Luca Bartolozzi

A checklist of stag beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea: Lucanidae) from Iran.

An updated checklist of the Lucanidae (Coleoptera) from Iran is given. New locality records are listed and some dubious distributional records are discussed. Dorcus vavrai Nonfried, 1905 is placed in synonymy with Dorcus peyronis Reiche and Saulcy, 1856 (new synonymy) The female of Lucanus xerxes Král, 2004 is described. A key for the identification of the Iranian stag beetle species is also provided and all the species are figured.

Testing the performance of a fragment of the COI gene to identify western Palaearctic stag beetle species (Coleoptera, Lucanidae).

Abstract The taxonomy of stag beetles (Coleoptera: Lucanidae) remains challenging, mainly due to the sexual dimorphism and the strong allometry in males. Such conjecture confounds taxonomic based conservation efforts that are urgently needed due to numerous threats to stag beetle biodiversity. Molecular tools could help solve the problem of identification of the different recognized taxa in the “Lucanus cervus complex” and in some related Palaearctic species. We investigated the potential use of a 670 bp region at the 3’ end of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene (COI) for barcoding purposes (different from the standard COI barcoding region). Well resolved species and subspecies were L. tetraodon, L. cervusakbesianus, L. c. laticornis, as well as the two eastern Asian outgroup taxa L. formosanus and L. hermani. Conversely, certain taxa could not be distinguished from each other based on K2P-distances and tree topologies: L. c. fabiani / L. (P.) barbarossa, L. c. judaicus / an unknown Lucanus species, L. c. cervus / L. c. turcicus / L. c. pentaphyllus / L. (P.) macrophyllus / L. ibericus. The relative roles of phenotypic plasticity, recurrent hybridisation and incomplete lineage sorting underlying taxonomic and phylogenetic discordances are discussed.

Application of molecular genetics and geometric morphometrics to taxonomy and conservation of cave beetles in central Italy

Integration of molecular genetic techniques and geometric morphometrics represent a valuable tool in the resolution of taxonomic uncertainty and the identification of significant units for conservation. We combined mitochondrial DNA cytochrome c oxidase subunit II gene sequence data and geometric morphometric analysis to examine taxonomic status and identify units for conservation in four species of the hypogean beetle Duvalius (Coleoptera, Trechinae) using mainly museum specimens collected in central Italy. Previous taxonomic studies based on morphological traits described several subspecies often inhabiting geographically distinct caves. Phylogenetic analysis identified two well supported monophyletic lineages and a number of different clades with relatively small genetic differences, suggesting a short divergence time in line with known geological history of the study area. Geometric morphometrics, on the other hand, recovered a high level of distinctiveness among specimens. Both genetic and morphometric analyses did not entirely corroborate former taxonomic nomenclature, suggesting possible rearrangements and the definition of evolutionary significant units. Beetles of the genus Duvalius are protected by regional laws and the majority of taxa considered in this study inhabit caves located outside protected areas. Our study advocates the importance of devoting protection efforts to networks of cave ecosystems rather than single locations or species.

Warning: potential problems for taxonomy on the horizon?

Whether or not a species might reasonably be described without the preservation of a type specimen is a matter of ongoing discussion among taxonomists (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Minteer et al. 2014; Krell & Wheeler 2014; Löbl et al. 2016; Marshall & Evenhuis 2016; Santos et al. 2016). Here, we attempt to make our own contribution to the topic.

Italian natural history museums on the verge of collapse

Abstract The Italian natural history museums are facing a critical situation, due to the progressive loss of scientific relevance, decreasing economic investments, and scarcity of personnel. This is extremely alarming, especially for ensuring the long-term preservation of the precious collections they host. Moreover, a commitment in fieldwork to increase scientific collections and concurrent taxonomic research are rarely considered priorities, while most of the activities are addressed to public events with political payoffs, such as exhibits, didactic meetings, expositions, and talks. This is possibly due to the absence of a national museum that would have better steered research activities and overall concepts for collection management. We here propose that Italian natural history museums collaborate to instate a “metamuseum”, by establishing a reciprocal interaction network aimed at sharing budgetary and technical resources, which would assure better coordination of common long-term goals and scientific activities.

