Habitat distribution of carabid beetles in Tierra del Fuego, South America

Abstract

Carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) were collected along the principal phytogeographic gradient, from the semiarid steppe in the northeast to the evergreen rain forests in the southwest, in Tierra del Fuego and southern Patagonia, South America. Altogether 2143 carabids belonging to 28 taxa were found. The three most abundant species were Migaclops latus (30%), Abropus carnifex (19%) and Cascellius gravesii (14%). The phytogeographical gradient was divided into five habitat types, ranging from steppe and woodlancl to evergreen forests. The abundances of the dominant carabid species varied among the habitat types. Metius species were most numerous in the steppe and open woodland, and Trechisibus spp. and M. latus in Nothofagus beech forests. A. carnifex Antarctonomus complanatus, Antarctonomus complanatus and Ceroglossus suturalis were associated with evergreen forests. C. gravesii was fairly evenly distributed among the forests, but was not found in the steppe. A historical overview of entomological research in Tiena del Fuego is presented and the transatlantic and bipolar distribution ofthe Fuegian carabid fauna is discussed.