Advances in the taxonomy of Geotrupidae and the current research status of Chinese species

Geotrupidae, commonly known as earth-boring dung beetles, is a family of Scarabaeoidea belonging to Polyphaga of the order Coleoptera, class Insecta. This family is widely distributed around the world, includes four subfamilies, 11 tribes, 77 genera, and 1 162 species / subspecies. In China, three subfamilies, 13 genera, and 205 species / subspecies are recorded. Geotrupids have diverse feeding habits: coprophagous species, which play an important role as decomposers in ecosystems; mycophagous species, which may assist in the dispersal of mycorrhizal fungal spores; and phytophagous species, some of which are agricultural and forest pests. This study systematically reviews the literature to summarize the history of taxonomic research, classification status, and current progress in the phylogenetic research of Geotrupidae. This family has a long history of study in taxonomy, while the monophyly of Geotrupidae at the family level remains controversial, and there has been no new comprehensive systematic worldwide revision since 1912. In particular, this study focuses on the taxonomic study of geotrupids from China, and provides a checklist of the recorded species together with their corresponding Chinese common names. The taxonomic research of Geotrupidae in China has been primarily focused on the description of new species, with limited progress made in comprehensive revisions of Chinese species and in distinguishing of morphologically similar genera and species. In addition, the distribution patterns of Geotrupidae in China as well as their habits, ecological niches and biological studies are still poorly understood. Therefore, further studies on the taxonomy of Geotrupidae, which could provide crucial basic data on species diversity, are essential for a systematic assessment of the current state of insect resources, biodiversity and ecological conservation in China.