Decarthron abnorme (LeConte, 1849)

Webster, Reginald P., Chandler, Donald S., Sweeney, Jon D. & DeMerchant, Ian, 2012, New Staphylinidae (Coleoptera) records with new collection data from New Brunswick, Canada: Pselaphinae, ZooKeys 186, pp. 31-53 : 42-43

Decarthron abnorme (LeConte, 1849) Map 15

Material examined.

New Brunswick, Albert Co., Shepody N.W.A., New Horton Section, 45.6940°N, 64.7000°W, 29.VI.2004, R. P. Webster, cattail marsh, treading (1, RWC). Carleton Co., Two Mile Brook Fen, 46.3619°N, 67.6733°W, 6.V.2005, M.-A. Giguère & R. P. Webster, old growth eastern white cedar swamp, in litter at base of cedar (1, RWC);trail to Two Mile Brook Fen, 46.3510°N, 67.6815°W, 6.V.2005, M.-A. Giguère & R. P. Webster, cattail and Carex marsh, in leaf litter on marsh margin (1, RWC). Charlotte Co., S of Little Pocologan River, 45.1537°N, 66.2669°W, 7.V.2007, R. P. Webster, black spruce and tamarack bog, in litter and moss (1, NBM). Madawaska Co., Loon Lake, 236 m elev., 47.7839°N, 68.3943°W, 21.VII.2010, R. P. Webster, boreal forest, small lake surrounded by sedges, treading sedges near Myrica bushes (1 ♂, NBM). Saint John Co., Chance Harbour off Rt. 790, 45.1374°N, 66.3633°W, 15.V.2006, R. P. Webster, raised peatland (with black spruce), treading saturated sphagnum (1, RWC). Sunbury Co., Acadia Research Forest, 46.0173°N, 66.3741°W, 18.VI.2007, R. P. Webster, 8.5 year-old regenerating mixed forest, in sphagnum and leaf litter at bottom of old tire depression (1, RWC). York Co., Charters Settlement, 45.8282°N, 66.7367°W, 9.IV.2005, 29.III.2006, R. P. Webster, Carex marsh, in leaf litter at base of trees and shrubs (4, NBM, RWC); same locality and collector but 45.8430°N, 66.7280°W, 29.IX.2004, small sedge marsh, in moist litter (1, RWC): same locality and collector but 45.8395°N, 66.7391°W, 17.VII.2004, 27.VI.2006, 25.VI.2009, mixed forest, u.v. light (6, NBM, RWC); Canterbury, Browns Mountain Fen, 45.8967°N, 67.6343°W, 2.V.2005, M.-A. Giguère & R. P. Webster, calcareous cedar fen, in moss and litter at base of tree (cedar) (1, RWC); 8.4 km W of Tracy off Rt. 645, 45.68217°N, 66.7894°W, 14.V.2008, R. P. Webster, wet alder swamp, in leaf and grass litter on hummocks (1, NBM).

Collection and habitat data.

In New Brunswick, this common species was collected in various wetland habitats. These included Carex marshes, Carex marsh with scattered cattails ( Typha sp.), a cattail marsh, a black spruce ( Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) and tamarack ( Larix laricina (Du Roi) K. Koch) bog, a coastal raised peatland with black spruce, an old eastern white cedar swamp, a regenerating mixed forest, along a lake margin among Carex , and in a wet alder ( Alnus sp.) swamp. Adults were sifted from moss and litter at bases of trees and marsh margins, sphagnum and leaf litter, and leaf and grass litter on hummocks (alder swamp). Other adults were collected by treading vegetation in cattail and Carex marshes, Carex near Myrica bushes on a lake margin, and a saturated sphagnum mat in bog. Some adults were collected at an ultraviolet light near a mixed forest. This species is most commonly taken from leaf litter along the margins of streams, ponds, and marshes, and from sphagnum moss ( Chandler 1997). Adults were captured during late March, April, May, June, July, and September.

Distribution in Canada and Alaska.

NT, BC, AB, SK, MB, ON, QC, NB, NS ( Davies 1991; Majka et al. 2011; CNC specimens) [reported from NB by Majka et al. (2011) in error, C. Majka, personal communication].