Biodiversity and chorology of aquatic beetles (Coleoptera: Elmidae and Hydraenidae) in Kabylia (central-north Algeria). New records and updates
Author
Lamine, Smail
Author
Lounaci, Abdelkader
Author
Bennas, Nard
text
Zootaxa
2019
2019-11-18
4700
1
102
116
journal article
24871
10.11646/zootaxa.4700.1.5
c34a0b8a-e322-449a-903b-e0f61bdc8987
1175-5326
3545386
19D6B3B3-90EE-4018-9236-436D11A98230
Hydraena
(
Hydraena
)
numidica
Sainte-Claire Deville, 1905
Chorotype
. Endemic Maghrebian (
Algeria
and
Tunisia
).
Material examined.
IG1
:
18-V-2013
(
168 exs.
)
,
IG2
:
18-V-2013
(
122 exs.
)
,
SA1
:
12-VI-2013
(
6 exs.
)
,
SA2
:
12-VI-2013
(
15 exs.
)
,
SA3
:
12-VI-2013
(
3 exs.
)
,
TR
:
6-V-2014
(
5 exs.
),
AA
:
18-V-2014
(
3 exs.
),
KH
:
9-V-2013
(
9 exs.
),
BH
:
14-VI-2013
(
18 exs.
),
S1
:
29-IV-2015
(
6 exs.
),
D1
:
23-IV-2014
(
3 exs.
),
A1
:
7-V-2013
(
3 exs.
),
A2
:
7-V-2013
(
35 exs.
),
A4
:
7-V-2013
(
3 exs.
),
A5
:
7-V-2013
(
4 exs.
),
A6
:
7-V-2013
(
4 exs.
),
O1
:
9-V-2013
(
3 exs.
);
24-IV-2014
(
12 exs.
)
;
16-VI-2014
(
28 exs.
);
29-V-2015
(
32 exs.
),
O2
:
9-V-2013
(
12 exs.
);
24-IV-2014
(
17 exs.
)
;
16-VI-2014
(
15 exs.
);
26-V-2015
(
4 exs.
),
O3
:
24-IV-2014
(
3 exs.
);
16-VI-2014
(
12 exs.
)
;
26-V-2015
(
8 exs.
),
O4
:
24-IV-2014
(
15 exs.
),
O5
:
9-V-2013
(
18 exs.
);
24-IV-2014
(
4 exs.
)
,
BO2
:
18-V-2014
(
4 exs.
),
TG2
:
26-VI-2014
(
21 exs.
).
The species was recorded in Kabylia (the Djurdjura massif), the Atlas of the
Blida
(the Mouzaïa massif) and in
Annaba
(the eastern part of the country) (
Ferro 1985
;
Kaddouri 1986
;
Aït Mouloud 1988
;
Lounaci 1987
, 2005;
Berthélemy
et al
. 1991
;
Lounaci-Daoudi 1996
). In the study area,
H. numidica
inhabits springs, headwater streams and middle courses of rivers with rapid and moderate flow at altitudes ranging between
160-1200 m
.
It is an abundant species throughout the investigated area, collected in 92% of the sampling sites. Despite its abundance,
H. numidica
is a threatened species in
Algeria
because of the habitat loss due to strong human pressure. Among 23 sampling sites in which the species occurred, 16 were subject to different
types
of adverse impact such as domestic water pollution, grazing, and extraction of water, sand and gravel.
However, in
Tunisia
H. numidica
is considered as a species under threat because of its very restricted distribution (
Touaylia
et al
. 2009
;
Bennas
et al
. 2018
), in only a few localities in the north-west of the country, as well as because of its low abundance (
Touaylia
et al
. 2009
).