Hister thoracicus Paykull, 1811

Penati, Fabio, 2009, An updated catalogue of the Histeridae (Coleoptera) of Sardinia, with faunistic, zoogeographical, ecological and conservation remarks *, Zootaxa 2318, pp. 197-280 : 259

Hister thoracicus Paykull

Hister amplicollis Er. : Bargagli 1871: 41; Bertolini 1872 –1878: 83, 1904: 48; Heyden et al. 1906: 263; Porta 1926: 369

Literature data. “ Sardinia ” ( Bargagli 1871; Bertolini 1872 –1878, 1904; Heyden et al. 1906; Porta 1926; Luigioni 1929; Barajon 1966; Vienna 1980; Mazur 1984; Audisio et al. 1995; Mazur 1997, 2004; Yélamos & Lackner 2004).

Notes. This is another large species (7.0–8.5 mm) with a W-Mediterranean distribution, the presence of which in Sardinia, repeatedly reported in the literature (see above), was not confirmed by the study of the several collections. However, recently it was recorded from Corsica ( Secq 1998); this, together with the records from mainland Italy cited by Penati and Vienna (2005, 2006a), allows us to suppose that the species could actually occur in Sardinia but was not found for many decades due to its rarity ( Yélamos 2002) or that some specimens may be hidden in the collections, confused with melanic specimens of Hister quadrimaculatus (cf. Secq 1998; Yélamos 2002). In any case, its presence in Sardinia needs confirming.