A Taxonomic Study On The Genus Geodromicus Of China (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Omaliinae)

Staphylinidae is one of the largest family in Coleoptera. About 36000 species of this family have been known to the world. They occupy a wide variety of habitats including fields, woods, mountains and shores. Most of them are essentially carnivorous, but some groups have become evolved as fungivorous, carpophagous, pollinophagous and so on. Some species have adapted to a parasitism of mammals. Their prosperity is inevitably causing direct interaction between them and mankind.Geodromicus is one of the largest genera of the subfamily Omaliinae in the family Staphylinidae. It was established by Redtienbacher in 1857 with the type species Staphylinus plagiatus Fabricius. Up to the present at least 124 species of the genus have been known from the Palaearctic, Oriental, Nearctic regions. There have been 9species known from China, of which 7in the Mainland, 2 in Taiwan.In China, however, taxonomic study on this genus is relatively lagged behind compared with other countries. There had been only some sporadic study on this field, but disappointedly no systematic works concerning Chinese Geodromicus. What is more, all Chinese known species were recorded or described by foreign scholars, and the type specimens were deposited overseas. For these reasons, it became indispensable for us to study Chinese Geodromicus fauna.The diversiform entironment of China engender various insect resources. Consequently, the in-depth study on this genus is significant and promising. Considering this reason, the author selected the study on this genus as the topic of his MS thesis. The study was based on consulting all related literature and careful examinations of 321 specimens collected from Xizang, Yunnan, Zhejiang, Shaanxi, Hubei, Qinghai, Shanxi, Sichuan, Jilin, Guizhou, Hebei, Inner Mongolia. Theresults of this study are summarized as follows:1. This paper was the first systematic study of the genus Geodromicus of China.2. In the present paper, 22 Chinese species of the genus were recognized, of which 13 species were described as new to science. The male and female individuals of Geodromicus formosanus and Geodromicus ohkurai were found and described for the first time.3. All involved species were described in detail, with the history review, collecting techniques, synoym and distribution of the genus given. The color photos of all involved species were provided and the diagnostic characters were illustrated. 4. The keys to the subgenera and the species of the genus were presented.5. A catalog of the genus Geodromicus of world was given.6. A database of all the known species of the genus Geodromicus in the world was established.