THE GENUS PASSI FLORA Linnaeus, 1753,

The genus Pass (flora Linnaeus, 1753 known also

as the passion flowers or passion vines, belongs to

the family Passifloraceae including more than 530

species. They are mostly perennial lianas or

herbaceous vines, with some being trees, shrubs, or

even annuals. They are more common and

differentiated into Central and South America, but

some species also live in North America,

Australian Region and Asia.

Pollination is mainly carried out by insects, birds,

bats and some species are currently considered

protocarnivorous plants. Often, Passiflora are

cultivated for ornamental purposes, food and

medication.

The wide morphological variation is likely to result

from the diversity of the habitats as well as from

co-evolutionary relationships with many organisms

(protective ants, butterflies, pollinators) and plant

communities providing Passiflora physical support

and access to sunlight.

Because of particular biology and distribution,

Passiflora species, and Passifloraceae in general,

can be considered excellent indicators of

biodiversity in the Andean region.

Giovanni Onore. Fundacion Otonga, Apartado 1 7-03- 1 5 14A

- Quito, Ecuador; email: gonore@otonga.org.

1) Passiflora pinnatistipula Cav., 1799

Ecuador, Cotopaxi, Sigchos, 3,100 m,

I2.V.2010 (photo G. Onorc). This

species lives in humid Andean valleys

at altitudes between 2,500 and 3,800 m

above sea level. Often it is also

cultivated for its fruits which are

edible. R pinnatistipula is pollinated

by hummingbirds, bats, and is often

visited by Hymenopteraand Diptera; it

is also capable of self-pollination. It’s

an endangered species due to the

destruction of its original habitat.

2) Passiflora arborea Spreng., 1826

Bosque nublado Otonga, San Fran-

cisco de Las Pampas, 7, VIII. 2011

(photo G. Onorc). It is one of the few

arboreal species of Passiflora and

lives mostly in the rainforest between

1.000 to 2,300 m above sea level. It is

found also along the rivers and in the

most degraded areas, such as the edges

of pastures and roads. A species of the

genus Anastrepha Sehiner, 1868

(Diptera, Tephritidae) uses the fruits of

this plant for larvae development.

Cover. Passiflora manicata: San Gabriel, Carchi, Ecuador, 2,700 m above sea level, 7. VII. 201 1 (photo G. Onorc).

Biodiversity Journal, 2011, 2 (4): 163-170

Continental mollusc fauna of the Great Porto Alegre

central region, RS, Southern Brazil

A. Ignacio Agudo-Padron & Paulo Lenhard

Project Avulsos Malacologicos, Caixa Postal (PO. Box) 010, 88010-970 Centro, Florianopolis, Santa Catarina, SC, Brasil; emails:

ignacioagudo@gmail.com; paulolenhard@gmail.com.

ABSTRACT Actual available knowledge about the diversity and conservation status of the molluscan fauna occurring in the

continental geopolitical space of the central section of Great Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul State, RS, area

of the Biome “Pampa” in Southernmost Brazil is analyzed and discussed. Geographically located on the right

bank of the Jacui Delta (in the homonymous basin) and legally protected under the category of “State

Ecological Park”, next to Guaiba Lake where the Gravatai and Sinos rivers (severely polluted by the

anthropogenic indiscriminate action) empty, the region holds 66 malacological species and subspecies - 42

gastropods (23 limnic and 19 terrestrial) and 24 bivalves, included in 45 Genera, 24 Families and two Classes

- about 1/3 of the total number of species in the State. Fourteen are introduced and invasive alien species, i.e.

11 Gastropoda (one limnic, 10 terrestrial) and 3 bivalves. Finally, at least 8 native bivalves (Unionoida) are

contained in National and State Red Lists of Endangered Fauna.

KEY WORDS Continental mollusc fauna, Gastropoda, Bivalvia, Central Great Porto Alegre, Southernmost Brazil region.

Received 14.08.2011; accepted 8.10.2011; printed 30.12.2011

INTRODUCTION

Located in the Central section of Great Porto

Alegre Metropolitan region (Agudo-Padron,

2009a) (Fig. 1), on the right margin of the river

basin denominated “Delta do Jacui”, legally

protected under the environmental category

“Delta do Jacui Ecological State Park”, and

possessing a rarefied human occupation, mixing

in different degrees rural and urban activities, the

little Municipal Districts of Cachoeirinha,

Canoas, and Gravatai (Fig. 2), domain of Biome

“Pampa” within the basin of the Gravatai and

Sinos rivers, today severely polluted by the

indiscriminate human actions (Etchichury &

Barbieri, 2009), are the geographical areas (see

Menegat et al., 2006), reported in this brief note,

where malacological research is being

systematically developed starting from Spring

2004 (Agudo-Padron, 2007).

Previous general informations about the

mollusc fauna existent in the Southern State of

Rio Grande do Sul, RS, are concentrate in recent

available literature (Agudo-Padron, 2008a,

2009a-f, 2010; Agudo-Padron & Lenhard,

2009a, b; Agudo-Padron, 2011a).

I. CACHOEIRINHA MUNICIPAL DISTRICT

Geographical, environmental and biotic

general informations on this geopolitical space

comprising the basin of the Gravatai and Sinos

rivers (Medeiros et al., 2002; Agudo-Padron,

2009a) and hosting a total of 42 species (32

Gastropoda and 10 Bivalvia), are concentrated in

several published contributions as well as in

some unpublished regional technical reports

(Lanzer, 1996; Agudo-Padron, 2007, 2008b, c,

2009a, e, f; Agudo-Padron & Oliveira, 2008a, b;

Agudo-Padron & Silveira, 2008; Agudo-Padron

& Lenhard, 2009a; Agudo-Padron et al., 2008,

2009, 2010; Gomes et al., 2011).

At least two native snail-eating-snakes

species, Sibynomorphus neuwiedi (Ihering,

1911) and Sibynomorphus ventrimaculatus

164

A. Ignacio Agudo-Padron & Paulo Lenhard

Figure 1. Great Porto Alegre Metropolitan Central region (green color), Rio Grande do Sul State - RS, Southernmost Brazil.

Figure 2. Municipal Districts territories of Canoas (1), Cachoeirinha (2) and Gravatai (3), red color.

(Boulenger, 1885) (Reptilia: Serpentes, Dipsa-

didae), are registered for this Municipal District

territory (Agudo-Padron & Sostizzo, 2009).

Moreover, two molluscivore birds species

specialized in predation and consumption of

freshwater mussels and snails occur in swamp

environments.

II. CANOAS MUNICIPAL DISTRICT

45 species (22 Gastropoda and 23 Bivalvia)

have been reported. Data are included in regional

technical reports (Agudo-Padron & Lenhard,

2009c, d; Agudo-Padron, 2011a-c) and some

other contributions (Medeiros et al., 2002;

Mansur & Pereira, 2006).

At least one native snail-eating-snakes species,

Sibynomorphus ventrimaculatus (Boulenger,

1885) (Reptilia: Serpentes, Dipsadidae), is

registered for this Municipal District territory

(Agudo-Padron, 2008c). Two molluscivore birds

specialized in predation and consumption of

freshwater mussels and snails species occur in

swamp environments.

III. GRAVATAI MUNICIPAL DISTRICT

Twenty-seven mollusc species (24

Gastropoda and 3 Bivalvia) are included in some

technical contributions (Veitenheimer-Mendes et

al., 1992; Agudo-Padron & Lenhard, 2009a;

Ohlweiler et al., 2009; Gomes et al., 2010; 2011)

and unpublished regional technical reports

(Agudo-Padron, 2008d).

At least two native snail-eating-snakes

species, Sibynomorphus neuwiedi (Ihering, 1911)

and Sibynomorphus ventrimaculatus (Boulenger,

1885) (Reptilia: Serpentes, Dipsadidae), are

registered for this Municipal District territory

(Agudo-Padron & Sostizzo, 2009).

RESULTS

A total of 66 continental species and

subspecies (42 Gastropoda - 23 limnic/

freshwater and 19 terrestrial - and 24 Bivalvia)

included in 45 Genera, 24 Families and 2 Classes,

equivalent to about 33% of the total number of

species known for the State of Rio Grande do Sul

- RS (Agudo-Padron, 2009d), are present in such

a little geopolitical territory reported in this paper.

Among them, at least twelve (9 terrestrial and 3

freshwater/limnic) are introduced invading exotic

forms (Agudo-Padron & Lenhard, 2010).

Systematic arrangement are in line with Simone

(2006) and Thome et al. (2006, 2007). Specimens

collected during this study were deposited in the

Invertebrate Department of the Museum of Natural

Science of the Lutheran University of Brazil -

MCNU (Agudo-Padron, 2011b).

Continental mollusc fauna of the Great Porto Alegre central region, RS, Southern Brazil

165

Registration and/or collection localities:

1 - Cachoeirinha Municipal District

2 - Canoas Municipal District

3 - Gravatai Municipal District

SYSTEMATIC SPECIES LIST

Class Gastropoda

Subclass Prosobranchia / Caenogastropoda

Family Ampullariidae

- Asolene platae (Maton, 1809) 3

- Pomacea canaliculata (Lamarck, 1819)

(Figs. 3-6) 2 ’ 3

Family Hydrobiidae

- Heleobia species lj 2

- Littoridina cuzcoensis (Pilsbry, 1911) 3

Subclass Gymnophila

Family Veronicellidae

- Belocaulus angustipes (Heynemann, 1885) 1

- Belocaulus willibaldoi Ohlweiler, Mota &

Gomes, 2009 (Figs. 7,8) 1,2,3

- Phyllocaulis soleiformis (d’Orbigny, 1835)

(Figs. 9,10) 1,2

- Phyllocaulis tuberculosus (Martens, 1868) 3

- Phyllocaulis variegatus (Semper, 1885) 1

Subclass Pulmonata

Family Ancylidae

- Burnupia ingae Lanzer, 1991 1,2

- Ferris ia gentilis Lanzer, 1991 1,2,3

- Gundlachia ticaga (Marcus & Marcus, 1962) 3

- Hebetancylus (= Gundlachia ) moricandi

(d’Orbigny, 1837) 1,2

- Uncancylus (= Gundlachia ) concentricus

(d’Orbigny, 1835) 1,2

Fig-3

Fig-5

Fig-4

Fig-6

Figures 3-6. Native limnic apple snails Pomacea canaliculata (Fig. 3), and typical regional habitats (Figs. 4-6). Photo P. Lenhard.

166

A. Ignacio Agudo-Padron & Paulo Lenhard

Family Chilinidae

- Chilina fluminea (d’Orbigny, 1835) 3

Family Physidae

- Aplexa ( Stenophysa ) marmorata (Guilding,

1828) 1,2,3

- Physa acuta (= cubensis) Drapamaud, 1805

Family Lymnaeidae

- Lymnaea (= Pseudosuccicnea ) columella Say,

1817 3

Family Planorbidae

- Antillorbis nordestensis (Lucena, 1954) 1,2,3

- Biomphalaria oligoza Paraense, 1975 1,2,3

Fig-7

Fig. 8

Fig-9

Fig. 10

Fig- 11

Fig. 12

Figures 7,8. Native slugs Belocaulus wnllibaldoi. Photos P. Lenhard.

Figures 9,10. Native slug Phyllocaulis soleiformis (Fig. 9), common species in regional gardens, vegetated squares, agronomic enterprises and

wastelands (Fig. 10). Photos P. Lenhard.

