Gnathoncus nannetensis (Marseul)

Penati, Fabio, 2009, An updated catalogue of the Histeridae (Coleoptera) of Sardinia, with faunistic, zoogeographical, ecological and conservation remarks *, Zootaxa 2318, pp. 197-280 : 236

42. Gnathoncus nannetensis (Marseul)

Literature data. “ Sardinia ” ( Vienna 1980: 50; Audisio et al. 1995; Yélamos & Lackner 2004).

Unpublished records. Nuoro prov. : Laconi, 19. V .1967, 1 ex (DPPS).

Chorotype. 1.02 PAL (Palearctic).

Italian distribution. Piedmont, Lombardy, Trentino-Alto Adige, Venetia, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Liguria, Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, Marches, Abruzzi, Latium, Basilicata, Calabria and Sardinia.

Ecology. Occurs in any type of decaying organic matter (excrements, carcasses, rotting fungi and vegetables, foodstuffs, hen houses and granaries), but according to Yélamos (2002) it is especially abundant on bat guano accumulated close to the entrance of caves and in the nests of many bird species.

Notes. Penati and Vienna (2002) considered this species, previously recorded only in the regional distribution table of Italian histerids ( Vienna 1980), as absent from Sardinia, due to the lack of Sardinian specimens in the numerous collections examined. The specimens preserved in the DPPS collections and determined by P. Vienna confirm the correctness of the previous record and the presence of the species on the island.