Piero Leo

Neatus turcicus sp. nov. is described from southern Türkiye, in the provinces of Adana, Isparta, Konya and Mersin. In the provinces of Isparta and Mersin the new species was discovered during the Turkish Oak Habitat Project (TOHP), a large-scale study of old oaks in Türkiye. It is compared with all known Neatus species from the Holarctic Region and is closely related to N. noctivagus (Mulsant & Rey, 1853) and N. subaequalis Reitter, 1920. Material of all Neatus species is studied, including topotypical specimens, with analysis of their geographical distribution, and N. noctivagus is a new country record for Greece and Türkiye. A first key to all Neatus species is proposed, including new morphological characters. Photos of aedeagi of all species are also presented for the first time.

Viene reso noto il primo ritrovamento di Cryphaeus cornutus (Fischer von Waldheim, 1823), e della tribù Toxicini, in Italia (Emilia- Romagna): nell’autunno 2017 sono stati fotografati due esemplari (maschio e femmina) su un tronco in decomposizione presso le rive del fiume Enza, nel territorio del comune di Traversetolo (prov. di Parma). Viene discussa la distribuzione generale di questa rara specie saproxilofaga e xilomicetofaga e l’apparente espansione del suo areale. Viene inoltre confermata con dati recenti, dopo oltre 120 anni, la presenza di Cryphaeus cornutus in Grecia.

Based on type specimen investigation, the status of Helops tristis Rossi, 1790 as the type species of the genus Dendarus Dejean, 1821 is confirmed. Lectotypes are designated for Helops tristis and Pandarus coarcticollis Mulsant, 1854 – both are classified in Dendarus. Pandarus libanicus Desbrochers des Loges, 1881 is recognised as a junior synonym of Dendarus calcaratus Baudi di Selve, 1881. Both taxa share the same locus typicus (Mount Lebanon in Lebanon) and are morphologically distinct from the Italian Dendarus lugens (Mulsant & Rey, 1854). Finally, D. lugens is considered as a synonym of D. (Dendarus) coarcticollis.

Vengono forniti nuovi dati sulla distribuzione nell’Arcipelago Toscano di 19 specie di Tenebrionidae. Dichillus corsicus (Solier, 1838) risulta nuovo per l’isola di Montecristo, l’Arcipelago Toscano e la regione Toscana; Eledona agricola (Herbst, 1783), Palorus depressus (Fabricius, 1790), Uloma culinaris (Linnaeus, 1758), Diaperis boleti (Linnaeus, 1758), Pentaphyllus chrysomeloides (rossi, 1792), Corticeus pini (Panzer, 1799) e Scaphidema metallica (Fabricius, 1792) sono segnalati per la prima volta per l’Isola d’Elba e l’Arcipelago Toscano; Phaleria acuminata acuminata Küster, 1852 viene segnalata per la prima volta per Pianosa e Arcipelago Toscano; Dichillus minutus (Solier, 1838) viene segnalato per la prima volta per Cerboli, Dichillus tyrrhenicus Leo, 2008 e Gonocephalum obscurum obscurum (Küster, 1849) per Pianosa, Alphitobius diaperinus (Panzer, 1797) per l’Elba, Catomus rotundicollis (Guérin-Méneville, 1825) per Cerboli e Gorgona, Colpotus strigosus strigosus (A. Costa, 1847) per il Giglio, Crypticus gibbulus (Quensel, 1806) e Phaleria bimaculata bimaculata (Linnaeus, 1767) per Montecristo; vengono inoltre resi noti i primi reperti di tre specie di Tenebrionidae per l’isolotto di Palmaiola: Nalassus planipennis (Küster, 1850), Dendarus coarcticollis (Mulsant, 1854) e Colpotus strigosus strigosus. Le tribù Bolitophagini , Ulomini (sottofamiglia Tenebrioninae), Hypophlaeini e Scaphidemini (sottofamiglia Diaperinae) sono anch’esse nuove per l’Arcipelago Toscano. Viene anche illustrato l’habitus delle tre specie del genere Dichillus Jaquelin Du Val, 1861 presenti nell’arcipelago.