Figures 11,12. Little exotic invasive slug Deroceras laeve (Fig. 11), severe pest in regional agronomic enterprises and gardens (Fig. 12). Photos

P. Lenhard.

Continental mollusc fauna of the Great Porto Alegre central region, RS, Southern Brazil

167

- Biomphalaria peregrina (d’Orbigny, 1835) 3

- Biomphalaria tenagophila tenagophila (d’Orbigny,

1835) 1,2,3

- Biomphalaria tenagophila guaibensis Paraense,

1984 1

- Drepanotrema anatinum (d’Orbigny, 1935) 3

- Drepanotrema depressissimus (Moricand, 1839) 1,2,3

- Drepanotrema heloicum (d’Orbigny, 1835) 3

- Drepanotrema kermatoides (d’Orbigny, 1835) 3

- Drepanotrema lucidum (Pfeiffer, 1839) 3

Family Succineidae

- Omalonyx convexus (Heynemann, 1868) 1,2

Family Milacidae

- Milax gagates (Draparnaud, 1801) 1

- Lehmannia valentiana (Ferassac, 1821) 1,3

Family Limacidae

- Limacus flavus (Linnaeus, 1758) 1,2

- Limax maximus Linnaeus, 1758 1,2

Family Agriolimacidae

- Deroceras laeve (Muller, 1774) (Figs. 11,12) 1,2,3

Family Philomicidae

- Meghimatium pictum (Stoliczka, 1873) 1,3

Family Bulimulidae

- Bulimulus angustus Weyrauch, 1966 1,2

- Bulimulus tenuissimus (d’Orbigny, 1835) 1

Family Megalobulimidae

- Megalobulimus abbreviatus (Bequaert, 1948)

(Figs. 13-15) 1,2

Fig. 13

Figures 13-15. Native giant snails Megalobulimus

abbreviatus (Bequaert, 1948) and its typical habitat in the

Gravatai River basin region (borders of forests and

fields). Photos P. Lenhard.

Fig. 15

Fig. 14

168

A. Ignacio Agudo-Padron & Paulo Lenhard

Fig. 16

Fig. 17

Fig. 1 8 Fig. 1 9

Fig.20 Fig.2 1

Figure 16. Collection place of the native mussel naiad Anodontites patagonicus in the Sinos River basin region (industrial

provisioning channels). Photos P. Lenhard.

Figure 17. Collection place of the native giant mussel naiad Anodontites trapesialis in the Gravatai River basin region (fish farming

dams). Photos P. Lenhard.

Figure 18. Collection place of the native mussel naiad Leila blainvilleana in the Gravatai River basin region (fish farming dams).

Photos P. Lenhard.

Figure 19. Collection place of the native mussel naiad Mycetopoda legumen in the Gravatai River basin region (agricultural irrigation

channels). Photos P. Lenhard.

Figures 20,21. Industrial piece incrusted with exotic invasive Asian golden mussels Limnoperna fortunei in the Sinos River basin

region. Photos M. Pacheco and P. Lenhard.

Continental mollusc fauna of the Great Porto Alegre central region, RS, Southern Brazil

169

Family Subulinidae

- Rumina decollate (Linnaeus, 1758) 1

- Subulina octona (Bruguiere, 1792) 1

Family Helicidae

- Helix {Cornu) aspersa Muller, 1774 1,2,3

Family Bradybaenidae

- Bradybaena similaris (Ferussac, 1821) 1,2,3

Class Bivalvia

Order Unionoida

Family Hyriidae

- Castalia martensi (Ihering, 1891) 2

- Diplodon delodontus (Lamarck, 1819) 2

- Diplodon multistriatus (Lea, 1834) 2

- Rhipidodonta charruana (d'Orbigny, 1835) 1,2,3

- Rhipidodonta grata (Lea, 1866) 1,2

Family Mycetopodidae

- Anodontites obtusus (Spix, 1927) 2

- Anodontites patagonicus (Lamarck, 1819)

(Fig. 16) 1,2

- Anodontites tenebricosus (Lea, 1834) 2

- Anodontites trapesialis (Lamarck, 1819) (Fig. 17) 1,2

- Anodontites trapezeus (Spix, 1827) 2

-Leila blainvilleana (Lea, 1835) (Fig. 18) 1,2

- Monocondylaea corrientesensis d’Orbigny,

1835 2

- Monocondylaea minuana d’Orbigny, 1835 2

- Mycetopoda legumen (Martens, 1888) (Fig. 19) 1,2

Order Veneroida

Family Corbiculidae

- Cyanocyclas (= Neocorbicula) limosa (Maton,

1809) 2

- Corbicula fluminea (Muller, 1774) 1,2

- Corbicula largillierti (Philippi, 1844) 2

Family Sphaeridae

- Eupera klappenbachi Mansur & Veitenheimer,

1975 1,2,3

- Pisidium forense Meier-Brook, 1967 3

- Pisidium globulus Clessin, 1888 2

- Pisidium species 1,2

- Pisidium sterkianum Pilsbry, 1897 2

- Sphaerium species l > 2

Order Mytiloida

Family Mytilidae

- Limnoperna fortunei (Dunker, 1857) (Figs. 20,21) 2

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Evidence of the existence of the wild tiger Panthera tigris

amoyensis (Hilzheimer, 1905) in South China (Mammalia, Felidae)

Li-Yuan Liu

College of Life Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China, 100875; e-mail: liu.liyuan@263.net

ABSTRACT Wild South China Tigers, Panthera tigris amoyensis (Hilzheimer, 1905), with no authenticated sighting since

more than twenty-five years, are generally considered extinct. On October 3 rd 2007 a villager from Zhenping

County in Shaanxi Province of China, claimed to have taken a set of photos of a wild tiger in the Daba

Mountain. However, the photos aroused suspicion. We already published a paper to prove that in those photos

the tiger was a 3 -dimensional, animate object. In the present paper further analyses are reported to support the

authenticity of such a photos. A short “video” had been recorded in a photo by the digital camera, in which the

tiger was lowering its head and raising its tail while the photo had been taken. The tiger always turned its head

following the photographer. Special bunches of glisten from the forehead of the tiger resulted to be formed by

the light of camera’s flash reflected from the eyeball of the animal. Many collected evidences suggested that

there are about eight tigers living in the Daba Mountain. Although tigers appeared frequently in the

neighborhood of Daba Mountain this year, unfortunately, these animals have not been protected at all. We hope

that confirming the authenticity of the photos will promote a national complete conservation program to save

this important subspecies from extinction.

KEY WORDS Wild South China tiger, Authenticity of the photos, Footprint.

Received 16.08.2011; accepted 11.10.2011; printed 30.12.2011

INTRODUCTION

On November 23 rd 2010, the International

Tiger Conservation Forum (also known as the

“Tiger Summit”) signed the “St. Petersburg

Declaration on Tiger Conservation” to save wild

tigers from extinction (Goodrich, 2010). The

South China tiger, Panthera tigris amoyensis

(Hilzheimer, 1905), was estimated to number

4,000 individuals in the early 1950s.

Approximately 3,000 tigers were killed over 30

years as the subspecies was officially hunted as a

pest. These animals have not been officially

sighted since more than 25 years and have been

listed as one of the world’s ten most endangered

animals.

On October 12 th 2007, an excellent hunter,

Mr. Zheng-Long Zhou, published a set of

photographs of a young South China tiger

claiming that on October 3 rd 2007 he nearly

risked his life in the Daba Mountain to take these

photos after more than one month of search in the

forest [Holden (ed.), 2007a]. Although the Daba

Mountain in Zhenping County, Shaanxi Province

of China is the native habitat of South China

tiger, a controversy over the authenticity of

photographs aroused. A month later, a tiger-

picture poster appeared in the public domain and

the manufacturer claimed that it was a six-year-

old product [Holden (ed.), 2007b]. The

authorities announced that the photos were

copied from the poster and the photographer was

arrested for fraud [Holden (ed.), 2008]. But many

people, on the contrary, believed that Zhou found

the evidence of a live South China tiger. The

controversy over the authenticity of the

photographs is still ongoing in China. Previously,

we have published a paper to prove that the tiger

in the photos is a 3 -dimensional, animate object

whereas the poster tiger is a forged artificial

monster (Liu, 2010). Here further analyses are

reported to support the authenticity of the photos.

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Li -Y uan Liu

Moreover, we talked to many eyewitnesses,

observed some preying scenes and collected

footprints and scrached traces of claws that could

have been made only by the tiger. Recently,

evidences indicated that tigers appeared in

Shenlongjia, nearby Daba Mountain.

MATERIALS

Mr. Zhou took forty photos by a digital camera

(Canon 400D) and thirty-one photos by a film

camera, but most of the photos were poorly

focused and only about ten could be used for

analyses. When taking the pictures, Mr. Zhou hid

himself behind a large stone 9.4 m away from the

tiger, at 1,800 m above sea level. The poster was

obtained from the manufacturer. Moreover,

eyewitnesses were interviewed, a local officer

supplied us with some photos showing preying

scenes and footprints and an exploratory team of

Shenlongjia provided some pictures of footprints.

RESULTS

Doubts on the authenticity of photos were

expressed since the tiger appeared always lying

there without a movement - something not

expected from an animate object. Zhou stated

that the tiger raised or lowered its head and

erected its ears while he was taking the photos.

Fortunately, the movement was recorded in

photo no. 31 (Fig. 1). Since images, in digital

cameras, are formed by repeatedly reading data

from the CCD (or CMOS), movements of the

object are recorded as discontinuous shadows.

Comparing photo no. 31 to the clearer one no.

29, the tree branches and leaves beside the tiger

and the strips on the hip and hind limb of the

tiger are highly identical and, still, without

obvious movement or double shadow. In photo

no. 29, the tail is immediately behind the hind

limb, but in photo no. 31, the tail of the tiger

departed from the hind limb and a very light tail

shadow appeared between the hind limb and the

tail, thus making a double tail in the photo.

Amazedly, there is one more strip under the right

ear of the tiger, which is the double shadow of

the right eyebrow and there is a big distance

between the two shadows. Also there is a double

shadow of pupils and upper eyelids appear

broken. All these features indicate that eyes as

well as eyebrows of the tiger moved from upper

right to lower left. Compared to photo no. 6, in

photo no. 31 the strips on the left side of face

changed prominently. The fine, curved strips on

the side of the face of the tiger in photo no. 6

became a thick bar in photo no. 31, which is

also the result of movement of the tiger head.

Therefore, photo no. 31 recorded the moving

process of the head of the lying tiger which

suggests that the tiger in Zhou’s photos is an

alive object, not a “paper-tiger”.

The camera’s flash went off in digital photos

nos. 9 and film photo 31 A. In these two photos,

the most curious thing is the bunch of light discs

on the forehead of the tiger (Fig. 2). In both

photos, the brightest light disc is on the left eye

of the tiger and seems to overlap on the eye

pupil. In photo no. 9, there are two bunches of

light discs with a horseshoe-like shadow. In

photo no. 31 A, there are three bunches of light

discs showing a diameter gradually decreasing.

These light discs have puzzled us for a long time.

Apparently, they are not due to the light reflected

from a sheet of paper by the camera’s flash

because all of them have regular shape and the

overlapped light discs indicate that they were

formed according to a time sequence but did not

occur simultaneously. They should be related to

the eye because they seem to begin from the eye

and overlap on the eye pupil. We are familiar

with the bright glisten of eyes of felids in the

night, but, notably, here the glisten are bunches

of light discs.

