Patterns of endemism and richness in carabid beetles of a tropical dry forest in Mexico: thirty-nine new species for science

Carabid beetles are one of the largest and best-studied insect groups in North America. However, studies of the family Carabidae in the tropics have been relatively few. We analyzed the species richness of carabid beetles in the tropical dry forest of the Balsas Basin in Mexico based on fieldwork developed in 42 plots of 1 km2. In total, we recorded 165 carabid beetle species distributed in 57 genera, from which 39 species (24%) are new to science. Selenophorus, Lebia, and Dyscolus were the respective genera from which most of these new species will be described. We collected from 1-2 individuals of most species, although several species had more than 20 individuals per plot, such as Lebia (s.str) chalyba Bates. Due to the level of high endemism reflected in these 42 plots, we recommend further field work in the study area.