Hoplia (Hoplia) dubia (Rossi, 1792) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae: Hopliini) is a species that is endemic of Italy, recorded for scattered localities along the coasts of the peninsula and of Sicily. Following the study of a rather large amount of specimens from the entire known range, Hoplia dubia is herein split into three allopatric species. The true Hoplia dubia is redescribed and a neotype is designated. Two new species, Hoplia (Hoplia) meridiana and Hoplia (Hoplia) messapia, are described and the Hoplia dubia species group is defined. For each species, a full description is given and diagnostic characters are summarized and compared in a table. The three species belonging to the group may be recognized mainly by morphological and chromatic differences in scales, scales density, and by setal pattern, which are all illustrated. Remarks on ecology, ethology, and phenology of adults of the species are also reported. All three species treated in this paper are restricted to coastal sand dunes. The significant loss of this habitat due to anthropogenic pressure raises concern about the conservation status of these species.

Viene presa in esame la tenebrionidofauna dell’isola greca di Lesbo (Mar Egeo), sulla base di alcuni recenti reperti e dello studio critico della bibliografia nota. attualmente sono 35 le specie di Tenebrionidi note per Lesbo, di cui le seguenti nove vengono qui segnalate per la prima volta: Erodius (Eodirosis) orientalis oblongus Solier, 1834, Helops (Helops) rossii Germar, 1817, Gonocephalum (Gonocephalum) costatum rugulosum (Küster, 1849), Dendarus (Pandarinus) moesiacus (Mulsant & Rey, 1854), Uloma (Uloma) cypraea Kraatz, 1873, Trachyscelis aphodioides Latreille, 1809, Omophlus (Odontomophlus) pilosellus Kirsch, 1869, Megischia galbanata (Kiesenwetter, 1861) e Menephilus cylindricus cylindricus (Herbst, 1784). Dall’esame corologico si evidenzia una chiara impronta anatolica del popolamento di Tenebrionidi dell’isola.

Diplacodes lefebvrii (Rambur, 1842) is a libellulid dragonfly, which is common and widespread in Africa and across the Indian Ocean. While this species is fairly common in the south and east of the Mediterranean, its European range is confined to Cyprus, the island of Rhodes and the south of the Iberian Peninsula. Here we report the first record of D. lefebvrii for Italy, which was captured near Cagliari (Sardinia) on 11.IX.2013. In October 2014, a population of the same species was observed at a small wetland on the island “Isola di San Pietro” (Sardinia). Here the observed sex ratio of D. lefebvrii was strongly biased in favour of females and only a single male was observed.

All the information on the genus Eledonoprius was gathered to provide an up to-date overview of the geographical distribution and ecology of its species, and to assess their association with old-growth forests. Based on recent samples collected in deciduous forests and woodlands of Italy, the authors outline the habitats of these rare species and give an account of their trophic relations with bracket fungi. E. armatus is recorded in Central Italy and Sardinia for the first time; E. serrifrons is new to Basilicata (Southern Italy) and Syria.

Orarabion dominici n. gen n. sp. della sottotribù Melambiina viene descritto su esemplari provenienti dal’Oman settentrionale. Il nuovo genere è caratterizzato principalmente dal corpo attero, massiccio, la taglia relativamente grande, le elitre con strie sottili ed interstrie piane, le protibie con margine esterno largamente arrotondato ed apice svanito, l’organo copulatore maschile relativamente allungato con lunga e fitta pubescenza all’apice dei parameri. La localizzazione geografica del nuovo genere è estremamente eccentrica rispetto all’areale dei restanti generi Paleartici della sottotribù cui sembra essere più affine.

During entomological research carried out in the Pontine Islands (central Italy, Latium, Latina province), Dapsa gemina Audisio & De Biase, 1996 (Coleoptera, Endomychidae), previously known only from coastal areas of NE Algeria, has been recorded in Italy and in Europe for the first time. This new record suggested the authors to shortly discuss the possible scenario of a relatively recent, late Pleistocene passive transportation of Dapsa gemina and of the related D. obscurissima Pic, 1904 (sharing a very similar disjunct geographic distribution) by marine drift of masses of vegetal debris from North Africa.