How’s that these curious light discs were

formed? Many hypotheses were assumed and,

thereafter, ruled out. The final answer came from

the 100 m-sprint in the Olympic games, in which

the top speed is smaller than 10 secs. It really

surprised me that the athletes can run 10 m in one

second. Generally, the camera-flash continues

for 1/1000 sec, during which the athlete can run

1 cm. If the tiger’s eyeball turns fast while the

camera’s flash is working, a moving track of the

glisten of the eye bottom will appear. A moving

distance of one centimeter is too big for the

tiger’s eye, but one millimeter, or even a smaller

distance, is enough for the eye to produce a track

of moving glisten in one photo-camera that is

9 m far. Because of the mechanism of image-

Evidence of the existence of the wild tiger Panther a tigris amoyensis (Hilzheimer, 1905) in South China ( Mammalia , Felidae ) 173

Figure 1. Photo no. 31

compared to photos nos. 6

and 29. Blue arrows indicate

still objects; white, red and

yellow arrows represent the

moving tail, eyebrow, eye

pupil and strips on the face

of the tiger, respectively.

Figure 2 - The glisten in the

forehead of the tiger in

photos nos. 9 and 31 A. In

both pictures the camera’s

flash went off. The insert

shows the horseshoe-like

shadow more clearly.

Figure 3 - Photos nos. 29,

18 and 35 showing the

direction of the midline of

the face of the tiger

pointing towards the two

camera positions.

Figure 4. Two big leaves

covered the tiger’s top head

and the right side of the face

respectively, indicating, with

their shadows, a 3-D tiger

head.

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Li -Y uan Liu

forming in digital cameras, the continuous

movement of glisten results in a series of

discontinuous light discs. The image in the film

camera is formed by chemical reaction, and then

the track of movement of glisten is relatively

continuous.

It is possible that the sensitive eye of the

wild tiger was stimulated by the strong gleam

and the eyeball appeared as a reflex. Hence

different directions of light tracks could have

determined the bunch of light discs in Zhou’s

photos. In photo no. 9, the right eye was

covered by a leaf, and then the two bunches of

light discs were formed only by the left eye. It

seems as if the eyeball began to move to the

upper left forming four discs, then moved down

and back forming the horizontal bunch of

another four overlapped light discs. Similar

movements occurred in the left eye in photo no.

31 A where the pupil seems to have contracted

during the movement, making the diameter of

the light discs gradually smaller. The bunch of

light tracks above the right eye should have

been formed by the moving glisten of the right

eye, because - contrary to photo no. 9 - the eye

was exposed to the camera as well.

Photos were taken from two different places

(Fig. 3). The first one was just behind a large

stone, from where the tiger was photographed in

a lateral right posture (Fig. 1 photos nos. 29 and

31); in photo no. 29, the tiger gazed at the

camera. The second place was on the right side of

the tiger, about 2-5 m from the first camera

position. Only in a few photos, the tiger head

appeared relatively clear (photos nos. 18 and 35).

In such a photos, the tiger looks at the camera

and the midline of its head points towards the

second camera. Therefore, the tiger must have

turned its head to stare at the photographer, as

Zhou stated. The angle between the two camera

positions is about 30 degrees. Note that in photos

nos. 29 and 35 eye pupils are quite different in

position and shape, as described in a previous

paper (Liu, 2010).

In photo no. 6 a big leaf covers the top of the

tiger’s head creating a shadow on its forehead as

in all other photos (Fig. 4). But there is also

another big leaf that extended from the left side

covering the right side of the face, which can be

seen only in this photo. Under this leaf a shadow

can be seen.

In the Zhenping County (which is located in

the Daba Mountain) many villagers claimed to

have encountered the tiger in the last decade.

For instance, only in the Xiang- Yang village,

three farmers claimed to have seen the tiger four

times in the last ten years. Particularly, in an

afternoon of 2008, an old man who was

searching for three cattle in the mountainside,

claimed that a tiger, about 1.7 m in length, tried

to attack a calf, and after he moved the cattle

away, the tiger turned back to the mountain. In

a night of 2003, an old man was on his way

back home. At first, he heard a strange cry

similar to the sound of a wild boar; when he

arrived to an alley, a big tiger stood on a

platform only 2 meters away from him staring

at him. Recently, in Daba Mountain a few big

ungulates were killed and eaten by big

carnivores and the killer was supposed to be the

tiger. In June 2004, a horse was killed; in October

2007, a cow was killed and eaten (Fig. 5A) and

deep scratches were found in a tree near the cow

body. In May 2007, a wild boar, about 100 Kg of

weight, was killed and mostly eaten (Fig. 5B). In

the scene, some footprints of a large cat were

found and the width of the footprints was

estimated as about 15 cm. A villager showed a

white tiger claw, which seemed strong and sharp

(Fig. 5C), but it was not possible to date it.

The present author investigated tiger traces

in Daba Mountain for three times, from 2008 to

2010. During the first three-day investigation,

two sets of footprints of large cats were found.

In one of them, the forefoot was 10.5 cm and

the hindfoot 8.5 cm in width, the toe print was

as wide as 4 cm (Fig. 6). In another place, the

forefoot was 13.5 cm and the hindfoot 10.5 cm

wide. In the course of the second investigation

a big tree pierced by large canines and scratched

by claws (Fig. 7) was observed. During the last

investigation, many footprints and tree wounds

were found in the mountainside at about 1 ,400-

1,600 m above sea level. Apparently, the tiger

likes to live in a lower and planar place, where

its food sources, expecially wild boards, are

abundant.

Shennongjia is a National Natural Reserve,

just in the south-east of Daba Mountain, broader

and higher than Daba Mountain. Notably, many

people claimed to have seen tigers there in

December 2010, and in March, May and June

Evidence of the existence of the wild tiger Panther a tigris amoyensis (Hilzheimer, 1905) in South China ( Mammalia , Felidae ) 175

Figure 5. Remnants of a cow (A) and a wild boar (B) supposed to be killed by the tiger, and a tiger claw in a villager’s hand (C). Photos

provided by Qian Li.

Figure 6. Footprints of a large cat or a tiger. (A) The hind footprint with an intact heart-shaped foot pad and three toes clearly visible and

one unclear toe on the leaf. (B) The fore footprint with a half foot pad and four toes. (C) A wide toe print. Red arrows: toes; Blue arrows:

foot pad. Insert in B is a schematic footprint of the tiger.

Figure 7. (A) Scratched traces of claws on

a tree bark, the distances between traces is

ca 3-5 cm (Re-photographed in March

2009). (B) Gnawing traces of canines in

the same tree (photographed in May 2008).

The upper right insert is the detail of a

gnawing trace. The upper left insert shows

a tiger gnawing a tree.

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Li -Y uan Liu

2011. In June 2011, an exploratory team found

many footprints of large cats. The footprints were

as large as 15 cm in width, hence probably due to

a tiger (Fig. 8).

DISCUSSION

As described in our previous paper, when

Zhou took the photos, the eye, the tail and the

mouth of the tiger were moving, and the shadow

under the tiger’s nose and the glisten on the tip

of the tiger’s nose were always different. On the

other hand, the tiger in the poster is a monster,

created from Zhou’s photos with poor resolution,

by adding a pair of bat-like large ears, a pair of

inverse canines and some beard and hairs around

the face; moreover, the poster tiger has a non

nakle-jointed hindlimb and blue eyes (Fig. 9).

These features are seriously in conflict with the

manufacturer’s story that their tiger was rented

from a German photographer as a 12*6 cm

positive film, with high resolution (Liu, 2010). In

our opinion, movements of the head, tail and eye

of the tiger and, above all, the leaf on its face,

strongly support the conclusion that the tiger in

Zhou’s set of photos is an animate object.

Since the focus in photo no. 31 is not good

and the image is not clear, we always avoided

(up to now) using such a photo as evidence. But

when we noticed that there was a double image

of the eyebrows with a big distance from the

tiger head, and that there were also double eye

pupils and a double tail, it became very clear to

us that the tiger moved its head and tail during

the photo shot. A similar phenomenon occurred

in the tiger’s eye when the camera’s flash went

off. Because the turning of the eyeball, light

reflected from the eye bottom resulted in light

tracks. This is not only a strong evidence to

support that the tiger in Zhou’s photos is

animate, but also it revealed to be an useful

method for analyzing active animals or moving

object in digital photos.

Many doubts on photos authenticity were

expressed since, in the images published by

Zhou, the tiger is always lying there without

large movements. Generally speaking, a lying

tiger can move its head, eyes, ears and tail.

Actually, as described in our previous paper, in

the photos tail and eye’s pupil appeared in

different positions, and the tail was erected above

the hip; in this paper the tiger lowered its head

and turned its eyeball while the photos were

taken; finally, a more evident movement

occurred when the tiger turned its head towards

the photographer and I do regret that such a

feature was neglected before. All evidences

reported and discussed seem to suggest that the

tiger in Zhou’s set of photos is a three-

dimensional, animate object, that is, a true wild

animal.

Although the villagers’ tales cannot be

accepted as evidences, nevertheless they are

important clues to guide the investigation. In

fact, nearly all footprints and tree-scratches were

found in the mountain where tigers can attract

and kill big animals (i.e. a cattle or a horse),

although wild boars remain the main food

source. Footprints of cats consist of a heart-

shaped foot pad and four toes around the front of

the pad, also called “plum blossom-like” form.

With the exception of the Indian cheetah, the

claws of all other felids are, in rest condition,

contracted, and there are not claws’ trace in their

footprints. Therefore, footprints of cats are easy

to recognize. Cats’ fore-foot is larger than the

hind one. Among felids, differences in footprints

are due to their size. For example, for a leopard,

the width of the fore footprint is usually smaller

than 8 cm. The width of a tiger’s fore footprint is

always more than 10 cm and may be as large as

18 cm. South China tigers are smaller than other

tigers, and their footprint is accordingly smaller.

Since observed footprints were larger than 10

cm, it is reasonable to presume they belonged to

the tiger.

Tigers generally sharpen their claws and teeth

on trees, especially those of the Pinaceae family,

because of their thick scaly bark. When a tiger is

angry, it may gnaw a tree and even break it and

this could justify the wide and deep scratches

observed during our investigations in the field.

Although bears have similar behavior, they

always look for insects hidden in the dead trees

and rarely attack a healthy and living tree.

Moreover, bears’ claws are wider and less sharp

than tigers’ ones. Based on author’s investigation

and other data, it was estimated that currently

there are about six to ten tigers in Daba

Mountain. It’s an exciting news that the South

China tigers are still surviving in the wild,

Evidence of the existence of the wild tiger Panther a tigris amoyensis (Hilzheimer, 1905) in South China ( Mammalia , Felidae ) 177

Figure 8. Fore footprints of a big tiger. Both footprints show a part of foot pad and four toes (arrows). Insert represents a schematic footprint

of the tiger. Photos provided by Liao QS.

Figure 9. The poster-tiger compared to a real tiger (upper right) and to a tiger head (upper left), Please note bat-like ears (blue arrow),

downwards canines (yellow arrow), blue iris (white arrow) and a non ankle- jointed hind limb (red arrow). Moreover in the poster image ears

are very clear but the body is blurry.

178

Li -Y uan Liu

particularly in Shennongjia and Daba Mountain

(both belonging to the same cordillera).

Nevertheless, unfortunately up to now the

area of Daba Mountain has not been protected

and poaching took place every winter without

any control and/or limitation. Unproved news,

about two tigers were reported to have been

killed by knots of steel wire in the last three

years. Hence, we hope that the present report will

contribute to promote a national conservation

program to save such an important subspecies

from extinction.

REFERENCES

Goodrich J.M., 2010. Tiger conservation in the Year of the

Tiger, Integrative Zoology, 5: 283-284.

