Catalogue, geographic distribution and ecological niche models of the melanocratoid Platynotina (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Pedinini)

The catalogue of all known species of the melanocratoid lineage of the subtribe Platynotina Koch, 1953 is presented. Eight genera containing 30 species are listed. The data of primary and secondary types is provided. Distribution of the species is listed and illustrated on 9 maps. New distributional data is published for: Melanocratus fairmairei Iwan, 1996, M. validipes Fairmaire, 1895, Sebastianus madagascariensis Iwan, 1999, S. magnus Iwan, 1996, S. ovoideus (Fairmaire, 1902), S. projectus Iwan, 1996, Styphacus girardi Iwan, 2004 and S. phreneticus Iwan, 1996. The relationship between species richness and Malagasy ecoregions is analysed and discussed. MaxEnt software was used to model the hypothetical range of chosen species and indicate the most important abiotic factors responsible for observed distribution. Results of MaxEnt analysis suggest that the precipitation has the major limiting impact from all of analysed factors.