Research ArticleOpen Access

Description of a New Species, Platynectes Sahyadriensis (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae), Predatory to Aedes Albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) from the Foothills of Western Ghats, Kerala, India

Volume 2 - Issue 3

**Adil Bashir¹*, N Pradeep Kumar¹ and Anisa B Khan²**

Author Information Open or Close
- ¹Vector Control Research Centre Field Station (ICMR), Kottayam, India
- ²Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Pondicherry University, India
*Corresponding author: Adil Bashir, Vector Control Research Centre Field Station (ICMR), Kottayam, India

Received: February 02, 2018; Published: February 16, 2018

DOI: 10.26717/BJSTR.2018.02.000767

Full Text PDF

To view the Full Article Peer-reviewed Article PDF

Abstract

We describe a new species of Dytiscidae beetle belonging to the Genus Platynectes from the mid high land region of Kerala, on the foothills Western Ghats, India. Western Ghats is the second largest mountainous belt in India on the western side of the Deccan Plateau and is described as one of the eight “Hottest bio-diversities in the world”. About 80.0 % of rubber crop in the Country is cultivated in the mid high land region of Western Ghats in Kerala and its plantations had been recorded to be the important breeding grounds of Aedes Albopictus vector species. The new Dytiscid species has been reported to be an efficient natural predator of Ae. albopictus immature in their key breeding habitats. Morphological characters of both male and female specimens of the beetle are described. Its morphologic characteristics precisely matched with the genus Platynectes. The specimens were taxonomically characterized to be a new species under the genus Platynectes by the Natural History Museum, London (NHM). Voucher specimens of the species are deposited with the museum of NHM, London and the Vector Control Research Centre (ICMR), Puducherry, India. Since the holotype of the species had been recorded from Western Ghats region of Kerala state (“Sahyadri” in vernacular name), India, we name the new species reported as “Platynectes sahyadriensis”.

Keywords: Platynectes; New species; Rubber plantation; Western Ghats; India

Abbreviations: NHM: Natural History Museum; UNESCO: United Nations Educational scientific and Cultural Organisation; FLCCs: Fixed Latex Collection Containers; DLCCs: Discarded Latex Collection Containers; LAS: Leica Application Suite