Two new species of the beetle genus Pogonoglossus from the Pilbara region of north-western Australia (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Physocrotaphini)

WA Museum Records and Supplements | Updated 8 years ago

ABSTRACT – Two new species of the carabid genus Pogonoglossus Chaudoir are described from the Pilbara region of north-western Australia: P. frater sp. nov. and P. soror sp. nov. The new species were detected in the course of a survey for subterranean organisms in mining areas and were collected by scraping the inside of drill holes in the ground. Both new species are poorly pigmented, possess rather small eyes and very elongate antennae, character states which are typically associated with subterranean or cavicolous habits. Both species, although quite differently shaped, seem to be nearest related to P. rufopiceus Baehr, recorded from a cave in the northern part of the Northern Territory. These species are included in a revised key to the Australian species of the genus Pogonoglossus.