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Shell-breaking predation on gastropods by Badister pictus (Coleoptera, Carabidae) with strikingly asymmetric mandibles.

ABSTRACT: The adults and larvae of some groups in the coleopteran family Carabidae are known to prey on snails (Mollusca: Gastropoda). Most species of the carabid tribe Licinini are believed to feed on live snails. However, the snail-eating behavior of only a few species has been studied. Whether adults of the licinine genus Badister can prey on live snails was tested by providing 155 live snails of 20 species (eleven terrestrial and nine aquatic species) to adults of Badister pictus Bates, 1873, and observing their behavior under laboratory conditions. Six of the 20 snail species have an operculum that can close the aperture of the shell. Each B. pictus adult attacked all of the snails provided. Badister pictus successfully preyed on ten terrestrial and six aquatic snail species. These beetles used their strikingly asymmetrical mandibles to break the dextral shells along the dorsal part of the whorls from the outer lip of the aperture towards the apex, allowing subsequent consumption of the soft bodies. However, 41.9% of snails could not be eaten by B. pictus adults. The rate of predation success by B. pictus decreased with increasing shell size and thickness of snails. In addition, the presence of an operculum decreased the rate of predation success by B. pictus. The results show that the shell size, thickness, and operculum of some snail species could play important roles in preventing B. pictus mandibles from breaking the shells. Therefore, Badister beetles may exert selective pressure on the evolution of defensive shell structures in small-sized snails.

SUBMITTER: Hayashi M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8222264 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BackgroundThe Alpine region harbours one of the most diverse subterranean faunas in the world, with many species showing extreme morphological modifications. The ground beetles of tribe Trechini (Coleoptera, Carabidae) are among the best studied and widespread groups with abundance of troglobionts, but their origin and evolution is largely unknown.ResultsWe sequenced 3.4 Kb of mitochondrial (cox1, rrnL, trnL, nad1) and nuclear (SSU, LSU) genes of 207 specimens of 173 mostly Alpine species, including examples of all subterranean genera but two plus a representation of epigean taxa. We applied Bayesian methods and maximum likelihood to reconstruct the topology and to estimate divergence times using a priori rates obtained for a related ground beetle genus. We found three main clades of late Eocene-early Oligocene origin: (1) the genus Doderotrechus and relatives; (2) the genus Trechus sensu lato, with most anisotopic subterranean genera, including the Pyrenean lineage and taxa from the Dinaric Alps; and (3) the genus Duvalius sensu lato, diversifying during the late Miocene and including all subterranean isotopic taxa. Most of the subterranean genera had an independent origin and were related to epigean taxa of the same geographical area, but there were three large monophyletic clades of exclusively subterranean species: the Pyrenean lineage, a lineage including subterranean taxa from the eastern Alps and the Dinarides, and the genus Anophthalmus from the northeastern Alps. Many lineages have developed similar phenotypes independently, showing extensive morphological convergence or parallelism.ConclusionsThe Alpine Trechini do not form a homogeneous fauna, in contrast with the Pyrenees, and show a complex scenario of multiple colonisations of the subterranean environment at different geological periods and through different processes. Examples go from populations of an epigean widespread species going underground with little morphological modifications to ancient, geographically widespread lineages of exclusively subterranean species likely to have diversified once fully adapted to the subterranean environment.

Project description:Background:The carabid beetle species Pterostichus oblongopunctatus is common in different types of forests in Poland and Europe. With respect to this species, some unclarities exist concerning the morphological feature of punctures on the elytra. P. oblongopunctatus has dorsal pits in the third interval of the elytra, the available identification keys, however, provide inconsistent information concerning the puncture in other intervals. During long-term studies at different study sites in Poland, the first author rarely but regularly discovered individuals with unusual dorsal puncture patterns, i.e., pits in the fifth and even in the seventh interval of the elytra. Since such rare patterns might be connected with special habitat characteristics, and thus have a potential as an indicator, the aim of the study was to test if they are connected with specific subpopulations (interaction groups), if they are related to the sex or size of the beetles, and if they are related to specific habitat conditions. Material and Methods:We counted the pits on the elytra, determined the sex, and measured the length of the right elytron of individuals of P. oblongopunctatus collected at numerous study sites located within the borders of the Regional Directory of National Forests in Pi?a (Western Poland) over the period 2014-2016. Results:Altogether, 1,058 individuals of P. oblongopunctatus were subjected to statistical analysis. Almost 19% of the individuals had a dorsal puncture in the fifth interval of the elytra and about 0.7% had a dorsal puncture in the seventh interval of the elytra. In 2014 and 2015, significantly more females exhibited such unusual patterns of dorsal puncture than males. Even if not statistically significant, in 2016 also relatively more females showed such a pattern. Neither males nor females of the analysed individuals with usual puncture patterns showed a significant difference in the length of the right elytron from those with unusual puncture patterns, and neither for males nor for females a significant correlation of the percentage share of the individuals with unusual puncture patterns with the age of the study sites could be detected. However, both males and females with unusual patterns had more dorsal pits than those without. Moreover, males as well as females showed in all those years a trend that the individuals with unusual patterns have more pits in the third interval of the elytra. Discussion:The results indicate that females are more likely to exhibit unusual patterns. Since individuals of P. oblongopunctatus with a higher number of pits on the elytra are supposed to prevail in more wet habitats, such patterns might be related to moisture conditions. The possibility of pits in the seventh interval of the elytra should be added to identification keys.

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Shell-breaking predation on gastropods by Badister pictus (Coleoptera, Carabidae) with strikingly asymmetric mandibles.

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