Resumo em Inglês:

ABSTRACT The genus Curicta Stål comprises aquatic insects commonly known as water scorpions and typically occurs in habitats associated with marginal mud. It is exclusively distributed in the New World, with 17 species recorded in the Neotropical Region, including 12 in Brazil. In the state of Maranhão, only one species, Curicta montei De Carlo, has been documented to date. Thus, this study aims to explore the diversity of Curicta in the state of Maranhão. A total of 124 specimens were collected, representing three species: Curicta granulosa De Carlo, C. johnpolhemi Keffer, and C. montei. Notably, C. johnpolhemi and C. granulosa are reported here as new distribution records for the state of Maranhão. Previously described based solely on a single female, our investigation of C. johnpolhemi enabled the description of the male, providing additional taxonomic insights for the species. Photographs of one specimen from each species are provided and diagnostic features are illustrated.

Resumo em Inglês:

ABSTRACT Influence of Quaternary climate change on the potencial distribution of Atlantic Forest dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae). The role of Cenozoic paleoclimatic changes in the distribution of dung beetles species from the Atlantic Forest (AF) remains poorly understood. We used ecological niche modeling under different scenarios (present, 6 ka, 21 ka, and 120 ka) to investigate how climatic oscillations during the Quaternary might have influenced the distribution of species endemic to this region. Models were built for five of the nine dung beetle species of the Dichotomius sericeus group: D. iannuzziae, D. irinus, D. laevicollis, D. schiffleri, and D. sericeus. The models of climatic suitability for D. irinus and D. laevicollis show a similar historical pattern in response to climate change but were divergent from D. iannuzziae, D. schiffleri, and D. sericeus. Dichotomius schiffleri is the species with the smallest area of ​​potencial occurrence. Over time, the species probably remained limited to lowland AF areas on the Brazilian coast and, it is currently found preferentially in Restinga ecosystems along the coast. Regarding the potential distribution models at the present, D. iannuzziae, D. schiffleri, and D. sericeus have potential distributions similar to their realized distribution. This study shows that the historical distribution of the D. sericeus species group has been influenced by paleoclimatic changes that occurred in the AF over the last 120 ka.