Holden C. (ed.), 2007a. Rare-tiger photo flap makes fur fly

in China. Science, 318: 893. http://www.sciencemag.

org/content/3 1 8/5 852/r-samples. full.pdf

Holden C. (ed.), 2007b. Tiger tracked to this 2002 poster.

Science, 318: 1701. http://www.sciencemag.org/

content/3 18/5857/r-samples. fhll.pdf

Holden C. (ed.), 2008. End of a tiger’s tale. Science, 321:

321. http://www.sciencemag.org/content/321/5887/r-

samples.full.pdf

Liu L.Y., 2010. The study on the authenticity of the wild

South China tiger on a hunter’s photos. International

Journal of Biodiversity and Conservation, 2: 338-349.

Biodiversity Journal, 2011, 2 (4): 179-188

Ornithological observations on an artificial pond in the Sicilian

agricultural environment (Sicily, Italy)

Rosario Mascara

Via Popolo 6, 93015 Niscemi (CL), Italy; e-mail: wmasca@tin.it.

ABSTRACT The present paper originates from interesting wildlife and ecological observations made, in the period 2006-

2011, on fifty-three species of birds frequenting a small artificial pond constructed in a Sicilian agro-forest

environment (Caltagirone, CT). Reported data not only provide useful information to improve our knowledge

of the avifauna of the SIC-ITA 070005 “Bosco di Santo Pietro” (Sicily, Italy), but also contribute to the

understanding of the important ecological role of peculiar habitats such as artificial ponds.

KEY WORDS Birds, artificial pond, Sicily.

Received 27.11.2011; accepted 09.12.2011; printed 30.12.2011

INTRODUCTION

Ponds and other small reservoirs of artificial

water play an important role in the ecology of many

bird species, especially if placed in dry habitats or

agricultural ecosystems and often represent a valid

alternative to natural environments (Lo Valvo et al.,

1993; La Mantia, 1997; Ma et al., 2004. Barbera et

al., 2005; Sanchez-Zapata et al., 2005; Kloskowski

et al., 2009; Sebastian-Gonzalez et al., 2010).

They are used by birds for trophic requirements

and activities related to reproduction, and, often, by

migratory species, as a stopover (Mascara, 1990;

Guillemain et al., 2000; Castillo-Guerrero &

Carmona, 2001). More generally, small pools of

water allow some flora and fauna to settle in these

peculiar environments where optimal conditions for

development of these species occur. The present

study provides a contribution to the understanding

of these small and peculiar environments, and,

moreover report new data useful to improve our

knowledge of the avifauna of the SIC-ITA 070005

“Bosco di Santo Pietro” (Sicily, Italy).

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The artificial pond under study is located in the

Caltagirone Municipality (Sicily, Italy) in the

context of an agricultural environment represented

by a productive olive grove endowed by trees the

trunk diameter of which is 50 cm maximum. The

pond was created in 2006 with an area of 9 square

meters and a maximum depth of 25 cm; the

presence of water is permanent due to the

continuous inputs of fresh water through a pipe

connected to a reservoir; the entire pond-perimeter

is naturalized with big stones, twigs, and naturally

grown herbaceous riparian vegetation.

The adjacent environment is characterized by

almond and olive cultivated trees, Eucalyptus

spp. and small pine ( Pinus pinea ) artificially

planted trees and natural and semi-natural oak

woods of the Site of Community Importance

known as “Riserva Naturale Orientata Regionale

del Bosco di Santo Pietro” (SIC -ITA 070005).

Census of birds that used, for various reasons,

the artificial pond took place from the early

months of 2006 up to July 2011; observations

were made, monthly, from a bird-watching shed

placed at 5 m from the pond shores.

For all surveyed species, a systematic list and

ecological notes are provided. Species breeding in

Sicily were obtained from recent literature

(AA.VV., 2008) supplemented with personal

observations; for “the Species’ Value” (total value

standardized in cents) see Brichetti & Gariboldi

(1992); for the Red List of breeding species see the

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Rosario Mascara

list provided by LIPU-WWF (1999); the checklist

used is that by Baccetti et al. (2005, 2008).

The following protection lists were used:

- The Council Directive 79/409/EEC on the

conservation of wild birds (Birds Directive),

adopted on April 2 nd 1979.

- SPEC Categories (on the conservation status

of breeding birds all over Europe):

• SPEC 1. Species of global conservation

concern, i.e. classified as Globally Threatened,

Near Threatened or Data Deficient (BirdLife

International 2004; IUCN, 2004; IUCN, 2008).

• SPEC 2. Species concentrated in Europe and

with an Unfavourable Conservation Status.

• SPEC 3. Species not concentrated in Europe

but with an Unfavourable Conservation Status.

• Non-SPEC E . Species concentrated in Europe

but with a Favourable Conservation Status.

• Non-SPEC. Species not concentrated in Europe

and with a Favourable Conservation Status.

• W indicates that the category relates to the

winter population.

- The Bonn Convention on the Conservation of

Migratory Species of Wild Animals, 1979

(Appendices I and II)

- The Bern Convention on the Conservation of

European Wildlife and Natural Habitats 1979 with

Appendix II (strictly protected fauna species) and

Appendix III (protected fauna species).

- CITES (the Convention on International Trade

in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and

Flora) Washington, 1973, Appendices I, II, III.

RESULTS

List of species

Order FALCONIFORMES

Family ACCIPITRIDAE

Buteo buteo (Linnaeus, 1758)

Buzzard. This species is sedentary and

occasionally visit the pond and frequent the area

for food; it was observed perched on a perimeter-

post. A pair breeds in the neighbour woods.

Falco tinnunculus Linnaeus, 1758

Kestrel. Sedentary species, frequent the pond

for cleaning of the plumage (Fig. 1). A pair nests

in the area that is frequented also for food.

Order CARADRIFORMES

Family BURHINIDAE

Burhinus oedicnemus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Stone-curlew. Sedentary species, rarely attend

the pond to clean the feathers. Specimens breed

in the adjacent area.

Order COLUMBIFORMES

Family COLUMBIDAE

Columba livia Gmelin, 1789 domestic type,

i.e. Columba livia var. domestica

Rock Pigeon. Sedentary, attend the pond and the

adjacent area for food, and cleaning of the plumage.

Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758

Wood Pigeon. Sedentary, attend the pond as

well as the adjacent area, for food, and cleaning

of the plumage (Fig. 2). Specimens breed in the

olive grove where the pond is located in. Both

adults and young were observed.

Streptopelia turtur (Linnaeus, 1758)

Turtle Dove. Summer breeding species,

attend the pond for food and for cleaning of the

plumage (Fig. 3). Specimens breed in the olive

grove where the pond is located in. Both adults

and young were observed.

Streptopelia decaocto (Frivaldszky, 1838)

Eurasian Collared Dove. Sedentary species,

attend the pond for food and for cleaning of the

plumage. Both adults and young were observed.

Order CORACIFORMES

Family MEROPIDAE

Merops apiaster Linnaeus, 1758

European Bee-eater. Summer breeding

species, frequent the pond for food, with family

groups comprising a maximum of 35

individuals, from mid- August to late September.

In the neighborhood there are some hives and a

garden of Mediterranean plants, very attractive

for wasps and other insects.

Family UPUPIDAE

Upupa epops Linnaeus, 1758

Hoopoe. Summer breeding species, frequent

the pond and the adjacent area for food and nest

Ornithological observations on an artificial pond in the Sicilian agricultural environment (Sicily, Italy)

181

in the olive trees; breeding was observed in 2006

and 2008. Nests were placed in hollow trunks of

large trees, a few cm above the ground (Fig. 4).

Order PICIFORMES

Family PICIDAE

Dendrocopos major (Linnaeus, 1758)

Great Spotted Woodpecker. Sedentary

species, rarely attend the pond to clean the

feathers. Specimens breed in the adjacent forest.

Order PASSERIFORMES

Family ALAUDID AE

Calandrella brachydactyla (Leisler, 1814)

Greater Short-toed Lark. Migrant species,

breeding in Sicily (AA.W., 2008), irregularly

observed in the area adjacent to the pond in April.

Family HIRUNDINIDAE

Hirundo rustica Linnaeus, 1758

Barn Swallow. Summer breeding species,

attends the pond for food and for finding material

necessary for nests making (Fig. 5). Individuals

breed in the buildings of the nearby area.

Family MOTACILLIDAE

Motacdla alba Linnaeus, 1758

White Wagtail. Wintering species, nesting in

Sicily (AA.W., 2008), frequent the pond and the

adjacent area for food and for cleaning of the

plumage.

Anthus pratensis Linnaeus, 1758

Meadow Pipit. Wintering and migrant species,

frequent the pond and the adjacent area for food

and for cleaning of the plumage. The first arrivals

were recorded at the end of October of these

years; at least twelve migrating individuals were

observed on February 10 th 2008.

Family TURDIDAE

Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758

Blackbird. Sedentary species, rarely attend

the pond to clean the feathers. Specimens breed

in the adjacent forest.

Turdus phdomelos Brehm, 1831

Song Thrush. Wintering species, frequent the

pond and the adjacent area for food and for

cleaning of the plumage.

Family SYLVIIDAE

Hippolais polyglotta (Vieillot, 1817)

Melodious Warbler. Migrant species, irre-

gularly attend the pond and the adjacent area for

food and for cleaning of the plumage. It was

observed in September of these years.

Phylloscopus trochdus Linnaeus, 1758

Willow Warbler. Migrant species, irregularly

attend the pond and the adjacent area for food and

for cleaning of the plumage. It was observed

always in September.

Phylloscopus collybita (Vieillot, 1817)

Common Chiffchaff. Wintering and migratory

species, regularly frequent the pond and the adjacent

area for food and for cleaning of the plumage.

Sylvia atricapilla (Linnaeus, 1758)

Blackcap. Summer breeding species, migrant,

partially sedentary. Specimens regularly attend

the pond and the adjacent area for food and for

cleaning of the plumage and breed in the adjacent

woods. At least ten migrating individuals were

observed in March 30 th 2008.

Sylvia borin Boddaert, 1783

Garden Warbler. Nesting of this species in

Sicily was mentioned but never proved yet

(Corso, 2005; AA.W, 2008). Birds regularly

attend the pond for cleaning of the plumage and

are is presumed to nest in the area and in the

adjacent forests. It was regularly observed from

June to August of these years (Fig. 6).

Sylvia communis Latham, 1787

Greater Whitetroat. Summer breeding species,

regularly attend the pond and the adjacent area

for food and for cleaning of the plumage;

specimens breed in the forests of the natural

reserve.

Sylvia cantillans (Pallas, 1784)

Subalpine Warbler. Summer breeding species,

irregularly attend the pond and the adjacent area

for food and for cleaning of the plumage;

specimens nest in the forests of the natural reserve.

Sylvia melanocephala (Gmelin, 1789)

Sardinian Warbler. Sedentary species, attend

the pond for food and for cleaning of the plumage

(Fig. 7). Specimens breed in the area and adjacent

woods. Both adults and young birds were

regularly observed.

182

Rosario Mascara

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

Fig. 3

Fig. 4

Fig. 5

Figure 1. Falco tinnunculus.

Figure 2. Columba palumbus.

Figure 3. Streptopelia turtur.

Figure 4. Upupa epops.

Figure 5. Hirundo rustica.

Ornithological observations on an artificial pond in the Sicilian agricultural environment (Sicily, Italy)

183

Family MUSCICAPIDAE

Muscicapa striata (Pallas, 1764)

Spotted Flycatcher. Migrant species, breeding

in Sicily (AA.VV., 2008), regularly frequent the

pond and the adjacent area for food and for

cleaning of the plumage. It was observed both in

spring and autumn of these years.

