terrestrial

New Caledonia’s enigmatic terrestrial diving beetle Typhlodessus monteithi is a derived species of Paroster

The classification of highly adapted species in well-studied clades may be obscured by convergent character evolution. This is for example the case in aquatic lineages adapted to subterranean (and shallow subterranean) habitats, in which species usually possess reduced eyes and wings as well as translucent cuticles. In 1985, the terrestrial diving beetle genus and species Typhlodessus monteithi Brancucci (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae) was described from a shallow subterranean habitat in New Caledonia...