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Photo#197399
ground beetle - Bembidion egens

ground beetle - Bembidion egens
near Eagar, Apache County, Arizona, USA
June 22, 2008
Size: 3mm

maybe...
Yes, this might be B. egens. (It is not B. nogalesium, which is paler.) However, it is also very possible that B. cognatum and B. egens are synonyms, in which case this is probably B. cognatum. I call this species "Bembidion cf cognatum". There are a bunch of species of Furcacampa in Arizona, and they (plus the Mexican ones) will need to be revised before we can put names on them.

 
An interesting situation
in which potential synonyms are currently assigned to different subgenera, i.e., B. egens in Furcacampa vs B. cognatum in Notaphus. Obviously one of those associations has to be wrong for synonymy to occur. Such apparent "gross" discrepancies in taxonomic placements by previous authors underscore the difficulties facing modern carabidologists venturing into our southwestern Bembidion fauna. If not you David, who else is there that could tackle such difficult groups in our lifetime? Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts!

Thanks Peter
Your efforts are really paying off, getting info out on the web about many species that are hard to find info on.

Bembidion egens
tentatively based on my microscopic examination of this specimen. Bembidion egens Casey, 1918 is reported only from AZ & NM. It is a species difficult to distinguish from very similar AZ-MX species B. nogalesium Casey, 1924 based on little more than my review of the original taxonomic accounts by Casey. Sadly, I am not aware of any modern key that compares these two species. Also I found no other images on internet. According to my interpretation of the Casey descriptions, here are some criteria that might be useful for B. egens: Elytra with more distinct pale pattern and weaker impressed elytral striae; Pronotum base somewhat broader, with parallel hind angle section longer and with weak but distinct carinae. Thanks Tom.

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