajo endémico de la Hispaniola Nicrophorus hispaniola Sikes & Peck,
2000, de la localidad de Zapotén, Sierra de Bahoruco, República Dominicana, una caseta de
parques cercana a la frontera con Haití. Esta especie se restringe a la Sierra de Bahoruco y Sierra
de Neiba, en la esquina suroeste de la República Dominicana.
Palabras clave: Nicrophorus hispaniola , Silphidae, Sierra de Bahoruco, conservación.
The endemic Hispaniolan burying beetle Nicrophorus hispaniola Sikes & Peck, 2000
(Figs. 1A-C) is one of the most recently described species of the carrion beetle genus Nicrophorus
Fabricius, being documented from several localities in the mountains of Sierra de Bahoruco and
Sierra de Neiba, in southwestern Dominican Republic (Sikes & Peck, 2000). Because silphid
beetles are easily attracted to carrion traps, by the end of the 19 th century nearly all known species
of Nicrophorus in the NewWorld had already been described. Thus, the finding of N. hispaniola
in an isolated region of the Dominican Republic in the 1990’s was a welcome surprise to experts
(Sikes & Peck, 2000). Silphidae are commonly associated with carrion, fungi and dung and are
useful in forensic entomology to determine post-mortem interval. These beetles are ecologically
important, because with their burial behavior of carcasses they promote recycling of this organic
material (Anderson & Peck, 1985). Members of the subfamily Nicrophorinae characteristically
have biparental care. There are 21 species of Nicrophorus in the New World, 15 from North
America north of Mexico (one also present in Mexico) and five species from Mexico southward
(Sikes & Peck, 2000). Nicrophorus hispaniola is the only species known from the West Indies.
In this note, based on one male specimen, N. hispaniola is newly reported from the locality
of Zapotén, Sierra de Bahoruco, Dominican Republic. This new site is located at about 5 kms
from the nearest previously known records. The rediscovery of this unique species provides
another opportunity to call attention to the importance of preserving the rare ecosystems in the
highlands of Sierra de Bahoruco.
NOVITATES CARIBAEA, No. 10: 92-95, 2016 92