First Maltese record of Stephanopachysquadricollis (Marseul, 1879) (Coleoptera, Bostrichidae)
Author
Mifsud, David
Author
Nardi, Gianluca
text
ZooKeys
2016
606
65
75
http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.606.8753
journal article
http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.606.8753
1313-2970-606-65
AEFAF6C50B804FC3ADCCB4CF779DC79A
Taxon classification Animalia Coleoptera Bostrichidae
Stephanopachys quadricollis (Marseul, 1878)
Material examined.
ITALY, Liguria: Monte di [= Mount of] Portofino [(Genova)], 1910, [C.]
Mancini
leg., 1 ex (MCSG); M.te [= Monte di] Portofino [(Genova)], VI.1923, Dr. [A.] Andreini leg., 1 ex (MZUF); Zignago [(La Spezia)], 17.VII.1963, S. Failla leg., 1 ex (MZUF). Calabria: [Sila National Park,] Camigliatello [(Cosenza), 1300 m], 18.VI.1978, [F. Angelini leg.], 1 ex (MZUF, collection F. Angelini); Parco Nazionale della Sila [= Sila National Park] (Cosenza), Monte Altare, 1580 m,
39°25.205700'N
16°34.694312'E
, 24.VII.2009, L. Spada, M. Bardiani, A. Biscaccianti & A. Campanaro leg., [direct collection, in a forest of
Pinus nigra ssp. laricio
Maire (A.B. Biscaccianti & L. Spada, pers. comm., 2016)] 1 ex (CNBFVR). MALTA,
Ħal-Far
[
35°48.760020'N
,
14°30.480840'E
], 1.IX.-5.XI.2015, 3 ♀♀, in UV light traps situated in human habitation, D. Mifsud leg. (CDM, CGN).
Chorotype and distribution.
Mediterranean (cf.
Borowski 2007
, as
Stephanopachys quadricollis
(Fairmaire, 1878) [sic!],
Borowski and
Wegrzynowicz
2007
, as
Stephanopachys quadricollis
(Fairmaire in Marseul 1878) [sic!],
Borowski and
Wegrzynowicz
2012
, as
Stephanopachys quadricollis
(Fairmaire, 1878) [sic!]). This species is recorded from: Algeria, Croatia, France (Cor
sica
included), Greece, Israel, Italy (Sicily included), Lebanon, Morocco, Portugal, Spain (Balearic Islands included), Syria, Tunisia, Asiatic Turkey and Ukraine (cf.
Halperin and Damoiseau 1980
,
Nardi 2004
,
Borowski 2007
,
Brustel et al. 2013
). Moreover, it was intercepted in Sweden (
Lundberg 1995
,
Borowski 2007
,
Brustel et al. 2013
), Germany and Argentina (
Walker 2005
), while the record for Israel (
Halperin and Damoiseau 1980
) was recently overlooked (
Borowski 2007
,
Brustel et al. 2013
).
Ecology.
Stephanopachys
Waterhouse, 1888 is the sole genus of
Bostrichidae
specialized to feed on gymnosperms (
Liu et al. 2008
) and was considered as exclusively phloeophagous (cf.
Lesne 1911
,
Lawrence 2010
,
Brustel et al. 2013
). However,
Stephanopachys conicola
Fisher, 1950, a Nearctic species develops in cones of
Pinus monophylla
Torr. et Fr. and on decaying
Juniperus occidentalis
Hooker berries (
Borowski and
Wegrzynowicz
2012
,
Tonkel et al. 2014
), whereas
Stephanopachys linearis
(Kugelann, 1792), a Palaearctic species, develop on coniferous trees (
Abies alba
Mill.,
Pinus sylvestris
L., etc.) (
Borowski and
Wegrzynowicz
2012
,
Brustel et al. 2013
), but exceptionally also in old wood of
Quercus
(Koch 1989).
