Hydraena (Hydraena) leprieuri Sainte-Claire Deville, 1905

Lamine, Smail, Lounaci, Abdelkader & Bennas, Nard, 2019, Biodiversity and chorology of aquatic beetles (Coleoptera: Elmidae and Hydraenidae) in Kabylia (central-north Algeria). New records and updates, Zootaxa 4700 (1), pp. 102-116 : 106

Hydraena (Hydraena) leprieuri Sainte-Claire Deville, 1905

Material examined. IG1 : 18-V-2013 (78 exs.) , IG2 : 18-V-2013 (42 exs.) , SA1 : 12-VI-2013 (3 exs.) , SA3 : 12- VI-2013 (3 exs.) , KH: 14-VI-2013 (3 exs.), O1: 16-VI-2014 (45 exs.), O2: 16-VI-2014 (10 exs.), O3: 16-VI-2014 (7 exs.), O4: 16-VI-2014 (38 exs.), BO1: 26-VI-2014 (9 exs.), BO2: 26-VI-2014 (13 exs.), TG1: 26-VI-2014 (11 exs.), TG2: 18-V-2014 (23 exs.).

Chorotype. Endemic Maghrebian ( Algeria and Tunisia).

From Algeria, the species was recorded from the Edough massif and in Souk Ahras located in the country’s northeast ( Kaddouri 1986; Berthélemy et al. 1991). The captures in thirteen sampling sites in the Djurdjura massif, at altitudes between 370 m and 1450 m, include new sites in northern Algeria. It is the first record for Kabylia. In Tunisia, these species was collected at elevations from 7 m to 588 m ( Touaylia et al. 2009).

The rheophilic species has been collected in the following habitat types: springs, headwater streams and middle courses of rivers, under stony substrates with rocks and gravel. This microhabitat provides a homochromy for avoiding predators ( Touaylia et al. 2009).

Among 12 sampling sites where H. leprieuri occured, 11 were exposed to domestic water pollution, grazing and water extraction.