Haliplus nitens LeConte, 1850
Disjunct crawling water beetle
Taxonomy & Nomenclature
Conservation Status
Last record: 1932 (Ashbee et al., 2017)
Distribution
Canada (& Texas?)
The distribution of this species is unclear. An extended quote from (Ashbee et al., 2017) best sums up the current state of knowledge:
"Brigham (1983) attempted to solve the mystery by closely examining all available specimens. The only specimens he did not consider to be misidentified H. canadensis specimens were the original type series from the north shore of Lake Superior, and two females from Shovel Mt., Texas. Such a broad and scattered distribution is suspect, and Brigham noted that mislabeling of the Texas specimens could not be ruled out. If the Texas specimens are valid then this suggests that either H. nitens is widely distributed, and extremely rare, or that it is extirpated from most of its range, and possibly extinct.
A series of University of Manitoba specimens determined to be H. nitens by S.O. Swadener were collected in Alklavik, NWT, Canada in 1932. This is the most recent collection record of the species, and the only one since 1913. One of these specimens is pictured here."
Biology & Ecology
Hypodigm
Media
References
Original scientific description:
LeConte, J. L. (1850). General remarks upon the Coleoptera of Lake Superior. In: Lake Superior: Its physical character, vegetation, and animals, compared with those of other and similar regions. Edited by Agassiz, L. and Cabot, J.E. Gould, Kendall, and Lincoln, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Pp. 201-242.
Other references:
Ashbee, Hailey V., Marshall, Stephen A. and Alarie, Yves. (2017). Haliplidae of Eastern Canada. Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification 32: 1-80.
Brigham, W. U. (1983). Nearctic Haliplidae (Coleoptera) VI. Haliplus nitens LeConte: designation of a Lectotype, redescription, and distribution. Coleop. Bull. 37(4): 353-361. [Abstract]
Poole, R. W., and P. Gentili (eds.). (1996). Nomina Insecta Nearctica: a checklist of the insects of North America. Volume 1 (Coleoptera, Strepsiptera). Entomological Information Services, Rockville, MD.
Roberts, C. H. (1913). Critical notes on the species of Haliplidae of America north of Mexico with descriptions of new species. Journal of the New York Entomological Society XII(2): 91-123.
https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.111645/Haliplus_nitens