Stephanopachys quadricollis
is found from sea level up-to mountain biotopes (cf.
Kocher 1956
, as
Stephanopachys quadraticollis
[sic!],
Angelini 1986
,
1991
,
Bahillo de la Puebla et al. 2007
,
Brustel et al. 2013
) and the most important host-plants include
Pinus halepensis
Mill. and
Pinus pinaster
Aiton (
Perris 1862
, as
Dinoderus (Apate) substriatus
Payk. [misidentification],
Lesne 1897
,
Sahlberg 1913b
,
Espanol
1955
,
1965
,
Halperin and Damoiseau 1980
,
Bahillo de la Puebla et al. 2007
,
Borowski and
Wegrzynowicz
2012
,
Brustel et al. 2013
). The species is however known to develop on other
Pinaceae
including:
Abies alba
(
Lesne 1897
),
Cedrus atlantica
(Endl.) Manetti ex
Carriere
,
Pinus nigra
J.F.Arnold and
Pinus sylvestris
(
Brustel et al. 2013
). The larvae of
Stephanopachys quadricollis
develop in or under bark of death wood in damaged trees which are still alive (under partially removed bark, in or near wounds following prunning by forest personel or lightning) (
Brustel et al. 2013
). The larvae of
Clanoptilus marginellus
(Olivier, 1790) (
Coleoptera
,
Malachiidae
) (
Perris 1862
, as
Malachius marginellus
Fab.),
Opilo domesticus
(Sturm, 1837) and
Opilo mollis
Linnaeus, 1758 (
Coleoptera
,
Cleridae
) are predatory on those of
Stephanopachys quadricollis
(
Perris 1862
,
Lesne 1904
), whereas
Entedon stephanopachi
Heqvist, 1959 (
Hymenoptera
,
Eulophidae
) is a primary parasitoid of other
Stephanopachys
species in Sweden and USA (
Heqvist 1959
,
Schauff 1988
,
Gumovsky 2010
).
Notes.
The Maltese specimens of
Stephanopachys quadricollis
do not show significant differences from those examined from other territories. In Italy, this species is rare and localized and was recorded from the following regions: Piemonte (
Lesne 1897
,
Schilsky 1899
,
Lesne 1901
,
Luigioni 1929
,
Porta 1929
), Liguria (
Luigioni 1929
), Basilicata (
Angelini 1986
), Calabria (
Angelini 1991
) and Sicily (
Vitale 1928
,
Luigioni 1929
,
Porta 1929
,
Audisio et al. 1995
,
Sparacio 1997
,
Nardi 2004
). A record from Maritime Alps (
Porta 1929
), probably refers to French sites near the Italian border (
Lesne 1897
: 339,
1901
: 84). Specimens from Piemonte (without locality of collection) were originally collected and recorded by Baudi as
Stephanopachys substriatus
(Paykull,
1800
) (
Baudi 1873
,
1890
, in both cases as
Dinoderus substriatus
Payk.).
Lesne (1897
,
1901
) examined material collected by Baudi from Piemonte and recorded the presence of only
Stephanopachys quadricollis
from the mentioned region. Thus,
Baudi's
records from Piemonte could in reality belong to only
Stephanopachys quadricollis
, since this latter species was described (
Marseul 1879
) only after the first record of
Baudi (1873)
. However, during the present study it was not possible to re-examine this material. The record of
Luigioni (1929)
for Liguria, is probably based on the above cited specimen collected in 1910, since A. Dodero from the Museo civico di Storia naturale (Genoa), previously sent many unpublished records from this region to his best friend, P. Luigioni (R. Poggi, pers. comm., 2016).
Most of the above-mentioned Italian literature records provide only the region of collection for
Stephanopachys quadricollis
, with the consequence that few precise locations are known. These include: Cugno Ruggeri, 1400-1500 m, on the Pollino Massif in Basilicata (
Angelini 1986
); Camigliatello, 1250-1300 m, on the Sila plateau in Calabria (
Angelini 1991
); contrada Tremonti near Messina (
Vitale 1928
), and Messina (
Luigioni 1929
) in Sicily.
