OCCASIONAL PAPERS OF THE FSCA

The Occasional Papers of the Florida State Collection of Arthropods (FSCA) is an irregular series of larger works published by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services – Division of Plant Industry (FDACS-DPI). The series focuses on non-marine arthropods covering topics such as systematic revisions, taxonomy, nomenclature, faunal works, natural history, catalogues, checklists, etc. Typically, these are works resulting from use of museum specimens. The original PDF of the work is posted in a free openly accessible manner on this page and by the Center for Systematic Entomology (CSE) on the date of release. Printed copies are exchanged with collaborating libraries.

A purpose of the Occasional Papers series is to highlight research by the staff and Research Associates of the Florida State Collection of Arthropods with museum-based products of interest to the community at large.

To download digital copies of The Occasional Papers, please click on the title of the paper below.

The Elateridae of the southeastern United States (AL, FL, GA, MS, NC, SC, TN) are reviewed, covering 286 species. Keys to genera and species are provided. Individual species accounts include updated taxonomies, diagnostic morphological features, geographical distribution data by county, temporal data, color habitus photographs, and other notes for most species. Questionable species recorded from the Southeast are discussed. A few new taxonomic names originally proposed in dissertations are here validated with appropriate authors given credit.

The bark beetle fauna (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) of the West Indies is reviewed. Keys to the subfamilies, tribes, genera and species of the West Indies are presented. Three hundred and eighty-six species in 74 genera are included. One-hundred-ninety-five new species and nine new genera in 12 tribes are described. New generic and specific synonyms, new combinations, removals from synonymies, and a replacement name are proposed.

The genus Phidippus is reviewed. It consists of 60 species which are naturally distributed in continental North America from Alaska to Costa Rica, the Bahamas, Bermuda, and the Greater Antilles. Two species have been introduced outside their natural ranges, P. audax into Nicobar, Hawaii, and southern California, and P. regius into Easter Island. Twenty-three new species are described and many nomenclatural changes (nomena nova, a nomen oblitum, nomena dubia, and synonyms) are proposed.

The genus Selonodon Latreille is revised, with a key to males and descriptions provided for 25 species. Nomenclatural history of the name Selonodon is reviewed. Cebrionid biology is discussed, including geographic distribution and phenology of selected Selonodon species. For the genus, synonymies, adult diagnosis, and adult description are included, along with discussion of species’ diagnostic characters. At the species level, synonymies, type material, adult male diagnosis, adult description, geographic distribution, activity period, and material examined are given. Seventeen new species are described.

Potential authors are required to contact the Editorial Committee prior to submission to discuss details of manuscript preparation and funding of the publication. Works considered should be over 50 finished pages. General preparation guidelines and author instructions will follow those of the journal Insecta Mundi. Submissions must be peer reviewed prior to final submission by at least two qualified reviewers, and those reviews will be submitted for consideration by the Editorial Committee.

Editor: Paul E. Skelley ([email protected])

Editorial Committee: Gary Steck ([email protected]), Felipe Soto-Adames ([email protected]), Kyle E. Schnepp ([email protected])

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