Revista Chilena de Historia Natural 78 (4): 651-663, 2005
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Variation in the abundance of Arthropoda from a latitudinal transect in the
transitional coastal desert of Chile, with emphasis on the epigean tenebrionids
By using pitfall traps and with special emphasis on the geographical
distribution and the relationships of abundance of the Tenebrionidae assemblage, the taxonomic composition and the patterns of
abundance (denso-activity) of the Arthropoda inhabiting the transect 27-30º S of the chilean transitional coastal-desert were examined.
Five orders numerically dominated the Arthropoda assemblage. These were Coleoptera, Diptera, Psocoptera, Collembola and
Hymenoptera. Tenebrionidae, represented by 14 genera, was the most diverse and abundant family of the epigean arthropod-fauna.
Gyriosomus Guérin Méneville, 1834 was the most specious genus in that family. Some of its species showed a narrow
distribution in the study area, and may be indicators of endemisms. The species richness of Tenebrionidae did not follow the latitudinal
pluviometric pattern of the transect. Carrizal Bajo, a site with xeric conditions, provided a higher number than expected, in accordance
with the pattern shown by the flora, mainly geophytes and hemicryptophytes.
Key words:
arid zones,
coastal desert, biological diversity, epigean arthropods, Tenebrionidae, pitfall traps