Stephanopachys quadricollis
was collected from very few coastal regions in Italy. These include localities in Sicily and Mount of Portofino in Liguria (see material examined). In Sicily, Vitale (1927) collected a specimen of this species beating
Juglans regia
tree on the 1st of April 1927.
The occurrence of
Stephanopachys quadricollis
in Malta, is not the sole insular record so far known; this species is also recorded from the Balearic Islands (cf.
Bahillo de la Puebla et al. 2007
), from Meleda Island in Croatia (
Ganglbauer 1904
,
Vrydagh 1961
) and from Lesbos Island in Greece (
Sahlberg 1913a
,
1913b
). Moreover it is also known to occur in some mainland coastal areas: e.g. Mount of Portofino in northern Italy (see above), in southern France (
Brustel and Aberlenc 2014
), in the Iberian Peninsula (
Espanol
1955
,
1965
,
1974
,
Bahillo de la Puebla et al. 2007
,
Baena and Zuzarte 2013
, as
Stephanopachys quadricollis
(Fairmaire, 1878) [sic!]) and in Turkey (
Vrydagh 1962
).
The native status of
Stephanopachys quadricollis
in Malta is highly probable considering the fact that is a typical Mediterranean species and that its main host plant,
Pinus halepensis
is autochthonous (
Haslam et al. 1977
). However, an anthropic origin cannot be excluded. The location from where the Maltese specimens were collected is mainly an industrialized area with several pharmaceutical companies however some pine trees are also present. Interceptions of Palaearctic
Stephanopachys
species are known in other countries. These include
Stephanopachys quadricollis
in Sweden, Germany and Argentina (see above),
Stephanopachys substriatus
(Paykull, 1800) in Belgium (
Coulon 1993
) and Germany (
Lucht 1987
,
Koehler
and Klausnitzer 1998
,
Geis 2002
), and a southern European unidentified species in USA (
Haack and Cavey 2000
,
Haack 2006
).
As reported above, the Maltese specimens were taken at UV light. The use of light traps is a useful method to capture
Bostrichidae
. In fact, four other species of this family were previously collected at light in Malta (Nardi and Mifsud 2015), while 17 species were collected during a large light-traps project in Israel (
Chikatunov et al. 2006
). However, in Israel
Stephanopachys quadricollis
was not collected in this project possibly due to the
fact
that its abundance was reported as "sporadic and rare" (
Halperin and Damoiseau 1980
: 48). In France, in a large artificial forest of
Pinus pinaster
, a single specimen of
Stephanopachys quadricollis
was collected by an emergence trap (
Brin et al. 2011
), and the capture of
Stephanopachys
spp. using intercept traps is rare (
Brustel et al. 2013
).
In the IUCN Red List of European saproxylic beetles,
Stephanopachys quadricollis
is classified as "Least concern" (
Nieto and Alexander 2010
), whereas in the Italian list its status is indicated as
"Vulnerable"
(
Nardi et al. 2014
,
2015
). The only recent Italian record of this species is from the Sila National Park, and this provides further evidence of the coleopterological importance of this Park (cf.
Angelini 1991
,
Mazzei et al. 2011
), where the species probably develops on
Pinus nigra ssp. laricio
Maire. This same host plant for
Stephanopachys quadricollis
was also recorded by
Sainte-Claire Deville (1914
: 545) in Corsica. From a conservation point of view,
Stephanopachys quadricollis
is known from other Italian localities such as Pollino and Portofino which are already designated as protected areas and this should therefore contribute towards the survival of this species in Italy.
