The Bostrichidae of the Maltese Islands (Coleoptera)

Abstract

The Bostrichidae of the Maltese Islands are reviewed. Ten species are recorded with certainty from this Archipelago, of which 6 namely, Trogoxylon impressum (Comolli, 1837), Amphicerus bimaculatus (A.G. Olivier, 1790), Heterobostrychus aequalis (Waterhouse, 1884), Sinoxylon unidentatum (Fabricius, 1801), Xyloperthella picea (A.G. Olivier, 1790) and Apate monachus Fabricius, 1775 are recorded for the first time. Two of the mentioned species (H. aequalis and S. unidentatum) are alien and recorded only on the basis of single captures and the possible establishment of these species is discussed. Earlier records of Scobicia pustulata (Fabricius, 1801) from Malta are incorrect and should be attributed to S. chevrieri (A. Villa & J.B. Villa, 1835). A zoogeographical analysis and an updated checklist of the 12 species of Bostrichidae recorded from the Maltese Islands and neighbouring Sicilian islands (Pantelleria, Linosa and Lampedusa) are also provided. Rhizopertha dominica (Fabricius, 1792) form granulipennis Lesne in Beeson & Bhatia, 1937 from Uttarakhand (northern India) was overlooked by almost all subsequent authors. Its history is summarized and the following new synonymy is established: Rhizopertha dominica (Fabricius, 1792) form granulipennis Lesne in Beeson & Bhatia, 1937 = Rhyzopertha dominica (Fabricius, 1792), syn. n. Finally, records of Amphicerus bimaculatus from Azerbaijan, of Bostrichus capucinus (Linnaeus, 1758) from Jordan and Syria, of Scobicia chevrieri from Jordan and Italy, of Xyloperthella picea from Italy, and of Apate monachus from Corsica (France) and Italy, are also provided.