Ptilodactyla exotica Chapin, 1927

Nardi, Gianluca, Bocci, Maura & Poggi, Roberto, 2020, Ptilodactyla exotica Chapin, 1927 in Italy (Coleoptera: Ptilodactylidae), Zootaxa 4861 (1), pp. 63-70 : 64-66

Ptilodactyla exotica Chapin, 1927

( Figs 1–4 )

Ptilodactyla exotica Chapin, 1927: 246 .

Material examined. Liguria region: Bogliasco [(Genoa prov.)], 31.VII.1940, R. Oss. Fitop. [= Regio Osservatorio Fitopatologico = Real Phytopathological Observatory], in serra [= in a greenhouse], 3 ♂♂ ( MSNGB) ; Carasco [(Ge- noa prov.)], 6.VIII.1971, G. Binaghi leg., serre di [= greenhouses of] Anthurium , 4 ♂♂, 1 ♀ ( CRP) ; sdb, 22.IX.1971, su [= on] Anthurium , 23 ♂♂, 12 ♀♀ ( MSNGB) ; [Moconesi, Fraz.] Gattorna (GE [= Genoa prov. ]), 14.XI.1993, M.B. Invernici leg., 1 ♂ ( MSNG) ; Genova città [= Genoa city], 6.IV.1966, S. Gandus leg., 1 ♀ ( MSNG) ; Genova città [= Genoa city], [San Teodoro quarter], 18.V.1994, A.M. Spatazza leg., 1 ♂ ( MSNG) ; sdb 26.V.1994, 1 ♂ ( MSNG) ; sdb 12.VI.1994, 3 ♂♂, 1 ♀ ( MSNG) ; sdb 20.VI.1994, 9 ♂♂ ( MSNG) ; Genova [= Genoa] [city, Marassi quarter], 29.X.1999, M.B. Invernici leg., 1 ♂ ( MSNG) ; Genova [= Genoa city], Sturla [quarter], 1.V.1972, F. Melo- dia leg., 1 ♂ ( MSNG) . [Tuscany region:] Firenze [= Florence], III.1994, [S.] Taiti leg., 2 ♂♂, 1 ♀ ( MZUF) .

Chorotype and distribution. Species is described from the USA but not native to the Neartic region ( Chapin 1927); it is maybe indigenous of the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean ( Süss & Puppin 1976; Aberlenc 2014). Currently, it had become subcosmopolitan, being known from the Palaearctic, Afrotropical, Neartic and Oriental regions ( Satô 2006; Hájek 2016). In the Palaearctic Region it is known only from Europe, where it was introduced in Czech Republic, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Slovakia, Switzerland ( Satô 2006; Hájek 2016), Norway and Sweden ( NOBANIS 2020) and recently in Spain ( Viñolas et al. 2020). Unidentified larvae of this family were collected in northern Israel ( Burmeister 1985), but no species of this family was recorded from the Levant ( Hájek 2016). According to capital sources ( Denux & Zagatti 2010: 373; EASIN 2020; NOBANIS 2020), Ptilodactyla exotica was firstly collected in Europe in 1971, but in fact it was first collected in Great Britain in 1907 ( Mann 2006; Hájek 2009) and in Italy in 1940 ( Binaghi 1972, as Ptilodactyla sp.). Unfortunately, the family Ptilodactylidae was overlooked in the Checklist of the Species of the Italian Fauna ( Stoch 2003) and in Fauna Europaea ( de Jong et al. 2014).

In Italy ( Fig. 4 ), Ptilodactyla exotica was collected in the following regions ( Tab. 1 ): Liguria ( Binaghi 1972, as Ptilodactyla sp.; Süss & Puppin 1976; present paper), Lombardy ( Süss & Puppin 1976; Cataldo 2016), Tuscany (present paper), and Campania ( Espinosa et al. 1991, as Ptilodactyla ? exotica Chapin ). In neighbouring countries, this species has been established in Switzerland ( Wittenberg 2005), whereas in France it has not been collected after 1995, although new interceptions are always possible ( Aberlenc & Brustel 2014).

Ecology. The larvae (which resemble elaterid larvae in form) develop in moist decaying plant matter (also in soil of houseplants and of greenhouse plants) and are probably mycophagous ( Spilman 1961; Süss & Puppin 1976; Stribling & Seymour 1988; Pollini 1998; Aberlenc 2014; Viñolas et al. 2020). Adults are nocturnal and short lived ( Mann 2006). The habit of soil-leaf litter dwelling of both the adults and larvae facilitates their dispersion with potted plants ( Mann 2006). Adults are able to fly ( Süss & Puppin 1976; Aberlenc & Allemand 1997; Mann 2006).

In Italy, this species has been collected in greenhouses in Liguria and Lombardy ( Binaghi 1972; Süss & Puppin 1976), in a flat in Lombardy ( Cataldo 2016) and in a natural habitat in Campania ( Espinosa et al. 1991). This last record concerns a sole male specimen ( Espinosa et al. 1991); its collecting site —Parco di Capodimonte (Naples prov.)— is not far (3–5 km as the crow flies) from the Naples Botanical Garden, while in the neighbouring Vesuvius National Park the species was not found in spite of intense researches ( Nardi & Vomero 2007).

Many records from Liguria come from private houses in sites devoid of greenhouses, and must relate to the presence of houseplants that, in all probability, came from Ligurian greenhouses. The above Tuscan specimens (year 1994) come from the urban area of Florence; the collector does not remember the circumstances of their collection but he observed the species in other occasions in Florence and also in his garden in the Monticelli quarter (S. Taiti, pers. comm. 2018). These specimens are slightly teneral and were collected in March; this suggests that they came from an indoor environment, since in March the local external temperatures are generally too low to allow the activity of this alien beetle.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Italian distribution of Ptilodactyla exotica (drawing: M. Bocci).

FIGURES 1–3. Ptilodactyla exotica—1: habitus of a male from Genoa (Italy, Liguria); 2: habitus of a female from Carasco (Italy, Liguria, Genoa prov.); 3: aedeagus dorsal view, male from Genoa (Italy, Liguria) (photos and drawing: R. Poggi).