It must be underlined that
Heyden (1891
: 468) erroneously considered
Stephanopachys quadricollis
as a synonym of
Stephanopachys substriatus
(Paykull, 1800), and attributed the description of the former to
"Frm.Ab'
. 1879. 83. [= Fairmaire, 1879: 83,
L'Abeille])"
. Later, he (
Heyden 1906
: 421) citing
Lesne (1897
: 339), listed correctly
Stephanopachys
"
quadricollis
Mars.
Ab'
. 1879. 83 [=
Marseul 1879
: 83]" as a valid species. Fairmaire was indicated as the one who described this species as "(Fairmaire, 1878)" by various recent authors (
Borowski 2007
,
Baena and Zuzarte 2013
,
Nardi et al. 2014
,
Borowski and
Wegrzynowicz
2012
,
Nardi et al. 2015
) or as "(Fairmaire in Marseul, 1878)" by others (
Borowski and
Wegrzynowicz
2007
,
Liu 2010
). Nevertheless, this authorship is erroneous, since, this species was described by
Marseul (1879
: 83), as "
Dinoderus
4-collis Fairm.", who also wrote: "Discovered by M. Lamey, and described by M. Leon Fairmaire, I do not know where" [translated]. Probably, the material described by
Marseul (1879)
was labeled as "
Dinoderus
4-collis Fairm.", but this was an unpublished name. In fact,
Bedel (1894
: 149, footnote 3) wrote: "This species [=
Stephanopachys quadricollis
Mars.] was never described by Fairmaire; its first description appeared on
L'
Abeille, XVIII, Nouv. [2], p. 83 (1878). I saw the type [see also
Vrydagh (1962
: 6)] of S. de Marseul, belonging to M. A. Lamey" [translated]. This opinion was followed by almost all other authors (e.g.
Lesne 1897
,
Schilsky 1899
,
Lesne 1901
,
Ganglbauer 1904
,
Lesne 1904
,
1905
,
Heyden 1906
,
Lesne 1909
,
Sainte-Claire Deville 1910
,
1914
,
Correa
De Barros 1924
,
Winkler 1927
,
Luigioni 1929
,
Porta 1929
,
Portevin 1931
,
Peyerimhoff 1933
,
Normand 1936
, Sainte-Claire Deville 1937,
Lesne 1938
,
1939
,
Seabra 1943
, as
Stephanopachys quadricollis
Marsh. [sic!],
Novak 1952
,
Espanol
1955
,
Kocher 1956
,
Vrydagh 1956
,
1960
,
1961
,
1962
,
Espanol
1965
,
1974
,
Halperin and Damoiseau 1980
,
Lucht 1987
,
Audisio et al. 1995
,
Lundberg 1995
,
Sparacio 1997
,
Nardi 2004
,
Walker 2005
,
Bahillo de la Puebla et al. 2007
,
Brin et al. 2011
,
Brustel et al. 2013
,
Brustel 2014
,
Brustel and Aberlenc 2014
), nevertheless as stated by
Heyden (1891
,
1906
) and by other authors (
Lopez-Colon
2000
,
Lopez-Colon
et. al. 2001
,
Grosso-Silva 2005
), the year when
Stephanopachys quadricollis
was described
is
1879 and not 1878. The year 1878 was included in the title of number 21 of the section "Nouvelles et Faits divers de
L'Abeille"
that includes the original description of this species (
Marseul 1879
). Numbers 18-25 of this section belong to volume 17 of 1879 and this information is also reported in the "Tables of Contents" [translated] of the same volume.
Finally,
Kocher (1956
: 114) published an unjustified emendation (
ICZN 1999
, art. 33.2.1) of
Stephanopachys quadricollis
: "
Stephanopachys quadraticollis
(err.
quadricollis
) Mars.". Unfortunately, this name is an available one (
ICZN 1999
, art. 19.1) and so the following synonymy is here established:
Stephanopachys quadricollis
(Marseul, 1879: 83) =
Stephanopachys quadraticollis
Kocher, 1956: 114, syn. n.