Description of larvae of Mexican Calosoma Weber, 1801 species, with faunal records (coleoptera carabidae carabini)

Abstract

on the basis of the materials collected on site, the larvae of six species of Mexican Calosoma, namely Calosoma (Callitropa) porosifrons Bates, 1891, and five species of the subgenus Carabomimus Kolbe, 1895 are figured and described for the first time. Though these larvae are quite similar for most characters, some important differences can be found in the two subgenera Callitropa Motschulsky, 1865 and Carabomimus, confirming the distinctness of these taxa. Through an accurate study of the collected adult specimens and of the relevant literature, the distribution of the population afferent to each of these same species is clarified. With the occasion, the distribution of all Mexican Calosoma, is discussed, distinguishing between winged species, usually widely spread, and apterous species, linked to humid, temperate or semi-cold climates. In this context, the distribution of the subgenus Carabomimus, appears to be more sensitive to the influence of geographic barriers and the differentiation of the species was clearly helped by geographic isolation at high altitude in the volcanic massif of central Mexico.