Four new Palaearctic Brassicogethes (Coleoptera, Nitidulidae, Meligethinae), and phylogenetic inference on the B. coracinus group

Combined morphological and ecological data, together with molecular evidence from a companion paper, are presented to clarify the taxonomic position of four problematic species, members of the Brassicogethes coracinus group, from north-western Spain, eastern Turkey, and Tajikistan (Coleoptera, Nitidulidae, Meligethinae). This species-group was represented by a dozen anthophagous species associated with Brassicaceae, and distributed from North Africa to Middle Asia and southern Siberia. The analysis was mainly focused on the specific distinction and formal description of two new species from E Turkey, B. gloriae sp. nov., and B. coracimimus sp. nov., one species from Tajikistan, B. capannai sp. nov., and one additional new species, B. cantabricus sp. nov., from Cantabrian Mts in NW Spain. B. gloriae sp. nov., strictly associated with Neotchihatchewia isatidea (Boissier) Rauschert (Brassicaceae, Lunarieae), is morphologically related to but molecularly distinct from the rare and sympatric B. longulus (Schilsky, 1894). B. coracimimus sp. nov., whose larval host-plant is unknown, is morphologically and molecularly related to the amply sympatric and common B. coracinus (Sturm, 1845). B. cantabricus sp. nov., strictly associated with Sisymbrium irio L. (Brassicaceae, Sisymbrieae), is morphologically related to but molecularly markedly distinct from the parapatric B. subaeneus (Sturm, 1845). B. capannai sp. nov., whose larval host-plant is unknown, is morphologically related to the rare and allopatric B. longulus (Schilsky, 1894). A short discussion of the state of art of the taxonomy and phylogeny of members of the B. coracinus group, a key to the identification of the 16 known species, and an updated synoptic table including larval host-plant relationship and geographical distribution of each included species, are finally provided. © Springer-Verlag 2011.