The following ten species of ptinid beetles are recorded from the Maltese Islands: Dignomus brevipilis (Desbrochers), Dignomus reichei (Boieldieu), Ptinus (Gynopterus) variegatus Rossi, Ptinus (Pseudobruchus) spitzyi Villa, Ptinus (Heteroptinus) affinis Desbrochers, Ptinus (Ptinus) clavi pes Panzer, Microptinus melitensis Pic, Mezium americanum (Laporte), Gibbium aequinoctiale Boieldieu and Gibbium psylloides (Czenpinski). Of these, Ptinus clavi pes was not previously recorded whereas Gibbium aequinoctiale was referred to as G. boieldieui (Levrat).peer-reviewe

Belles, Xavier

Mifsud, David

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The Central Mediterranean Naturalist 3(2): 43 - 48 Malta, December, 2000 PTINID BEETLES (COLEOPTERA, PTINIDAE) FROM THE MALTESE ISLANDS Xavier Belles} and David Mifsud2 ABSTRACT The following ten species of ptinid beetles are recorded from the Maltese Islands: Dignomus brevipilis (Desbrochers), Dignomus reichei (Boieldieu), Ptinus (Gynopterus) variegatus Rossi, Ptinus (Pseudobruchus) spitzyi Villa, Ptinus (Heteroptinus) affinis Desbrochers, Ptinus (Ptinus) clavi pes Panzer, Microptinus melitensis Pic, Mezium americanum (Laporte), Gibbium aequinoctiale Boieldieu and Gibbium psylloides (Czenpinski). Of these, Ptinus clavi pes was not previously recorded whereas Gibbium aequinoctiale was referred to as G. boieldieui (Levrat). INTRODUCTION The Ptinidae is a family of small insects commonly known as spider beetles, presently composed of some 70 genera and approximately 700 described species. Their distribution is cosmopolitan although they seem to be more abundant in the drier regions of the world (Philips, 2000). From a systematic point of view, ptinid beetles have been considered as a formal family within the Bostrichoidea (Crowson, 1967, 1981; Paulian, 1988) or as a subfamily of Anobiidae (Lawrence & Newton, 1995; Philips, 2000). In any case, ptinid beetles are a well defined group that seems to be monophyletic according to the recent studies by Philips (2000), which suggests that the consideration of them as a formal family may be not only practical but also reasonable from a biosystematic point of view. Morphological characters which distinguish Ptinidae from Anobiidae have been detailed by Crowson (1967), among others. Ptinids include specialized myrmecophiles, dung feeders and wood-boring species. Several species are often associated with stored products where they are considered as minor pests. The first endemic Maltese ptinid was described by Pic (1903), under the name of Microptinus melitensis. This species was later included by Tonna-Barthet (1931) in a list of rare beetles peculiar to the Maltese Islands, and again cited by Cilia (1989) in the Red Data Book. However, the main contribution to the knowledge of Ptinidae from the Maltese Islands is the checklist of Coleoptera published by Cameron & I Centro de Investigaci6n y Desarrollo (CSIC). Barcelona SPAIN. Caruana Gatto (1907), in which seven valid species of this family were cited. Recent collections made by one of us (DM) allow an up to-date study of the ptinid beetles inhabiting the Maltese Islands. The results are presented below. Material has been deposited in the collections of the authors and at the Natural History Museum of Basel, Switzerland. ANNOTATED LIST OF SPECIES Dignomus brevipilis (Desbrochers, 1875) Data from Malta. Recorded from Buskett and Attard by Cameron & Caruana Gatto (1907). Material examined. MALTA, St. Thomas Bay (towards Munxar), 3 exs., under stone near coastal area, 20.v.1990 and 23.v.1994, leg. D. Mifsud. Comments. The inclusion of this species under the genus Dignomus has been recently proposed by Belles (1996). D. brevipilis has a West Mediterranean distribution (Pic, 1912; Belles, 1996). Dignomus reicltei (Boieldieu, 1854) Data from Malta. Recorded from Gnejna (Cameron & Caruana Gatto, 1907). 2 Naturhistorisches Museum. Augustinergasse 2. CH-4001 BaseL SWITZERLAND. 