Staphylinid beetles of Ebu Forest, Cameroon

In June 2021 Vladimir Gusarov made a field trip to Cameroon. The purpose of the trip was to survey the staphylinid beetle fauna of the Ebu forest, collect samples for student projects and train a student from the University of Buea, Ms Grace M’ayuk Ojong-Nkongho. Ebu forest covers the area of 1,417 km2 and includes both lowland and montane forest areas with a high proportion of disturbed forest. Insect diversity of the forest is virtually unexplored.

During two weeks of field work the team led by professor Erik Fokam, University of Buea, collected about one hundred samples of staphylinid beetles at two sites in Ebu forest. In September-December 2021, Ms Ojong visited the Natural History Museum to work with the samples, identify collected material and get trained in molecular work at the DNA lab of the museum. A manuscript with description of a new species of the genus Philonthus is in preparation.

(This is an activity of the ANTENNA project funded by Diku, the Norwegian Agency for International Cooperation and Quality Enhancement in Higher Education)

Field work team
Collecting beetles in fungi removed from a log
Camp in the middle of rain forest

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