Hatch's Cave Fungus Beetle
Ptomaphagus hatchi Jeannel, 1933
Taxonomy
| Kingdom | Animalia |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum | Hexapoda |
| Class | Insecta |
| Order | Coleoptera |
| Family | Leiodidae |
| Genus | Ptomaphagus |
| Species | Ptomaphagus hatchi Jeannel, 1933 |
Synonyms
- Ptomaphagus hatchi hatchi Jeannel, 1933 (subjective synonym, CoL)
Description
Diagnostic characters
- Ecological class
- Troglobiont
- Realm
- Terrestrial
- Troglomorphy
- Troglomorphic
Distribution
Type locality
Wonder Cave, Grundy Co. TN
Range
Known from five counties across two states in the Interior Low Plateau karst region.
Continent
North America
Country
United States
States and provinces
Alabama, Tennessee
Counties
- Alabama
- Jackson, Madison
- Tennessee
- Franklin, Grundy, Marion
Karst regions
Interior Low Plateau
Specimens
Collections holding material
| Institution | Lots |
|---|---|
| Museu de Ciencies Naturals de Barcelona | 3 |
| Lund University Biological Museum | 1 |
4 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 4 specimen records (CSV) Institution, catalog number, type status and preparation. No coordinates.
Conservation and management
NatureServe
G3 Vulnerable
Global rank last reviewed 2010.
Subnational ranks
- Alabama
- S3 Vulnerable
- Tennessee
- S3 Vulnerable
State and federal status
Not listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
Other resources
References
- Balogh, A., Ngo, L., Zigler, K.S. & Dixon, G. 2020. Population genomics in two cave-obligate invertebrates confirms extremely limited dispersal between caves. Scientific Reports 10: 17554. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-74508-9
- Barr, T.C., Jr. 1963. Studies on the cavernicole Ptomaphagus of the United States (Coleoptera: Catopidae). Psyche 70: 50–58. doi:10.1155/1963/58018
- Barr, T.C., Jr. 1966. Some comments on "troglobites of Alabama - the beetles". Huntsville Grotto Newsletter 7: 33–34.
- Carver, L.M., Perlaky, P., Cressler, A. & Zigler, K.S. 2016. Reproductive seasonality in Nesticus (Araneae: Nesticidae) cave spiders. PLOS One 11: e0156751. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0156751
- Dixon, G.B. & Zigler, K.S. 2011. Cave-obligate biodiversity on the campus of Sewanee: The University of the South, Franklin County, Tennessee. Southeastern Naturalist 10: 251–266. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41263008. details
- Godwin, J.C. 2008. Biological inventory of the cave and karst systems of The Nature Conservancy's Sharp-Bingham Mountain Preserve. Alabama Natural Heritage Program, Auburn, Alabama, USA. 40 pp.
- Jones, W.B. & Varnedoe, W.W. 1968. Caves of Madison County, Alabama. Geological Survey of Alabama Circular 52: 1–177.
- 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.
- Lewis, J.J. 2005a. A biological inventory of caves of the Cumberland Plateau. Tennessee Chapter Cave Program, The Nature Conservancy, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. 156 pp.
- Nicholas, G. 1960. Checklist of macroscopic troglobitic organisms of the United States. The American Midland Naturalist 64: 123–160. doi:10.2307/2422897
- Nicholas, G. 1966. Troglobites of Alabama - the beetles. Huntsville Grotto Newsletter 7: 29–32.
- Niemiller, M.L., Slay, M.E., Inebnit, T., Miller, B., Tobin, B., Cramphorn, B., Hinkle, A., Jones, B.D., Mann, N. & Niemiller, K.D.K. 2023a. Fern Cave: a hotspot of subterranean biodiversity in the Interior Low Plateau karst region of Alabama in the southeastern United States. Diversity 15: 633. doi:10.3390/d15050633
- 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
- Niemiller, M.L., Zigler, K.S., Hinkle, A., Stephen, C.D.R., Cramphorn, B., Higgs, J., Mann, N., Miller, B.T., Niemiller, K.D.K., Smallwood, K. & Hardy, J. 2023b. The Crystal-Wonder Cave System: a new hotspot of subterranean biodiversity in the southern Cumberland Plateau of south-central Tennessee, USA. Diversity 15: 801. doi:10.3390/d15070801
- 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. 1983. Experimental hybridizations between populations of cavernicolous Ptomaphagus beetles (Coleoptera: Leiodidae: Cholevinae). The Canadian Entomologist 115: 445–452. doi:10.4039/Ent115445-5
- Peck, S.B. 1984. The distribution and evolution of cavernicolous Ptomaphagus beetles in the southeastern United States (Coleoptera; Leiodidae; Cholevinae) with new species and records. Canadian Journal of Zoology 62: 730–740. doi:10.1139/z84-103
- Peck, S.B. 1995. The cave fauna of Alabama. Part II: The insects. National Speleological Society Bulletin 57: 1–19.
- 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
- Wakefield, K.R. & Zigler, K.S. 2012. Obligate subterranean fauna of Carter State Natural Area, Franklin County, Tennessee. Speleolobiology Notes 4: 24–28.
This account was last revised 28 August 2026.
How to cite this account
Ptomaphagus hatchi Jeannel, 1933. Cave Biology Data Portal, account SP-0841. https://cavebiology.org/species/ptomaphagus-hatchi/ (accessed 18 October 2026).
Data sources and funding are listed in the Acknowledgments.
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