Pachylister inaequalis (Olivier)

Penati, Fabio, 2009, An updated catalogue of the Histeridae (Coleoptera) of Sardinia, with faunistic, zoogeographical, ecological and conservation remarks *, Zootaxa 2318, pp. 197-280 : 258

Pachylister inaequalis (Olivier)

Hister inaequalis Ol. : Bargagli 1871: 40

Hister inaequalis Lin. : Bertolini 1872 –1878: 83

Literature data. “All of Italy ” ( Bertolini 1904; Porta 1926). “ Sardinia ” ( Bargagli 1871; Bertolini 1872 –1878; Luigioni 1929; Barajon 1966; Vienna 1980; Audisio et al. 1995; Yélamos & Lackner 2004).

Notes. Apart from the above very generic citations, the presence of this species on the island is documented neither in the literature nor in the examined collections; it was therefore considered absent in Sardinia already by Penati and Vienna (2002) (cf. Tab. 1). Considering that it occurs in cow and horse dung ( Vienna 1980; Yélamos 2002), that it is absolutely unmistakable for its shape and size (it is the largest Italian histerid) and that it occurs also in Corsica ( Secq 2000a; Gomy 2007, 2008), I consider it unlikely that the first record for this species ( Bargagli 1871) could have been due to a misidentification; on the contrary I think it may have become extinct, like in the Po Valley where it seems to have disappeared following the dramatic drop in grazing ( Penati & Vienna 2005, 2006a).