Cholevinae (Coleoptera: Leiodidae) of the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park, Spain: occurrence in the MSS of a siliceous landscape

In siliceous landscapes, study of the mesovoid shallow substratum (MSS) provides interesting species records. The Cholevinae Kirby, 1837 are normally found in the forest litter, and they also are a constant element in underground habitats. However, their knowledge is totally lacking in relation to the underground realm of Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (Spain). Over the period of a year, the MSS of this mountain range was prospected to acquire first insights into the Cholevinae species established in this habitat. The prior literature was reviewed to establish an initial checklist of the Cholevinae species in the National Park, and distributional maps of the captured species were provided for the area. Twelve species of Cholevinae were captured, five of which are new records for the National Park, four for the province of Segovia, and one for the province of Madrid. All the species present wide Iberian ranges, except Choleva (Choleva) cisteloides (Frölich, 1799), whose new record notably expands its known distribution range. Ten species had been identified in subterranean habitats before, six of which have been previously reported in the MSS. The species accumulation curve built for the observed species richness showed that the inventory was not complete. Finally, the collection of Choleva (Cholevopsis) punctata Brisout, 1866 facilitated detailed study of the taxonomic characters used for the identification of Choleva (C.) punctata and Choleva (C.) securiformis Blas, 1980, allowing us to propose the synonymisation of C. (C.) securiformis n. syn. into C. (C.) punctata. This study highlights the importance of investigating hidden habitats, such as the MSS in siliceous landscapes, so as to uncover the previously unknown biodiversity, even in protected natural areas supposedly well studied.