Iranian cave beetle diversity, description of two Duvalius species

Through field efforts and morphological examination, we describe two new Duvalius species from caves of Zagros Mts., Iran: the troglobiotic Duvalius nezelensis sp. nov. and the non-troglobiotic Duvalius achaemenius sp. nov. Combining original molecular data with published datasets, we reconstruct a species-level phylogeny of Duvalius and closely related genera. This work provides more resolution for understanding species richness and evolution of cave beetles in Iran and the timing of their subterranean colonization.

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