Ficedula albicollis Temminck, 1815

Collared Flycatcher. Migrant species, irre-

gularly attend the pond and the adjacent area for

food and for cleaning of the plumage. It was

observed always in April.

Erithacus rubecula Linnaeus, 1758

European Robin. Wintering species, breeding

in Sicily (AA.VV., 2008), frequent the pond and

the adjacent area for food and for cleaning of the

plumage. First arrivals were recorded in the

second half of October of these years.

Phoenicurus ochruros (Gmelin, 1774)

Black Redstart. Migrant, wintering and

breeding species, frequent the pond and the

adjacent area for food and for cleaning of the

plumage. First arrivals were recorded at the end

(in the third decade) of October of these years.

Saxicola rubetra (Linnaeus, 1758)

Whinshart. Migrant species; it was observed

in the second week of January 2007 (Fig. 8).

Saxicola torquatus Linnaeus, 1766

African Stonechat. Sedentary species, rarely

attend the pond for cleaning; specimens breed in

the adjacent area.

Family AEGITHALIDAE

Aegithalos caudatus siculus Whitaker, 1901

Long-tailed Tit. Regularly attend the pond for

food and for cleaning of the plumage, specimens

breed in the adjacent woods. Families were

constantly observed from June to August (Fig. 9).

Family PARIDAE

Periparus ater (Linnaeus, 1758)

Coal Tit. In the adjacent area it is an irregular

migrant species, in the pond area it was observed

always in the third decade of October.

Parus major Linnaeus, 1758

Great Tit. Sedentary species, attend the pond

for food and for cleaning of the plumage.

Specimens breed in the area and in the adjacent

woods. Breeding individuals used nest boxes

placed in the olive grove. Both adults and young

birds were regularly observed.

Cyanistes caeruleus Linnaeus, 1758

Blue Tit. Sedentary species, attend the pond

for food and for cleaning of the plumage.

Specimens breed in cavities and cracks of

buildings and in the adjacent woods (Fig. 10).

Both adults and young birds were regularly

observed.

Family CERTHIIDAE

Certhia brachydactyla Brehm, 1820

Short- toed Treecreeper. Sedentary species,

attend the pond for food and for cleaning of the

plumage. Specimens breed in the area and in

adjacent woods and, in addition, used nest boxes

placed in the olive grove (Fig. 11). Both adults

and young birds were regularly observed.

Family ORIOLIDAE

Oriolus oriolus Linnaeus, 1758

Eurasian Golden Oriole. Migrant and summer

breeding species, irregularly attend the pond for

drinking and the adjacent area for food; specimens

breed in the forests of the natural reserve.

Family CORVIDAE

Garrulus glandarius (Linnaeus, 1758)

Eurasian Jay. Sedentary, common species,

attend the pond for drinking and cleaning of the

plumage (Fig. 12). Specimens breed in the area

and in adjacent woods. Both adults and young

birds were regularly observed in groups of 6-8

individuals.

Pica pica (Linnaeus, 1758)

Eurasian Magpie. Sedentary species,

common, frequent the pond for food, cleaning

of the plumage and finding material necessary

for nest building (Fig. 13). Specimens breed in

the adjacent area. Both adults and young birds

were regularly observed in groups of 8-10

individuals.

Corvus cornix Linnaeus, 1758

Hooded Crow. Sedentary species, rarely

attend the pond to drink. Specimens nest in the

adjacent area.

184

Rosario Mascara

Fig. 6

Fig. 7

Fig. 8

Fig. 9

Fig. 10 Fig. 11

Figure 6. Sylvia borin.

Figure 7. Sylvia melanocephala.

Figure 8. Saxicola rubetra.

Figure 9. Aegithalos caudatus siculus.

Figure 10. Cyanistes caeruleus.

Figure 11. Certhia brachydactyla.

Ornithological observations on an artificial pond in the Sicilian agricultural environment (Sicily, Italy)

185

Family STURNIDAE

Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758

European Starling. Wintering species, breeding

in SE Sicily (see Lo Valvo et al., 1993), along

with Sturnus unicolor , a few individuals frequent

the pond and the adjacent area for food and for

cleaning of the plumage. First arrivals were

recorded in October of these years.

Sturnus unicolor Temminck, 1 820

Spotless Starling. Sedentary species, common,

attend the pond for drinking and cleaning of the

plumage. Specimens breed in the area and in

adjacent woods. Adults and young birds were

regularly observed in groups of 15-20

individuals.

Family PASSERIDAE

Passer domesticus italiae (Vieillot, 1817)

House Sparrow. Uncommon species, attend the

pond for drinking and cleaning of the plumage. The

systematics of this species and its presence in Sicily

are controversial (Corso, 2005; AA.VY., 2008).

Passer hispaniolensis (Temminck, 1820)

Spanish Sparrow. Sedentary species, common,

attend the pond for drinking and cleaning of the

plumage. Specimens breed in the area and in

adjacent woods. Adults and young birds were

constantly observed in groups of 8-10 individuals.

Passer montanus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Tree Sparrow. Sedentary species, common,

attend the pond for drinking and cleaning of the

plumage. Specimens breed in the area and in

adjacent woods. Nesting individuals used nest

boxes placed in the olive grove (Fig. 14). Adults

and young birds were regularly observed in

groups of 25-30 individuals.

Family FRIN GILLID AE

Fringilla coelebs Linnaeus, 1758

Chaffinch. Wintering and breeding in Sicily,

uncommon, a few individual attend the pond and

the olive grove for food and cleaning of the

plumage. First arrivals were recorded last week of

October of these years.

Fringilla montifringilla (Linnaeus, 1758)

Brambling. Irregular migrant species. It was

observed in the second decade of March of these

years, one single specimen at a time (Fig. 15).

Carduelis chloris (Linnaeus, 1758)

European Greenfinch. Wintering species, not

common, breeding in Sicily; a few individuals

frequent the pond and the olive grove for food

and for cleaning of the plumage, along with other

species of finches.

Carduelis spinus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Eurasian Siskin. Wintering and migrant

species, common, more abundant in the winter of

some years rather than in others. Specimens attend

the pond and the olive grove for food and for

cleaning of the plumage. First arrivals were

recorded in last week of October and, in the

spring, from February to the first decade of April

of these years. This species nests on Mount Etna

(CT, Sicily) (AA.VV., 2008).

Carduelis carduelis (Linnaeus, 1758)

European Goldfinch. Sedentary species,

common, attend the pond for drinking and

cleaning of the plumage. Specimens breed in the

area and in adjacent woods. Adults and young

birds were regularly observed in family groups.

Carduelis cannabina (Linnaeus, 1758)

Eurasian Linnet. Sedentary species, uncommon,

attend the pond for drinking and cleaning of the

plumage. Specimens breed in the area and in

adjacent woods. Adults and young birds were

constantly observed in family groups.

Serinus serinus Linnaeus, 1766

European Serin. Sedentary species, common,

with a few wintering individuals; specimens

attend the pond for drinking and cleaning of the

plumage, and breed in the area and in adjacent

woods. Adults and young birds were constantly

observed in family groups and in groups of 30-40

individuals, with other finches.

Coccothraustes coccothraustes (Linnaeus, 1758)

Hawfinch. Wintering species, uncommon, attend

the pond for drinking and cleaning of the plumage.

From one to three individuals were observed in

Januaiy and February of these years (Fig. 16).

Family EMBERIZIDAE

Emberiza cirlus Linnaeus, 1758

Cirl Bunting. Sedentary species, uncommon,

attend the pond for drinking and cleaning of the

plumage. Specimens breed in the area and

adjacent woods. Adults and young birds were

constantly observed.

186

Rosario Mascara

Fig. 12

Fig. 13

Fig. 14

Fig. 15 Fig. 16

Figure 12. Garrulus glandarius.

Figure 13. Pica pica.

Figure 14. Passer montanus.

Figure 15. Fringilla montifringilla.

Figure 16. Coccothraustes coccothraustes.

Ornithological observations on an artificial pond in the Sicilian agricultural environment (Sicily, Italy)

187

Species

79/409

SPEC

Categories

Berne C.

Bonn C.

CITES

National

Value

Red

List

Buteo buteo

A. II

A. I

46.3

Falco tinnunculus

SPEC3

A. II

A. I

46.4

Burhinus oedicnemus

SPEC3

A. II

Columba palumbus

NonSPEC E

A. Ill

31.4

Streptopelia turtur

SPEC3

A. Ill

A. I

Streptopelia decaocto

A. Ill

22.5

Merops apiaster

SPEC3

A. II

43.8

Upupa epops

A. II

41.3

Dendrocopos major

A. II

40.1

Calandrella brachydactyla

SPEC3

A. II

41.4

Hirundo rustica

SPEC3

A. II

33.5

Motacilla alba

A. II

37.2

Anthus pratensis

NonSPEC E

A. II

65.5

Turdus merula

NonSPEC E

A. Ill

A. II

22.1

Turdus philomelos

NonSPEC E

A. Ill

A. II

36.1

Hippolais polyglotta

NonSPEC E

A. II

39.8

Phylloscopus trochilus

A. II

Phylloscopus collybita

A. II

Sylvia atricapilla

NonSPEC E

A. II

28.6

Sylvia borin

NonSPEC E

A. II

40.1

Sylvia communis

NonSPEC E

A. II

Sylvia cantillans

NonSPEC E

A. II

46.2

Sylvia melanocephala

NonSPEC E

A. II

39.9

Muscicapa striata

SPEC3

A. II

33.6

Erithacus rubecula

NonSPEC E

A. II

Phoenicurus ochruros

A. II

34.8

Saxicola rubetra

NonSPEC E

A. II

47.6

Saxicola torquatus

SPEC3

A. II

34.2

Aegithalos caudatus siculus

A. Ill

36.3

Parus ater

A. II

33.2

Parus major

A. II

27.8

Parus caeruleus

NonSPEC E

A. II

Cert hi a brachydactyla

NonSPEC E

A. II

Oriolus oriolus

Garrulus glandarius

A. Ill

36.8

Pica pica

A. Ill

Sturnus vulgaris

A. Ill

21.8

Sturnus unicolor

Passer domesticus italiae

A. Ill

29.4

Passer hispaniolensis

A. Ill

38.9

Passer montanus

A. Ill

24.7

Fringilla coelebs

NonSPEC E

A. Ill

29.9

Fringilla montifringilla

A. Ill

Carduelis chloris

NonSPEC E

A. II

Carduelis spinus

NonSPEC E

A. II

48.1

Carduelis carduelis

A. II

27.9

Carduelis cannabina

SPEC2

A. II

36.1

Serinus serinus

NonSPEC E

A. II

31.9

Coccothraustes coccothraustes

A. II

52.4

Emberiza cirlus

NonSPEC E

A. II

Table 1. Conservation Status of birds according to the most important national and international protection lists (see Material and Methods;

VU= Vulnerable, LR= rare).

188

Rosario Mascara

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

First observations on the use of the pond by

sedentary avifauna occurring in the area, for bio-

ecological activities of various kinds, were

immediately made, a few days after the pond

realization. In particular, Magpie, Sparrows

(Spanish Sparrow and Tree Sparrow) and finches

(Goldfinch and Serin) were the first users.

After four years, there have been many

contacts (fifty-three species were observed) and

nearly all of them were photographically

documented. These species used the pond

mainly for cleaning of the plumage, for food

and drink, but also for getting the material

necessary for nest construction (dried grass,

twigs and mud).

For each surveyed species respective lists of

protection, when present, are listed in Table 1.

