A survey of beetles (Coleoptera) from the tundra surrounding the Nunalleq archaeological site, Quinhagak, southwestern Alaska

• Published in: Biodiversity Data Journal
• Main Authors: Véronique Forbes, Derek Sikes
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Pensoft Publishers 2018
• Subjects: Coleoptera; Archaeology; Insect subfossils; Ala; Biology (General); QH301-705.5; Yukon; Sturm; Kuskokwim; Tundra; Alaska
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.6.e22788; https://doaj.org/article/74b4d2a7c638450b8235c8d5137e1f94

This paper presents the results of a survey of beetles conducted in the vicinity of the archaeological site of Nunalleq, a pre-contact (16th-17th century AD) indigenous forager settlement located near the modern Yup’ik village of Quinhagak, in the Yukon-Kuskokwim delta, southwestern Alaska. Records and habitat data are reported for 74 beetle taxa collected in tundra, riparian, aquatic and anthropogenic environments from a region of Alaska that has been poorly studied by entomologists. This includes the first mainland Alaskan record for the byrrhid Simplocaria metallica (Sturm). Beyond improving our knowledge of the local beetle fauna’s diversity and ecology, this survey provides the basis for comparisons between modern and sub-fossil beetle assemblages from Nunalleq and Quinhagak.