| Othius is the largest genus in the tribe Othiini, which belongs tosubfamily Staphylininae of the family Staphylinidae. They often live indamp places, such as fallen leaves, under debris and mosses etc. Thespecies of Othius are closely related to human life, and are veryimportant natural resources.Othius was established by Stephen in1829. The type species isStaphylinus punctulatus Goeze. Up to now,121species of the genushave been known in the world. They are widely distributed in thepalearctic region and the oriental region. In China,47species of thegenus have been known, of which34species are recorded in mainlandChina and14species in Taiwan, and with one species distributed ineither.As China is situated from Palearctic to Oriental Regions, theresources of Othius are rather abundant. However, species of manyareas in China have not been collected and researched systematically.Additionally, most known species were described by foreign scholars.So it is urgent for us to study Chinese Othius fauna. This systematic studywas based on the examinations of about74specimens which werecollected from Shanghai, Zhejiang, Sichuan, Shanxi, Hunan, Hubei,Ningxia, Heilongjiang, Guizhou, Fujian, Guangxi, Jiangxi and so on. Thispaper was the first taxonomical study on the species of Othius of China.The results can be summarized as follows:1.This thesis was the first systematic study on the species of Othiusfrom China.2.In this paper,19species of Othius in China were recognized, ofwhich3species were new to science and1new to China.3.All the species were described in detail and their main diagnosticcharacters were illustrated. The habitus of each species were also provided. The historic review, collecting methods and main diagnosticcharacters of the genus were discussed.4.The key to the species of Othius of China was provided.5.A catalog of the genus Othius of the world was given.6.A generic database including all the known species of the worldwas delicately built. |
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