Despite of the small size of the habitat under

investigation and taking into account that

observations were made only on bird populations,

the ecological role of this small artificial pond, also

in relation to its surroundings, is markedly clear.

This preliminary study may be useful to

stimulate close inspection and careful monitoring

of these particular areas, especially in a region

such as Sicily, particularly rich in extensive arid

areas or great deal of land used for agricultural

purposes.

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Vertebrati terrestri. Studi e Ricerche, 6, Arpa Sicilia,

Palermo, 536 pp.

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Uccelli (Aves) italiani (25.01.2005). Sito web del Ciso-

Coi: http://www.ciso-coi.org.

Baccetti N., Accetti N., Fracasso N. & Serra L., 2008.

Check-list degli. Uccelli (Aves) italiani. Versione

dicembre 2008. http://www.ciso-coi.org/COImateriale/

ListaCISO-COI.pdf.

Barbera G., La Mantia T. & Portolano B., 2005. Ecosistemi

agrari. Pp. 389-406. In: Blasi C., Boitani L., La Pasta S.,

Manes F. & Marchetti M., (a cura di). Stato della

Biodiversita in Italia. Ministero dell’Ambiente e della Tutela

territorio, Direzione per la Conservazione della Natura.

Birdlife International, 2004. Birds in Europe: population

estimates, trends and conservation status. Wageningen,

The Netherlands: BirdLife International. (BirdLife

Conservation Series No. 12).

Brichetti P. & Gariboldi A., 1992. Un “valore” per le specie

ornitiche nidificanti in Italia. Rivista italiana di

Ornitologia, 62: 73-87.

Castillo-Guerrero J.A. & Carmona R., 2001. Distribution of

aquatic and raptor birds in a freshwater artificial pond of

Baja California Sur, Mexico. Revista de biologia

tropical, 49:1131-1142.

Corso A., 2005. Avifauna di Sicilia. L'Epos Editore,

Palermo, 324 pp.

IUCN, 2004. The 2004 IUCN Red List of threatened

species, (www.redlist.org).

IUCN, 2008. Guidelines for using the IUCN Red List

Categories and Criteria. Version 7.0 IUCN. Gland,

Switzerland.

LIPU-WWF. Calvario E., Gustin M., Sarrocco S., Gallo-

Orsi U., Bulgarini F. & Fraticelli F. (a cura di ), 1999.

Nuova lista Rossa degli Uccelli nidificanti in Italia.

Rivista italiana di Ornitologia, 69: 3-43.

Guillemain M., Fritz H. & Guillon N. 2000. The use of an

artificial wetland by shoveler Anas clypeata in western

France: the role of food resources. Revue d’Ecologie

(Terre et Vie), 55: 263-274.

Kloskowski J., Green A.J., Polak M., Bustamante J. &

Krogulec J., 2009. Complementary use of natural and

artificial wetlands by waterbirds wintering in Donana,

south-west Spain. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and

Freshwater Ecosystems, 19: 815-826.

La Mantia T., 1997. II ruolo degli elementi diversificatori

negli agrosistemi mediterranei: valorizzazione e

relazioni con le popolazioni di vertebrati. II Naturalista

siciliano, 21 (suppl.): 175-211.

Lo Valvo F., Massa B. & Sara M., 1993. Uccelli e paesaggio

in Sicilia alle soglie del terzo millennio. II Naturalista

siciliano, 17 (suppl.): 1-373.

Ma Z., Bo, Li B., Zhao B., Jing K., Tang S., 2004. Are

artificial wetlands good alternatives to natural wetlands

for waterbirds? A case study on Chongming Island,

China. Biodiversity and Conservation, 13: 333-350.

Mascara R., 1990. Nidificazione di Tachybaptus ruficollis,

Ixobrychus minutus e Gallinula chloropus in piccole

vasche di irrigazione in Sicilia. Rivista italiana di

Ornitologia, 60: 95-96.

Sanchez-Zapata J.A., Anadon J.D., Carrete M., Gimenez

A., & Navarro J., 2005. Breeding waterbirds in relation

to artificial pond attributes: implications for the design

of irrigation facilities. Biodiversity and Conservation,

14: 1627-1639.

Sebastian-Gonzalez E., Sanchez-Zapata J.A. & Botella F.,

2010. Agricultural ponds as alternative habitat for

waterbirds: spatial and temporal patterns of abundance

and management strategies. European Journal of

Wildlife Research. 56: 11-20.

Biodiversity Journal, 2011, 2 (4): 189-194

Observations on Athis thysanete (Dyar, 1912) (Lepidoptera, Castniidae)

from Mexico and comparative notes to other species in the family

Roberto Vinciguerra 1 , Pedro Lozano Rodriguez 2 , Fernando Hernandez-Baz 3 & Jorge M. Gonzalez 4

1 Via XX Settembre, 64, 1-90141 Palermo, Italy; e-mail: rob.vinciguerra@tiscali.it.

2 4 poniente 2007, Tehuacan, Puebla, Mexico.

3 Facultad de Biologia-Xalapa, Universidad Veracruzana, Zona Universitaria, Circuito Gonzalo Aguirre Beltran, s/n, C.P. 91000, Xalapa,

Veracruz, Mexico; e-mail: ferhbmx@yahoo.com.mx.

4 Research Associate, McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, Texas A & M University, Department of Entomology, College

Station, Texas 77843-2475, USA; e-mail: gonzalez.jorge.m@gmail.com.

ABSTRACT General information on distribution, biology, and behavior on a rare species of the family Castniidae, Athis

thysanete (Dyar, 1912), endemic from Mexico, is provided. Comparative notes are also given of the Chilean

Castnia eudesmia Gray, 1838, in an attempt to understand the insect-plant relationships of A. thysanete. The

note ends with additional remarks on the need for conservation of the habitat of the species.

KEY WORDS Lepidoptera, Castniidae, Athis thysanete , Castnia eudesmia, Yucca, Puya.

Received 19.10.2011; accepted 20.11.2011; printed 30.12.2011

INTRODUCTION

Even though specimens of this family are highly

appreciated by collectors, the Castniidae remains

poorly represented in public and private

Lepidoptera collections (Gonzalez et al., 2008,

2010; Vinciguerra, 2008). At the same time

knowledge about Biology, Ecology and food plants

is limited with the possible exception of those

species of economic importance (Gonzalez &

Stunning, 2007; Miller, 2008; Gonzalez et al., 2008,

2010). Due to modification and alteration of their

habitat, some species in the family might have

fragmented and restricted distributions, increasing

vulnerability of at least a few of them (Lamas,

1993; Gonzalez & Stunning, 2007; Gonzalez et al.,

2010; Moraes et al., 2011; Rios & Gonzalez, 2011).

Among the 33 known genera of Neotropical

Castniidae, Athis Hiibner is the largest with

fifteen species which are distributed from

Mexico and throughout Central America, some

Caribbean countries/islands, Northern South

America and down to Peru, Bolivia and Brazil

(Lamas, 1995; Gonzalez, 2004; Gonzalez et al.,

2010; Vinciguerra & Gonzalez, 2011; Gonzalez

& Hernandez-Baz, in press). Recent publications

dealing with two taxa of this genus have

enhanced the knowledge about the distribution of

Athis palatinus staudingeri (H. Druce)

(Vinciguerra & Gonzalez, 2011), while the other

(Vinciguerra, 2011) presents the description of

the Peruvian Athis pirrelloi Vinciguerra.

Very little is known about many aspects of the

eco-ethology of the several species in the genus

Athis (Gonzalez, 2004). Adults seem to have

selectively diurnal habits. Their larval stages are

unknown, as are most host plants on which they

feed. Imagoes have triangular-shaped forewings,

with two (or three) hyaline spots located in the

sub-apical area. The apex of the forewing is

either pointed or rounded. The hind wings are

commonly brightly-coloured, in contrast with the

forewings, which are, usually brownish, cryptic

(Miller, 1972, 1986; Gonzalez, 2004). From a

morphological point of view, they seem to be

close to the genera Insigniocastnia Miller, and

Hista Oiticica (Moraes et al., 2010).

Mexico is the country in the northern

hemisphere with the largest number of species in

the family Castniidae, and seven taxa are known

190

R. VlNCIGUERRA, R L. RODRIGUEZ, F. HERNANDEZ-BAZ & J.M. GONZALEZ

in the genus A this (Miller, 2000; Gonzalez, 2008;

Gonzalez & Hemandez-Baz, 2011). Of those

species, A this thysanete (Dyar), is possibly one of

the less known in the group (Vinciguerra &

Gonzalez, 2011). This species was originally

described based on a female deposited at the

USNM in Washington (Dyar, 1912).

Interestingly, it is one of few Castniidae endemic

to Mexico (Miller, 2000; Gonzalez, 2008).

The main aim of this note is to present novel

information about Athis thysanete (Dyar)

together with comments and comparisons with

another Castniidae.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The information provided herein comes from

material personally collected by one of the authors

(PLR), as well as the study of specimens deposited

in few entomological collections from England,

France, Italy, Mexico, and USA. Codes of the

collections where specimens of Athis thysanete

were found, are as follows: BLGC, Bernardo Lopez

Godinez Collection, Mexico; CNIABM, Coleccion

Nacional de Insectos "Dr. Alfredo Barrera Marin",

Mexico; MGCL, McGuire Center for Lepidoptera

and Biodiversity, Gainesville, Florida, US; NHM,

Natural History Museum, London; PLRC, Pedro

Lozano Rodriguez Collection, Mexico; RVC,

Roberto Vinciguerra Collection, Palermo, Italy;

USNM, National Museum of Natural History,

Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C., US. A

collection whose owner did not authorize us to be

mentioned appears as NA.

Examined material. 1 male, Mexico, Puebla,

Tehuacan, 27 Mayo 2007, Coll. B. Lopez G.

(BLGC); 1 male, idem, 19. VI. 2008, Coll. B.

Lopez G. (BLGC); 1 male, idem, 23. V. 2009, Coll.

B. Lopez G. (BLGC); 1 male, idem, 15.VII., 2009,

Coll. B. Lopez G. (BLGC); 1 male, idem,

18.VI.2010, Coll. B. Lopez G. (BLGC); 1 female,

idem, 20.VI.2010, Coll. B. Lopez G. (BLGC); 1

female, idem, 19.V.2010, Coll. B. Lopez G.

(BLGC); 1 male, idem, 19.V.2011, Coll. B. Lopez

G. (BLGC); 1 male, thysanete Dyar, Tehuacan,

[Puebla, Mexico], 2438, VI[-1910], CNIABM-

2450, Coll R. Muller, (CNIABM); 1 male,

thysanete Dyar, Tehuacan, [Puebla, Mexico],

9386, VI[- 1910], CNIABM-2451, Coll R.

Muller, (CNIABM); 1 male, CoahuayaMa[sic]

[Coahuayana], Mich[oacan], Mexico, VIII. 1950,

Coll. Tarsicio Escalante (MGCL); 1 female, C.

thysanete 5 , Mexico, Coatepec, [Veracruz], 478,

20.31, Joicey Bequest. Brit. Mus. 1934-120, Type

examined by G.T. 1928 belongs to this group

(NHM); 3 males, 1 female, Mexico, Puebla,

Tehuacan, La Lobera, Altitud: 1678 m, N18°

28.56’ W97° 22.34’, 25.V.2010 (PLRC); 1 male,

Messico, Puebla, Tehuacan, VI.2003, T. Porion

leg. (RVC); 1 female, Tehuacan, [Puebla], Mexico,

VI.1910, Coll. R. Muller, Type N° 14031, Castnia

thysanete Type, Dyar (USNM); 1 male, Mexico,

Puebla, Tehuacan, VI.2006, Coll. ? (NA); 6 males,

idem, 6-8.VI.2008 (NA).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Distribution. Most specimens known and

mentioned herein, including the type, were

collected in the state of Puebla, specifically in the

Tehuacan valley region. However, two of the

specimens examined were collected in the states

of Michoacan (Coahuayana) and Veracruz

(Coatepec) respectively (Fig. 1). Males are highly

variable in size and females tend to be larger than

males (Figs. 2-7).