43 The inclusion of this species under the genus Dignomus has been recently proposed by Belles (1996). Although no recent records are available, the occurrence of D. reichei in Malta is probable, given that it has a distribution comprising Greece, Sicily and North Africa (Pic, 1912; Belles, 1996). Ptinus (Gynopterus) variegatus Rossi, 1794 Data from Malta. Recorded from Valletta by Cameron & Caruana Gatto (1907). Material examined. MALTA, Birzebbuga, 1 ex., 27.iii.1994, leg. D. Mifsud; Marsa (Ghammieri), 7 exs., under bark of Eucalyptus trees, 7-28.xii.l993, leg. D. Mifsud; Msida (University gardens), I ex., 2.iv.1995, leg. D. Mifsud; Pembroke 2 exs., in private orchard, 27.iii.1990 and 6.v.1990, leg. A. Micallef. Comments. Ptinus duvali Lareynie, 1852, which was also cited from Malta (ColI. Gatto) by Cameron & Caruana Gatto (1907), is a variety of P. (G.) variegatus (Pic, 1912) without formal taxonomic value. Ptinus insularis Desbrochers, mentioned from Malta in the original description (Desbrochers, 1871), was synonymised with P. (G.) variegatus (Pic, 1912). P. (G.) variegatus has a Palaearctic distribution (Pic, 1912). Ptinus (Pseudobruchus) spitzyi Villa, 1838 Data from Malta. Recorded from Gnejna by Cameron & Caruana Gatto (1907). Comments. Although no recent records are available, the occurrence of P. (P.) spitZyi in Malta is probable, given that it has a West Mediterranean distribution, comprising Corsica (Pic, 1912). Ptinus (Heteroptinus) afflnis Desbrochers, 1871 (figure 1) Data from Malta. Recorded from Valletta by Cameron & Caruana Gatto (1907). Material examined. MALTA, St. Thomas Bay (towards Munxar), 1 ex., 25.v.1994, leg. D. Mifsud; Hagar Qim, 1 ex., 22.x.1989, leg. D. Mifsud; Marsa (Ghammieri), 43 exs., under bark of Eucalyptus trees, 2-28.xii.1993 and 19.ii.2000, leg. D. Mifsud; Msida (University gardens), 1 ex., l3.xii.1994, leg. C. Farrugia; Bahrija, 2 exs., 12.v.1996, leg. D. Mifsud. 44 GOZO, Ramla, 1 ex., under stone near sand dune vegetation, 16.x.l997, leg. D. Mifsud. Comments. P. (H) affinis was described from Sicily by Desbrochers (1871) and later reported only from Malta (sic) by Reitter (1884). Pic (1912) mentions both localities, Malta and Sicily. Ptinus (Ptinus) clavipes Panzer, 1792 Material examined. MALTA, St. Thomas Bay, 1 ex., 29.iii.1991, leg. D. Mifsud; Marsa (Ghammieri), 2 exs., in human habitation, 20.iv.1994 and 13.ii.1995, leg. D. Mifsud; Mdina, 2 exs., in old demolished building under pigeon dung, 17.ii.2000, leg. D. Mifsud. Comments. The status of this species was revised by Moore (1957). P. (P.) clavi pes frequently shows synanthropic habits, and its distribution is practically cosmopolitan (Hinton, 1941). There were no previous records of P. clavipes from the Maltese Islands. Microptinus melitensis Pic, 1903 (figure 2) Material examined. MALTA, Delimara, 1 ex., under stone near large accumulations of rabbit dung, 26.ii.1990, leg. D. Mifsud; Buskett, 1 ex., 17.xi.1995, leg. D. Mifsud; Mtahleb, 1 ex., in leaf litter under Cistus monspeliensis, 5.iv.1998, leg. D. Mifsud; Mellieha, I ex., in leaf litter under Tetraclinis articulata, 30.ix.1997, leg. D. Mifsud. GOZO, San Bias, 1 ex., in leaf litter under Ceratonia siliqua, 7.i.1995, leg. D. Mifsud. Comments. M melitensis is endemic to Malta (Pic, 1903). Cameron & Caruana Gatto (1907) reported Microptinus reitteri Pic (1895) from Imtahleb, as identified by Maurice Pic. However, Pic himself later stated that M reitteri is known only from Sicily (Pic, 1912), whereas the Microptinus found in Malta isM melitensis. From these data we have inferred that Pic provisionally identified the material from Malta for Cameron and Caruana Gatto as M reitteri, before discovering that the Maltese Microptinus belonged to a new species. Pic then described M melitensis in 1903, but Cameron and Caruana Gatto still used the identification of M reitteri determined by the French specialist before 1903. 1mm Fig.!. Habitus of the male of Ptinus (Heteroptinus) a/finis Desbrochers. 