A geographic distribution data set of biodiversity in Italian freshwaters

We present a data set on the biodiversity of Italian freshwaters, including lakeshores and riverbanks of natural (N=379: springs, streams and lakes) and artificial (N=11: fountains) sites. The data set belongs partly to the Italian Long Term Ecological Research network (LTER-Italy) and partly to LifeWatch, the European e-Science infrastructure for biodiversity and ecosystem research. The data included cover a time period corresponding to the last fifty years (1962-2014). They span a large number of taxa from prokaryotes and unicellular eukaryotes to vertebrates and plants, including taxa linked to the aquatic habitat in at least part of their life cycles (like immature stages of insects, amphibians, birds and vascular plants). The data set consists of 6463 occurrence data and distribution records for 1738 species. The complete data set is available in csv file format via the LifeWatch Service Centre.

A New Species of the Genus Neacratus Alonso-Zarazaga, Lyal, Bartolozzi, and Sforzi (Coleoptera: Brentidae: Acratini) from Central America

Abstract Neacratus antennatus Mantilleri, Lanuza-Garay, and Bartolozzi, new species, a straight-snout weevil from Central America, is described and illustrated. Although the new taxon shows very peculiar antennal and elytral apices, it is provisionally included in the genus Neacratus Alonso-Zarazaga, Lyal, Bartolozzi, and Sforzi, 1999. The new species is compared with other Neacratus species, particularly to Neacratus glabratus (Lund, 1800), the type species of the genus.

Brentidae of Peru (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea)

Eighty-four species of Brentidae (not including Apioninae) are listed from Peru, 13 presently only known from this country. Stereodermus platycornis Mantilleri, sp. nov. and Teramocerus spathulifer Mantilleri, sp. nov., are described from Tambopata Province. A micropterous species, Stereodermus micropterus Mantilleri, sp. nov., is described from Alto Madre de Dios River. Stereodermus barbirostris Sharp, 1895, S. breviceps Sharp, 1895, S. nigriceps Sharp, 1895, Pertusius errabundus (Kleine, 1927), Rugosacratus punctirostris (Boheman, 1840), Teramocerus appendiculatus (Soares & Scivittaro, 1972), T. eletus Kleine, 1927, and T. suturalis (Lund, 1800), are newly recorded from Peru.

Revision of the Australian species of Figulus MacLeay, 1819 (Coleoptera: Lucanidae)

The Australian species of the genus Figulus MacLeay, 1819 (Coleoptera: Lucanidae: Lucaninae: Figulini) are reviewed. Four new synonymies are established: F. howei De Lisle, 1967 and F. tambourinensis Mjöberg, 1916 are junior synonyms of F. nitens Waterhouse, 1874 (new synonymy); F. laevithorax Bomans is a junior synonym of F. regularis Westwood, 1834 (new synonymy); F. mento Albers, 1883 and F. mento foveatus Kriesche, 1922 are junior synonyms of F. sulcicollis Hope in Westwood, 1845 (new synonymy). The number of Figulus species known from Australia thus decreases to seven, four of which are endemic to Australia and one to Christmas Island. Lectotypes are designated for F. australicus Thomson, 1862, F. clivinoides Thomson, 1862, F. nitens Waterhouse, 1874, F. rossi Gahan, 1900, and F. tambourinensis Mjöberg, 1916. All the seven valid species are redescribed and a key is given for their identification. Photographs of the habitus, the mentum and illustrations of the aedeagus for all the taxa are also included. New unpublished data on the host plants and habitats for some of the Australian species are included.

Notes on the genus Echinoaesalus Zelenka, 1993 (Coleoptera: Lucanidae), with the description of a new species from the Malay Peninsula.

Echinoaesalus cechovskyi new species is described from the Malay Peninsula. Echinoaesalus hidakai borneoensis Huang & Imura, 2011 is elevated to the species level as E. borneoensis new status. The male or female genitalia of Echinoaesalus timidus (Krikken, 1975), E. hidakai (Araya, Kon, & Johki, 1993), E. borneoensis, and E. sabahensis Zelenka, 1994 are described and illustrated for the first time. The intraspecific variation of E. timidus is discussed.