Biology and Behavior. Athis thysanete adults

emerge at the beginning of the rainy season and are

frequently found between May and June, rarely

found in July. Most specimens known to the authors

had been collected in Yucca tree forests (Izotales)

(Fig. 8) found in the xeric shrubland ecoregion of

the Tehuacan valley, in the state of Puebla.

However, this type of habitat can be also found in

the Cuicatlan Valley, and covers other regions of

Puebla, Oaxaca, as well as a small section of

Veracmz (Miranda & Hernandez, 1963; Ramos &

Gonzalez, 1972). The most common plants forming

“Izotales” in the Tehuacan valley are Yucca

periculosa Baker (Asparagaceae). Plant species in

the genera Beaucarnea and Nolina (Asparagaceae)

which are phylogenetically close to Yucca, can also

form groups similar to “Izotales” in Veracruz

(Miranda & Hernandez, 1963; Ramos & Gonzalez,

1972). Hechtia spp. plants (Bromeliaceae) are

frequently found in areas of Izotales.

Here in the Tehuacan valley, adults of Athis

thysanete fly at mid morning and until early in

the afternoon (10:30-13:30), during very sunny

and hot days. Males tend to fly fast in straight

lines and 1 to 3 meters above ground.

Observations on Athis thysanete (Dyar, 1912 ) (Lepidoptera: Castniidae)

from Mexico and comparative notes to other species in the family

191

Figure 1. Map of Mexico showing the localities where Athis thysanete (Dyar) have been collected.

Curiously enough, we know about an insect-

plant relationship found in Chile, South America,

which seems to be slightly similar to what we have

seen between Athis thysanete and Yucca plants in

Mexico. Larvae of Castnia eudesmia Gray, the

only Chilean Castniidae, frequently mentioned

with the incorrect name “ Castnia psittacus

Molina”, are borers of Puya plants (Bromeliaceae)

(Reed, 1935; Ureta, 1955; Angulo, 1998; Angulo

& Olivares, 1993, 2009; Gonzalez et al., 2010;

Penco, 2011). These plants constitute dense

formations (known as Chaguales) in Chile, which

are slightly similar to Izotales ( Yucca tree forests)

in Mexico. Adults of the Chilean giant butterfly-

moth can be seen from late October to March

(since Chile lies deep in the Southern Hemisphere,

the seasons fall at opposite times of year from the

Northern Hemisphere. Thus, the summer months

go from December to March) and they fly during

hot and sunny days from mid morning (-10:00) to

mid (-15:00) afternoon (Reed, 1935; Angulo &

Olivares, 1993; A. SofFia and M. Miranda, pers.

comm.). Males are territorial and frequently

engage in fights (Reed, 1935). Adults of C.

eudesmia feed on flowers of several Puya species,

as well as plants from different families (Figs. 9-

10). They fly zigzagging around Puya plants and

perch on dry leaves where the cryptic coloration of

their forewings allow them to camouflage with the

background.

As mentioned for Castnia eudesmia , males of

Athis thysanete seem to be highly territorial and

they patrol areas of around 30 m engaging in

fights when other males cross their paths. Adults

perch on dead branches/leaves of Yucca where

they wait for passing females to entangle in

courtship. Females are not as fast as males but

both sexes fly zigzagging around branches/

trunks of Yucca plants making it difficult to

capture them. It appears that the larva of Athis

thysanete feeds on Yucca periculosa Baker plants.

One of us (PLR) has collected a few recently

emerged specimens among dry leaves of Yucca

plants where the castniids can easily “hide”

thanks to their cryptic forewing color pattern.

Final remarks. It is unfortunate that so little

is known about A. thysanete. The information

192

R. VlNCIGUERRA, R L. RODRIGUEZ, F. HERNANDEZ-BAZ & J.M. GONZALEZ

Figures 2-7. Athis thysanete (Dyar) (Castniidae). All specimens collected in Tehuacan, Puebla, Mexico. Sex of the specimen, collecting date

and insect collection where they are deposited (between parentheses) appear after each figure number. Specimens are shown at scale from each

other. Fig. 2: female, 19.VI.2008 (BLGC). Fig. 3: female, 23.V.2009 (BLGC). Fig. 4: male, VI.2003 (RVC). Fig. 5: male, 25.V.2010 (PLRC);

Fig. 6: male, 20.VI.2010, (BLGC). Fig. 7: male, 29.V.2010 (BLGC).

provided herein suggests that the distribution of

the species is larger than originally thought and

that the species is highly dependent of the plant

formations known as Izotales ( Yucca tree

forests). Thus an effort should be made not only

to promote the protection and conservation of

such habitat, but to study the relation between

such plant formation and this interesting

castniid.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Our deepest appreciation to Bernardo Lopez

Godinez (BLGC) for providing us with useful

information as well as allowing us to use pictures

of some specimens from his insect collection. We

have to thank a dear friend, who did not

authorized us to disclose his name, but made

possible to contact Bernardo and also provided

Observations on Athis thysanete (Dyar, 1912 ) (Lepidoptera: Castniidae)

from Mexico and comparative notes to other species in the family

193

Fig. 8

Figure 8. Izotal ( Yucca tree forest) formed by Yucca periculosa Baker (Asparagaceae) in Tehuacan, Puebla, Mexico. These plants seem to be

the host of A this thysanete (Dyar) (Castniidae) (picture Fernando Hemandez-Baz).

Figures 9,10. Castnia eudesmia Gray sucking nectar. Fig. 9: from flowers of Puva venusta Phil, ex Baker (Bromeliaceae), El Trebolar,

Santiago Metropolitan region, Chile, December, 2007 (picture Alejandro Soffia). Fig. 10: from flowers of Cynara cardunculus L. (Asteraceae),

Punta del Lacho, Las Cruces, Chile, December, 2009 (picture Marcela Miranda).

key information and data. We would like to thank

Marcela Miranda and Alejandro Soffia who

kindly provided information on their

observations of the Chilean Castnia eudesmia

and allowed us to use their pictures. Thanks to

Maria Eugenia Diaz (Coleccion Nacional de

Insectos “Dr. Alfredo Barrera Marin”, Museo de

Historia Natural de la Ciudad de Mexico, D.F.),

Alessandro Giusti (The Natural History

Museum, London), Don Harvey (National

Museum of Natural History, Washington D.C.),

Gerardo Lamas (Museo de Historia Natural,

Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos,

Peru), Jacqueline Y. Miller (McGuire Center for

Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, Gainesville,

Florida), who allowed us to examine the

Castniidae under their care and/or provided us

with data and/or useful information. We are also

194

R. VlNCIGUERRA, R L. RODRIGUEZ, F. HERNANDEZ-BAZ & J.M. GONZALEZ

indebted to Andrea C. Gonzalez who proof-read

and suggested necessary changes to the original

manuscript.

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Molina (Lepidoptera: Castniidae). Gayana Zoologia,

62:211-213.

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immature stages of the bromeliad base borer, Castnia

psittacus , in Chile (Lepidoptera: Castniidae).

Tropical Lepidoptera, 4: 133-138.

Angulo A.O. & Olivares T.S., 2009. The real larva of

Castnia eudesmia (Lepidoptera: Castniidae).

Tropical Lepidoptera Research, 19: 56-57.

Dyar H.G., 1912. Descriptions of a new species and

genera of Lepidoptera, chiefly from Mexico.

Proceedings of the United States National Museum,

42(1885): 39-106.

Gonzalez J.M., 2004. Castniinae (Lepidoptera:

Castniidae) from Venezuela. VI. The genus Athis.

Diagnosis and Comments. Caribbean Journal of

Science, 40: 408-413.

Gonzalez J.M., 2008. Castnidos (Lepidopteros). In:

Ocegueda S. & Llorente-Bousquets J. (coords.).

Catalogo taxonomico de especies de Mexico, vol. I:

Conocimiento actual de la biodiversidad.

CONABIO, Mexico, 1-4, 169-170.

Gonzalez J.M., Boone J.H., Brilmyer G.M. & Le D.,

2010. The Giant Butterfly-moths of the Field

Museum of Natural History, Chicago, with notes on

the Herman Strecker collection (Lepidoptera:

Castniidae). SHILAP Revista de lepidopterologia,

38: 385-409.

Gonzalez J.M. & Hemandez-Baz F., in press. Polillas y

Taladradores Gigantes de la familia Castniidae

(Lepidoptera) de Guatemala. In: Cano E.B. &

Schuster J.C. (eds.). Biodiversidad de Guatemala,

Volumen II. Universidad del Valle de Guatemala,

Guatemala.

Gonzalez J. M., Hemandez-Baz F. & Vinciguerra R.,

2008. Notes on some Athis inca ssp. collected in

Mexico (Lepidoptera: Castniidae). SHILAP Revista

de lepidopterologia, 36: 473-476.

Gonzalez J.M. & Stunning D., 2007. The Castniinae at

the Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander

Koenig, Bonn (Lepidoptera: Castniidae).

Entomologische Zeitschrift, 117: 89-93.

Lamas G., 1993. Bibliografia de los Castniidae

(Lepidoptera) americanos. Re vista pemana de

Entomologia, 35: 13-23.

Lamas G., 1995. A critical review of J.Y. Miller’s

Checklist of the Neotropical Castniidae

(Lepidoptera). Re vista pemana de Entomologia, 37:

73-87.

Miller J.Y., 1972. Review of the Central American

Castnia inca complex (Castniidae). Bulletin of the

Allyn Museum, 6 : 1-13.

Miller J.Y., 1986. The Taxonomy, Phylogeny, and

Zoogeography of the Neotropical Castniinae

(Lepidoptera: Castniidae), Ph.D. Thesis. University

of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA, 571 pp.

Miller J.Y., 2008. Studies in the Castniidae. V.

Description of a new species of Zegara. Bulletin of

the Allyn Museum, 160: 1-13.

Miller J.Y., 2000. Castniidae (Lepidoptera). In: Llorente

J.E., Gonzalez E. & Papavero N. (eds.),

Biodiversidad, Taxonomia y Biogeografia de

Artropodos de Mexico: Hacia una Sintesis de su

Conocimiento vol. 2, CONABIO, Mexico, 537-531.

Miranda F. & Hernandez X. E., 1963. Los tipos de

vegetacion de Mexico y su clasificacion.- Boletin de

la Sociedad Botanica de Mexico, 28: 29-179.

Moraes S.S., Duarte M. & Gonzalez J.M., 2010.

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and discussion on the validity of its subspecies.

Zootaxa, 2421: 1-27.

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the Neotropical genus Yagra Oiticica (Lepidoptera:

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1531.

Penco F.C., 2011. Lepidoptera Argentina. Catalogo

ilustrado y comentado de las mariposas de Argentina.

Parte I: Castniidae. El Autor, Moron, 41 pp.

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de la zona arida veracmzana. Anales del Institute de

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Mexico., Serie Botanica, 43: 77-100.

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3055:43-61.

