Stenostoma cossyrense Bologna, 1995

Poloni, Riccardo, Bologna, Marco A. & Riccieri, Alessandra, 2024, One genus, four different stories: evolutionary history, bionomics and biogeography of the monotypic tribe Stenostomatini (Coleoptera: Oedemeridae), Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 200 (3), pp. 705-719 : 714

Stenostoma cossyrense Bologna, 1995

( FIGS 1A, F , 2A, B , 6A )

Stenostoma melitense – pars, Bologna, 1984: 57.

Stenostoma cossyrense Bologna, 1995: 516 , figs 1, 4–10.

Stenostoma cossyrense – Vazquez, 2002: 108, 178 fig. d.

Type locality: [ Italy, Sicily] ‘ Pantelleria, Tracino’ ( Bologna 1995) .

Type specimens: We examined all type specimens from Pantelleria (Tracino; Lago di Venere ; Cala 5 denti) ( MAB, MZP and MVE) ( Bologna 1995).

Short description: For an extended description, see Bologna (1995). Body length: 6.3–8.2 mm. Metallic green in colour, with a bronze tinge. Head only slightly rostrate, almost as long as wide ( Fig. 1F ). Pronotum not elongated, slightly cordiform, as long as wide, not prolonged towards the head and widened in the fore-third. Elytra with sub-humeral costa faint and hardly visible. Female pygidium rounded at apex ( Fig. 1A ). Aedeagus short, less narrowed and curved than in S. melitense , with a blunt apex that is stockier than in the previous species ( Fig. 1B ).

According to molecular analyses (see below), this species seems not to be distinguishable genetically from S. melitense Cameron, 1907 , but morphologically it is greatly different because of the shape of the head (not distinctly rostrate), of thepronotum (distinctly widened in the middle) and of the male genitalia (with apex of parameres curved and apical portion of aedeagus scarcely curved forwards).

Distribution: Endemic to Pantelleria Island (Trapani province, Sicily, Italy), in the western portion of the Sicilian Channel, central Mediterranean.

Ecology: this species inhabits rocky and arid scrubland and semi-cultivated habitats, from sea level [Cala 5 denti; Lago di Venere (also called Bagno dell’acqua or Bagno di Venere); P. Audisio and B. Massa, pers. comm.] to sub-coastal areas <350 m a.s.l. (Tracino; Piana di Ghirlanda; C. Muscarella and M. Pavesi, pers. comm.; Fig. 6A ). Adults are floricolous, observed on different species belonging to different plant families (M. Pavesi and P. Audisio, pers. comm.), and were recorded feeding on Apiaceae [ Ammi majus Linnaeus ( Bologna 1995) ; Ammi sp. (C. Muscarella, pers. comm.)]. They were also collected using yellow plastic dishes (C. Muscarella, pers. comm.), which are frequently used to collect anthophilous insects. The courtship and copulation, both with the male dorsal in position on the female, were observed on the host flowers in Piana di Ghirlanda. The ascertained phenology is May–July ( Bologna 1984, 1995; new records by P. Audisio, S. Sabatelli, C. Muscarella and M. Pavesi; Supporting Information, Table S2).

Figures

Figure 1. Habitus and detail of head and pronotum of the species within the genus Stenostoma. A–E, habitus. A, Stenostoma cossyrense. B, Stenostoma lowei. C, Stenostoma melitense. D, Stenostoma rostratum rostratum. E, Stenostoma rostratum septentrionale. F–L, detail of head and pronotum. F, S. cossyrense. G, S. lowei. H, S. melitense. I, S. rostratum rostratum. L, S. rostratum septentrionale.

Figure 2. Genitalia of the species within the genus Stenostoma. A, B, Stenostoma cossyrense tegmen (A) and aedeagus (B). C, D, Stenostoma lowei tegmen (C) and aedeagus (D). E, F, Stenostoma melitense tegmen (E) and aedeagus (F). G, H, Stenostoma rostratum rostratum tegmen (G) and aedeagus (H). I–M, Stenostoma rostratum septentrionale tegmen (I) aedeagus (L) and aedeagus, variability (M).

Figure 6. Biotopes of the species within the genus Stenostoma. A, Pantelleria, Piano Ghirlanda (Stenostoma cossyrense). B, Madeira, Eira do Serrado, Madeira (Stenostoma lowei). C, Sicily, Punta Braccetto, stabilized dunes (Stenostoma melitense). D, Malta, Gozo Island (S. melitense). E, Sicily, Punta Braccetto, dunes (Stenostoma rostratum). F, Sardinia, Porto Ferro (S. rostratum, habitat and oviposition site with dead wood).