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Cave Biology Data Portal
Subterranean biodiversity of North America and around the globe
AnimaliaArthropodaHexapodaInsectaColeopteraLeiodidaePtomaphagus

Ptomaphagus barri Peck, 1973

Taxonomy

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Subphylum Hexapoda
Class Insecta
Order Coleoptera
Family Leiodidae
Genus Ptomaphagus
Species Ptomaphagus barri Peck, 1973

Description

Diagnostic characters

Ecological class
Troglobiont
Realm
Terrestrial
Troglomorphy
Troglomorphic

Distribution

Type locality

Henpeck Mill Cave, Cannon Co. TN

Range

Known from one county in Tennessee in the Interior Low Plateau karst region.

Continent

North America

Country

United States

States and provinces

Tennessee

Counties

Tennessee
Cannon

Karst regions

Interior Low Plateau

Genetics

Molecular resources

MarkerMoleculeSequences LengthExemplar
16S mitochondrial 4 1073-1073 bp KT167399.1
COI mitochondrial 4 860-860 bp KT167447.1
cytb mitochondrial 4 357-357 bp KT167495.1

12 sequences, retrieved 23 August 2026. Counts change as sequences are deposited. Search GenBank.

Download all 12 sequence records (CSV) Accession, marker, molecule type, length, GenBank definition and a direct link.

Specimens

Type material

Holotype
31887 · Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard
Paratype
547935 · Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard

Collections holding material

InstitutionLots
Museu de Ciencies Naturals de Barcelona 3
Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard 2

5 cataloged lots in 2 collections. Compiled from GBIF and not an exhaustive census: many collections are not yet digitised, and holdings are added continually. Search GBIF for specimen records.

Download all 5 specimen records (CSV) Institution, catalog number, type status and preparation. No coordinates.

Conservation and management

NatureServe

G2G3 Imperiled to Vulnerable

G1G2▲G3▲G4G5

Global rank last reviewed 2002.

Subnational ranks

Tennessee
S1S2 Critically Imperiled to Imperiled

State and federal status

Not listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

Other resources

Catalogue of Life
78M2B
GBIF
9384324
ITIS
933737
iNaturalist
236853
NCBI Taxonomy
1837179

References

  • Leray, V.L., Caravas, J., Friedrich, M. & Zigler, K.S. 2019. Mitochondrial sequence data indicate "vicariance by erosion" as a mechanism of species diversification in North American Ptomaphagus (Coleoptera, Leiodidae, Cholevinae) cave beetles. Subterranean Biology 29: 35–57.
  • Niemiller, M.L. & Zigler, K.S. 2013. Patterns of cave biodiversity and endemism in the Appalachians and Interior Plateau of Tennessee, USA. PLOS One 8: e64177. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0064177
  • Peck, S.B. 1973a. A systematic revision and the evolutionary biology of the Ptomaphagus (Adelops) beetles of North America (Coleoptera; Leiodidae; Catopinae), with emphasis on cave-inhabiting species. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 145: 29–162. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/4336298. details
  • Peck, S.B. 1982. New records of poorly known Ptomaphagus from Texas and the Ozarks (Coleoptera: Leiodidae: Cholevinae). The Coleopterists Bulletin 36: 109–111. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4007983. details
  • Peck, S.B. & Newton, A.F. 2017. An annotated catalog of the Leiodidae (Coleoptera) of the Nearctis Region (continental North America north of Mexico). The Coleopterists Bulletin 71: 211–258. doi:10.1649/0010-065X-71.2.211

This account was last revised 28 August 2026.

How to cite this account

Ptomaphagus barri Peck, 1973. Cave Biology Data Portal, account SP-0835. https://cavebiology.org/species/ptomaphagus-barri/ (accessed 18 October 2026).
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Data sources and funding are listed in the Acknowledgments.

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Cave Biology Data Portal

Species accounts, distributions, and conservation status for the subterranean fauna of North America and around the globe, with resources for the cave and karst research community.

Text and data CC BY 4.0. Images all rights reserved unless stated.

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