A Taxonomic Study On The Genus Philonthus (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Staphylininae) From Zhejiang, Hainan And Guizhou Provinces Of China

Philonthus is the largest genus of the sub-tribe Philonthina in the tribe Staphylinini, which belongs to subfamily Staphylininae of the family Staphylinidae. They prey on larvae of Diptera and small animals, and often live in damp places, such as fallen leaves, animal dung, under debris and mosses etc. The species of Philonthus are closely related to human life, and are very important natural resources.Philonthus was established by Stephen in 1829. The type species is Staphylinus splendens Fabricius (1793). Up to now,1269 species of the genus have been known in the world. They are widely distributed in all animal faunae of the world. In China,100 species of the genus have been known, of which only 6 species are recorded in Zhejiang, Hainan, and Guizhou Provinces.As China is situated from Palaearctic to Oriental Regions, the resources of Philonthus are rather abundant. However, species of many areas in China have not been collected and researched systematically. Additionally, the studied species were described by majority of foreign scholars but minority of domestic scholars. So it is urgent for us Chinese to study Chinese Philonthus fauna.This systematically study was based on the examinations of about 300 specimen which were collected from lots of places in Zhejiang, Hainan and Guizhou Provinces, such as Mt. Longwang, Mt. Tianmu, Mt. Qingliang, Mt. Tiantong, Mt. Baishanzu, Mt. Jianfengling, Mt. Bawang, Mt. Diaoluo, Mt. Leigong, Mayang River, Mt. Fanjing and so on. The results of my research can be summarized as follows:1. This paper was the first study on the species of Philonthus from Zhejiang, Hainan and Guizhou Provinces of China.2. In this paper,23 species of the genus in these three provinces were recognized, of which 14 species were diagnosed as new to science and 1 new to China.3. All the species were described in detail and their main diagnostic characters were illustrated. The plates of each species were also provided. The historic review, collecting methods and main diagnostic characters of the genus were discussed.4. The key to the species of Philonthus from Zhejiang, Hainan and Guizhou Provinces was presented.5. A catalog of the genus Philonthus of Oriental Region was given.6. A database including all the studied species of the genus Philonthus all over the world was delicately built.