Incorporating Carabus Accessions at the NHMBeulah Garner

Division of Terrestrial Invertebrates. Natural History Museum, London

A Jolly Good Morning From Her Majesty!

History of Carabus• Linnaeus in 1758; 31 species!

• Today we have c. 850 known species but if you include infra-sub-specific species there is c. 2000!

• Latreille in 1802 and Bonelli in 1801.

• Sub-generic classification , mainly described by Gehin, 1876; Morawitz, 1886; and Sendlitz, 1887.

Sense or non-sense of the Carabus!:• Reitter (1896) produced a complete key to the Palaearctic subgenera and species.• Semenov (1896, 98) described the subgenera from Central and Eastern Asia using zoogeographical criteria

as well as morphology. • Lapouge (1905,08) attempted to use larval characters for the first time; ‘Genera Insectorum’ (1929-32)• Breuning (1932-1937) published the ‘Monographie der Gattung Carabus’ • Jeannel (1941, 42) followed Lapouge and was a generally well received classification• Ishikawa (1973) endophallus was used as the primary character for a new classification

The current literature used in this recuration project is:

• Carabus, A synthesis. Turin et al (2003)• World list and distributions. Brezina (1994,99)• Deuve (1991,94, 97, 2004, 07) in all his permutations of Carabus!

The hierarchical levels within the Carabus continue to be disputed.

ACCESSIONS

Assessment of accession material

Criteria• Named specimens (require verification)• Unnamed specimens• MS names / untraceable names / unreadable

names • Synonymy• Specimens without BM numbers but with some

labelling; BM number inferred from another specimen

• Specimens with no data

Accessions Database

Database and movement of specimens

• Ignore the database!

• Update the database!

• Subgenera• Infra–sub-

species• Spelling

mistakes!

Carabus (Morphocarabus) cancellatus infrasubspecies pseudotuberculatus . According to Deuve 2004: Carabus (Tachypus) cancellatus Subsp. tuberculatus ssp. pseudotuberculatus Lapouge, 1902

The Mihi-itch and the Great Syners!

OutcomesAccessions drawers111 species (of which two are

synonyms)8 new ‘species’ to the collectionGowing –Scopes Collection304 species (of which78 are

synonyms)84 new ‘species’ to the collection8 paratypes!Cardiou Collection66 species (of which 7 are synonyms)15 new ‘species’ to the collection

Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge my volunteers Alex Greenslade and Emma

Hughes for their assistance in this project and to thank the Department of Entomology at the NHM for funding my attendance at this conference.

Emma ‘beetle outreaching’!Alex mounting wet specimens