Du’an Karst of Guangxi: a kingdom of the cavernicolous genus Dongodytes Deuve (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Trechinae)

Abstract. Recent cave biodiversity surveys carried out in Du’an County and its adjacent areas of northwestern Guangxi, China, have revealed some exciting scientific findings. In a very limited area seven new species of the cavernicolous trechine genus Dongodytes Deuve, 1993 were found and are described: Dongodytes (s. str.) elongatus sp. n., Dongodytes (s. str.) troglodytes sp. n., Dongodytes (s. str.) lani sp. n., Dongodytes (Dongodytodes) brevipenis sp. n., Dongodytes (Dongodytodes) jinzhuensis sp. n., Dongodytes (Dongodytodes) inexpectatus sp. n. and Dongodytes (Dongodytodes) yaophilus sp. n. Diagnoses and notes on the genus, subgenera, and two known species in Du’an Karst, Dongodytes (s. str.) baxian Tian, 2011 and Dongodytes (Dongodytodes) deharvengi Tian, 2011, are also given. A key to subgenera and all species of Dongodytes is provided. To date, Dongodytes becomes one of the richest in species genera of subterranean carabid trechines in China with 12 species which are arranged into two subgenera. Dongodytes (s. str.) Deuve is composed of seven species, four of which from Du’an County, each of other three from Bama, Fengshan and Tian’e Counties, respectively. All species of the subgenus Dongodytodes Tian, 2011 are recorded from Du’an Karst. By having 10 species (nine Dongodytes and one Libotrechus Uéno, 1998), Du’an Karst holds the richest specific diversity of cavernicolous Trechinae in China. Dongodytes species are distributed in a very limited area of the river Hongshui He drainages in northwestern Guangxi, and the river acts as a natural barrier of Dongodytes dispersal at only a specific level. However, all members of Dongodytodes are recorded from the eastern or northern bank of Hongshui He.