Description of the larva of Canthyporus kenyensis Bilardo & Sanfilippo (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae: Hydroporinae) with implication for the phylogeny of the Hydroporini

Abstract

Three instars of Canthyporus kenyensis Bilardo & Sanfilippo, 1979 are described. Larvae of C. kenyensis differ from other known larvae of the subfamily Hydroporinae in having the primary procoxal seta CO7 articulated distally. A parsimony analysis of selected taxa of Hydroporinae based on 19 informative larval characters was conducted using the program PAUP∗. The six most parsimonious trees support a placement of Canthyporus Zimmermann outside the tribe Hydroporini based on the fully sclerotised abdominal segment 6 and the absence of the primary seta UR8.

Keywords:

• Coleoptera
• Dytiscidae
• Canthyporus
• larvae
• description
• phylogenetic relationships

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Dr. M.A. Jäch (Vienna, Austria) who kindly provided the larvae of C. kenyensis for this study and to Dr. O. Biström (Helsinki, Finland) who identified adults of C. kenyensis collected with the larvae. Special thanks to Dr. O. Biström and Dr. A. N. Nilsson (Umeå, Sweden) for giving us access to their unpublished revision of the genus Canthyporus. Financial support was provided by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada in the form of an operating research grant to Y. Alarie.