New Record of Sandracottus Species (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae) from Western Ghats of India
Rita Deb *
University of Madras, Chepauk, Chennai 600005, Tamil Nadu, India and Zoological Survey of India, Southern Regional Centre, Chennai 600028, Tamil Nadu, India.
K. A. Subramanian
Zoological Survey of India, Southern Regional Centre, Chennai 600028, Tamil Nadu, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The present study is based on some recent collections of 77 samples of genus Sandracottus Sharp, 1882 during the year 2019 to 2023 from various locations of Western Ghats of India. Six species of the genus Sandracottus Sharp, 1882 is reported from India with three species having distribution in the Western Ghats. The present study reports one additional species Sandracottus mixtus (Blanchard, 1843) to the Western Ghats of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu for the first time. The study also reports a new state record of Sandracottus dejeanii (Aubé, 1838) to Karnataka.
Keywords: Dytiscidae, Sandracottus, aquatic beetles, diving beetles, new record, taxonomy