Tomoderus dalmatinus Reitter, 1881

Migliaccio, Enrico & Nardi, Gianluca, 2022, Tomoderus dalmatinus Reitter, 1881 - a new genus and species for the Bulgarian fauna (Coleoptera, Anthicidae), Zootaxa 5092 (5), pp. 593-595 : 593-594

Tomoderus dalmatinus Reitter, 1881

Tomoderus dalmatinus Reitter, 1881: 224 .

Tomoderus serbicus Reitter [(nomen nudum)]: Heyden, 1883: 140.

Material examined. BULGARIA: GL09, [Rila-Rhodope Massif, Rila-Pirin Mountain group,] South Pirin Mts [= Alibotoush (Slavyanka) Mt.], 450–510 m, SE slope of Sveti Iliaya Hill, near Kalimantsi [vill.], 1–22. VI .2002, MLL, maquis, soil trap, 1 ♀ ( CGN) .

Geographic distribution. Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia ( Reitter 1881; Audisio et al. 2015; Telnov 2020b; UN!). The old record from “Balc. [= Balkan peninsula]” ( Winkler 1927) is therefore almost confirmed.

Ecology. Little is known about the ecology of this species. The close T. italicus Marseul, 1879 , an Italian endemic ( Telnov 2020b), occurs in the leaf litter in different types of wood and maquis habitats, from sea level to the montane belt (1100–1300 m a.s.l.) ( Holdhaus 1923; Bucciarelli 1980; Uhmann 1985; Lundberg et. al. 1987; Sparacio 1997; Degiovanni & Pezzi 2007; Angelini 2020; Nardi unpublished data). The ecology of T. dalmatinus appears similar (cf. Reitter 1881; Sahlberg 1913; Čanadjija 1965; Bucciarelli 1980; Uhmann 1985).

The mentioned site of T. dalmatinus is situated on the Rila-Pirin Mountain group, a range that hosts an interesting entomofauna (cf. Fet & Popov 2007; Migliaccio et al. 2007; Chobanov 2009; Teofilova 2020). The sampling site falls within the territory of two Natura 2000 protected areas ( Teofilova 2020); it is in a xerothermic Quercus coccifera community ( Chobanov 2009: 90; Teofilova 2020: 29); this phytocoenosis is classified as Nearly Threatened according to the Red Data Book of Bulgaria (cf. Teofilova 2020).

We have also examined another anthicid species from the same site: Notoxus miles miles W.L.E. Schmidt, 1842 ( GL09 , South Pirin M. ts, 450–510 m, SE slope of Sveti Iliaya Hill, near Kalimantsi, 6.IV.–10.V.2002, MLL, maquis, soil traps, 1 ♂, 1 ♀ ( CEM; CGN); same data but 1–22.VI.2002, 1 ♂ ( CEM)) .

Moreover, two other congeneric species were collected in other areas of the Rila-Rhodope Massif (cf. Chobanov 2009): N. appendicinus Desbrochers des Loges, 1874 (National Park Pirin (Bansko), from Bunderitsa to Vihren, 1700 m, 19.VII.2001, EML, 1 ♀ ( CEM); FM71 , Strouma Valley , 2 Km South from Kamenitsa [vill.] , 31.V–23.VI .2002 , MLL, maquis, soil traps, 3 ♂♂, 1 ♀ (CEM); same data but 23.VI .–8.VIII.2002 , DCL, 1 ♂ (CGN); Western Rodopy , Chepelarska river bank, 2 Km North of Bachkovo, 29.VI .2002 , EML, 1 ♂ (CEM)), and N. trifasciatus Rossi, 1792 ( Rila M.ts, Rila Monastery, sentiero [= path] Sveti Ivan Rilski, 1100 m, 23.VI.2002, EML, 1 ♀ (CEM)).

Apparently, only Notoxus miles miles was previously recorded from the Rila-Rhodope Massif (cf. Heberdey 1936; Uhmann & Guéorguiev 2000); this subspecies occurs in almost all Balkan countries ( Bucciarelli 1980; Telnov 2020b).

The above site near Kamenitsa vill. also falls within the territory of two Natura 2000 zones (cf. Teofilova 2020).

Notes. Heyden (1883), in the “Catalogus Coleopterorum Europae et Caucasi”, listed Tomoderus serbicus Reitt. [= Reitter] from “Serb. [= Serbia]”, but this is a nomen nudum, as later he himself declared (Heyden 1891a: 266; 1891b: 531, in both cases as T. serbicus Reitt. i. lit. [= Reitter, in litteris]), listing it also from “Serb.” but as a “synonym” of T. dalmatinus . In a new edition of the same catalogue ( Reitter 1906), T. serbicus was not listed. Tomoderus serbicus is an unavailable name (Chandler et al. 2009: 153); in any case, its above “senior synonym” appears correct, since Reitter himself was among the editors of the catalogues where this name was included (cf. Heyden 1891a, 1891b); moreover T. dalmatinus is the sole species of Tomoderus LaFerté-Sénectère, 1849 yet recorded from Serbia ( Telnov 2020b).

Sahlberg (1913: 19) recorded T. dalmatinus and T. “ bosnicus Pic. ?” from Corfu Island ( Greece); he examined a sole specimen of the latter species, which was previously not recorded from Greece ( Pic 1911). No further records of T. bosnicus from Greece are known, so it was unlisted from this country by Chandler et al. (2008). Currently, it is recorded from Bosnia and Herzegovina and, on the basis of Sahlberg (1913), with doubt also from Greece ( Audisio et al. 2015; Telnov 2020a).

Tomoderus italicus and T. dalmatinus can be easily recognized by examination of the male genitalia ( Bucciarelli 1980; Degiovanni 2021), while the external characters listed by Bucciarelli (1980) on the basis of examination of many specimens of the former species do not always seem valid (Nardi unpublished data). Unfortunately, the male genitalia of T. bosnicus remain unknown.

Discussion. The occurrence of Tomoderus dalmatinus in Bulgaria was expected since it is known from all adjacent countries except Turkey. This new record raises the total number of Anthicidae genera and species known from Bulgaria to 20 and 53, respectively (cf. Telnov 2020b), but further research will likely increase the latter value.