45 Mezium americanum (Laporte, 1840) Data from Malta: Recorded from "Malta" by Belles (1985a) Comments. It is a frequently synanthropic species with a practically cosmopolitan distribution (Belles, 1985a) Gihhium aequinoctiale Boieldieu, 1854 Material examined. MALTA, Zejtun, 15 exs., in human habitation, 12.vii.1997, 20.ix.1997, 3.iii.1998, 6 and 20.iv.1998, l.v.1998, 22.i.1999 and 18.ii.-2000, leg. D. Mifsud; Marsa (Ghammieri), 8 exs., in human habitation, 8.x.1993, 15.vi.1994, 4 and 6.v.1995, 3.v.1996 and 8.vii.l997, leg. D. Mifsud. Comments. There were no previous records of this spt!cies from Malta. However, the mention of Gibbium boieldieui Levrat, by Cameron & Caruana Gatto (1907) from Valletta, could be attributed to Gibbium aequinoctiale, given the relative similarity between both species. G. boieldieui is known from West Asia, including Turkey, although there are some old unconfirmed records from Greece and Malay archipelago (Belles, 1985a). The main characters to separate the two species, including the description of the respective male REFERENCES genitalia, have been reported by Belles (1 985a). The status of this species was revised by Belles (l985a) and Belles & Halstead (1985). Its distribution'. is practically cosmopolitan, although most of the records are concentrated in tropical or subtropical areas (Belles, 1985a; Belles & Halstead, 1985). It shows synanthropic habits (Belles, 1985b). Gihhium psylloides (Czenpinski, 1778) Data from Malta: Recorded from "Malta" by Belles (1985a). Comments: It is a typically synanthropic species distributed in the Mediterranean area (Belles, 1985a; Belles & Halstead, 1985). ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We thank Charles Farrugia and Alfred Micallef for donating their ptinid material for study. We are also grateful to Gianluca Nardi, Roberto Poggi and an anonymous referee for their useful comments on the manuscript. (Received 1" June 2000) Belles, X., (1985a). Sistematica, filogenia y biogeografia de la subfamilia Gibbiinae (Coleoptera, Ptinidae). Treballs del Museu de Zoologia, Barcelona, 3: 1-94. Belles, X., (1985b). Habitats i habits d'alimentaci6 de Is Gibbiinae (Coleoptera, Ptinidae). 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The biology of the Coleoptera. Academic Press, London. xii + 802 pp. Desbrochers des Loges, M. J., (1871). Description de Coleopteres nouveaux d'Europe et confins et remarques diverses. I. Curculionides nouveaux de genres divers. Mitteilungen der Schweizer entomologischen GesellschaJt, 3 (7): 337-360. Hinton, H. H., (1941). The Ptinidae of economic importance. Bulletin of Entomological Research, 31: 331-381. Lawrence, J. F. & Newton, Jr. A. F., (1995). Families and subfamilies of Coleoptera (with selected genera, notes, references and data on family group names). In: Pakaluk, J. & Slipinski, S. A. [eds.], Biology, phylogeny, and classification of Coleoptera: papers celebrating the 80th birthday of Roy Crowson. pp. 779-1006, Warszawa, Museumi Instytut Zoologii PAN, Volume two vi + 559 - 1092 pp. Moore, B. P. (1957). The identity of Ptinus latro auct. (Col. Ptinidae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of London, (B) 26 (11-12): 199-202. Paulian, R., (1988). Biologie des Co/eopteres. Lechevalier, Paris. ix + 719 pp. Philips, T. K., (2000). Phylogenetic analysis of the New World Ptininae (Coleoptera: Bostrichoidea). Systematic Entomology, 25: 235-262. Pic. M., (1895). Notes diverses sur les Ptinides et descriptions d'especes nouvelles. L 'Echange, 129: 99-103. Pic. M., (1903). Especes et varietes nouvelles de Coleopteres. L 'Echange, 226: 161-163. Pic. M., (1912). Ptinidae. Coleopterorum Catalogus, 41, W. Junk, Berlin. 46 pp. Reitter, E., (1884). Bestimmungs-tabellen der europaischen Coleopteren. XI. Bruchidae (Ptinidae). Verhandlung des naturforschenden Vereines in Brunn, 22: 295-323. Tonna-Barthet, G., (1931). A list ofrare coleoptera peculiar to the Island of Malta. Science, pg. 7. 48 

Ptinid Beetles (Coleoptera, Ptinidae) from the Maltese Islands

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Ptinid Beetles (Coleoptera, Ptinidae) from the Maltese Islands

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