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nueva combinacion. Revista Chilena de

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(Herrich- Schaffer, [1854]) (Lepidoptera:

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Biodiversity Journal, 2011, 2 (4): 195-200

Biodiversity, Environmental Education and Social Media

Fabio Massimo Viglianisi & Giorgio Sabella

Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences - Section of Animal Biology, University of Catania, via Androne 81, 95124

Catania, Italy; e-mails: fabiovgl@unict.it, sabellag@unict.it.

ABSTRACT The synergies between environmental education, technological innovations and social media are considered and

reviewed. The possibility to use these synergies to create sustainable behaviors on a large scale is discussed.

KEY WORDS Environmental communication; technological innovations; collective intelligence, emergent behavior.

Received 27.10.2011; accepted 20.11.2011; printed 30.12.2011

INTRODUCTION

Ecosystems, with their contents in biodiver-

sity, are the platform on which our entire exi-

stence is based (Costanza et ah, 1997). The

whole of Earth’s ecosystems provides essential

services to humanity as a whole estimated at over

U.S. $ 72 trillion a year comparable to the entire

world’s gross income. Nevertheless, in 2010

almost two thirds of the planet’s ecosystems have

been considered degraded due to damage,

mismanagement and lack of investment in their

productivity, health and sustainability [Nelle-

mann & Corcoran (eds.), 2010]. At the same

time, the number of endangered species increases

year by year (Fig. 1) and, according to the Global

Environment Outlook (UNEP, 2007), our planet

is experiencing its sixth mass extinction mainly

caused by the man. Already in 2004 the risk of

extinction of terrestrial animal and plant species

caused by human effects on climate was estima-

ted between 15% and 37% (Thomas, 2004). The

loss of biodiversity has also major impact on

food production. For example, many of the

world’s major crops such as coffee, tea and

mango are highly dependent on entomophilous

pollination and pest control performed by birds

and insects. The degradation of ecosystems and

the consequent loss of biodiversity could lead, by

2050, to a reduction of up to 25% of food pro-

duction, increasing the risk of starvation for

many people [Nellemann & Corcoran (eds.),

2010].

In the light of these perspectives, in the next

decades it is imperative to move from a society

based on the growth of material consumption to

one based on the sustainability, avoiding the

degradation of natural systems and their inhabi-

tants. This transition will be possible only with a

heavy impact on the mentality and the habits of

billions of people and, in this context, environ-

mental education and environmental communi-

cation become basic. It is quite obvious why

these processes are undergoing a strong accele-

ration both globally and at the level of individual

nations. It is no coincidence that, in Italy, the

strategic plan for biodiversity (AA.VV., 2010)

identifies, as one of the major goals, the increas-

ing, in the population, of the awareness of the

importance of biodiversity and its conservation;

this objective is to be followed through the poli-

cies based on environmental education sup-

ported by the modern computer technology and

the multimedia (AA.VV., 2010). Environmental

education and, in general, environmental com-

munication are a means of creating the signifi-

cant changes in everyone’s behavior, essential

for creating a new sustainable culture. In this

sense, the learning and the acquisition of a col-

lective behavior become the basic means to

achieve the sustainable patterns of behavior and

development. The set of actions and attitudes by

196

Fabio Massimo Viglianisi & Giorgio Sabella

Total species assessed

Total threatened species

Figure 1. Increase in the number of species assessed for The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ (2000-2011.1).

which the individual expresses his personality

and relates himself to the others and to the envi-

ronment are the result of multisensory personal

processes and are dependent on continuous inte-

raction and feedback. As such, they are deeply

involved in the evolution and the technological

innovations increasingly used in education and

environmental communication. Currently, the

most innovative and fastest way to change the

behavior at global level seems to be the use of

the social media (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010),

which are represented by different ways of web

communication which range from networking

sites to virtual worlds (Table 1). The most inte-

resting features of the social media are the velo-

city of circulation and of diffusion of the infor-

mations, the vast pool of users and the pervasive

force in creating new trends and behaviors. For

this reason they are already widely used in

online marketing. The social media, together

with the planetary network of computers, smart-

phones and personal tablets, offer a great oppor-

tunity and represent the most promising choice

for the spread of a new sustainable culture.

Social presence / Media richness

Low

Medium

High

Self-

presentation/

Self-

disclosure

High

Blogs

Social networking sites

(e.g., Facebook)

Virtual social worlds

(e.g., Second Life)

Low

Collaborative

projects

(e.g., Wikipedia)

Content communities

(e.g., YouTube)

Virtual game worlds

(e.g., World of Warcraft)

Table 1. Classification of Social Media by social presence/media richness and self-presentation/self-disclosure

(from Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010).

DISCUSSION

Various definitions of the environmental edu-

cation have been given, one of the most compre-

hensive is that developed during the conference

organized by UNESCO in October 1977 in Tbilisi.

In that document (UNESCO, 1978) it is reported

(recommendation no. 1, point 3): “ A basic aim of

environmental education is to succeed in making

individuals and communities understand the

complex nature of the natural and the built

environments resulting from the interaction of

Biodiversity, Environmental Education and Social Media

197

their biological, physical, social, economic and

cultural aspects, and acquire the knowledge,

values, attitudes, and practical skills to participate

in a responsible and effective way in anticipating

and solving environmental problems, and the

management of the quality of the environment” .

The first part of the definition regards the

descriptive and the notional aspects of environ-

mental education which are acquired through the

learning of schematic transverses across different

scientific and environmental disciplines.

This notional approach, such as “know the

world around you,” was applied, with some

exceptions, in many schools since the eighties

and nineties of the last century. More important,

however, are the goals and the values of environ-

mental education that should lead to a change in

knowledge and behavior. The ultimate purpose,

which means a key step, is the passage from the

particular to the global, namely the verification

of transformation of all projects of environmen-

tal education and communication in a real

change of each one’s behavior, the sum of which

becomes global awareness. The transition from

individual behavior to global awareness requires

a network of relationships and knowledge, and

all this strongly affects the use of computer

technology and multimedia. Although this appro-

ach could have a significant fallout only on part

of the most industrialized world, it is sufficient to

reach a critical mass so that environmental com-

munication could have positive effects. This

objective, however, is always very difficult to be

fully achieved and verified, especially due to the

strong competition of the conflictual ethics and

for the complexity of checking the behavior

acquired out of the learning paths.

To achieve better results, greater importance

should be given even to the type of emotion and

to the strong empathy which should be establi-

shed in the active involvement of consciences,

especially those of the young. For this reason, the

implementation of any environmental education

project should be seen as a continuous and broad-

spectrum process which reaches the final result

of the establishment of a new emotional bond

with the natural and anthropic world that sur-

rounds anybody. In any case, reaching the aware-

ness of the risks of a development without limits

to growth, with its inevitable political and social

implications, and the understanding that the only

possible development is the sustainable one, are

cultural paths neither easy to acquire and not

easy to verify. In summary, the objective to be

pursued is to stimulate the profound cultural

transformations which lead to the formation of a

new conscience in which the awareness and the

dignity of being citizens of the “Gaia planet”

give priority to values that are currently very far

from the collective perception.

The long path towards these aims is even

more complicated for the exponential accelera-

tion of the planetary emergencies. The prediction

of a relatively rapid breakdown of traditional

energy resources and the approaching of the

point of no return for global warming, greatly

reduce the chances of success of traditional edu-

cational systems, which are based on a conti-

nuous, but slow, process of the cultural evolu-

tion, which should lead the children to become

good citizens in the future.

Accelerating behavioral changes and the

maturation of awareness using faster and more

persuasive ways of environmental communica-

tion becomes a priority. In this context, the

modem information technologies and the social

media (including social network, content com-

munities, blogs, the hundreds of thousands apps

used in mobile devices, etc.) seem to offer many

answers and opportunities. Personal experiences

and direct learning are, however, an essential

step of understanding and knowledge of both

natural and anthropic environments. Visiting an

industrial complex or a natural park, walking

along a river or spending a day in a farm, are not

replaceable approaches; they involve a personal

commitment involving all the senses and activa-

ting feedbacks and positive behaviors.

At this point, it is important to wonder about

how modern technology affects learning and per-

ception, and if the use of technology in environ-

mental communication may provide a genuine

and undistorted experience. Simply put, the

question is whether these means are to be consid-

ered as facilitators and amplifiers of learning, or

instead, they are just trendy gadgets of no use in

environmental education. Of course, this pro-

blem is much debated and has several facets,

which, schematically, can be traced to two anti-

thetical attitudes. The first, more extreme, does

not require the use of any technical device and is

based on a direct relationship between the envi-

198

Fabio Massimo Viglianisi & Giorgio Sabella

Figure 2. Outline of rapid multiplication

flow of information between the nodes.

ronment and the man, a sort of return to the myth

of the noble savage. This view, though valuable

in its simplicity, however, seems anachronistic

and unfortunately late now. The second, oppo-

site, considers as essential the personal terminals

for proper learning aids. The trend seems to favor

the latter hypothesis, as evidenced, for example,

by the increasing amount of the number of users

of smartphones, 15 million users only in Italy in

2010 (comScore, 2010). In contrast to the debate,

the degree of impairment of the environmental

balance is much clearer and can be easily illustra-

ted using a dialogue of the film by Yann Arthus-

Bertrand HOME (at http://www.youtube.com/

watch?v=jqxENMKaeCU): “The cost of our

actions on the environment was very high but it

is too late to be pessimistic” . This attitude,

highly realistic and not hypocritical, is based on,

and emphasizes, one of the most important

human qualities: adaptation, making us see the

change as an achievable goal, even if difficult.

For this reason, the use in environmental educa-

tion of the network of computers, smartphones

and personal tablets connected to the social

media becomes fundamental to pilot the actions

and the behaviors, even if apparently uneven and

unrelated, to the desired effect.

In the connected world, the progress is “col-

lective intelligence”; the development is no lon-

ger a linear and mechanical process, because our

world has become, thanks to technology, a “cultu-

ral system” where open innovation is a virus that

goes in any direction (Levy, 1994). In this scena-

rio, the power of collective intelligence is put in

evidence by the extension of personal technology,

so that actions and behaviors of each individual,

associated and cooperating, reach a new critical

mass, determining the so-called “emergent beha-

vior” (Beni & Wang, 1989; Kaiser et al., 2010), or

rather, a systematic set of individual intelligences,

whose actions and emotions work together to pro-

duce important and decisive effects at educatio-

nal, sociological, political and anthropological

levels (Graefe & Vogelsong, 2008).

At this point, the technological means beco-

mes an integral part of each individual; it beco-

mes, at the same time, a catalyst and an imple-

menter of the individual actions and behaviors

and builds the transition from the local to the glo-

bal in a simple and complete manner. Assuming

that the environmental knowledge is a precursor,

or at least a correlate, to the environmental behav-

ior change, the use of current and future informa-

tion technologies, combined with the possibilities

offered by social media, enhancing connectivity

and synchronization of thought, could contribute

significantly to the formation of a single common

thought and impose quickly eco-sustainable

behaviors. In this way, the individual perceives to

be part of an unique social context, to which it is

impossible not to belong, and he is forced to

channel his behavior in that direction.

The new social media, which were born and

have evolved through information technology,

are well suited to be used as a means of a rapid

dissemination of ideas, using the same mecha-

nisms of the viral marketing in which an impor-

tant idea can spread very quickly (Maibach,

Biodiversity, Environmental Education and Social Media

199

1993; Wilson, 2000; Gordon, 2011). In this

regard, it must be considered that, in a social net-

work, the connections that bind the individuals

ensure a rapid flow of information between the

nodes (Fig. 2), allowing, relatively quickly, to

make decisions and to update the individual

behavior. In addition, the mechanisms which

regulate and control a social system, despite their

complexity, are simpler than those of a natural

system, for this reason the assertion of a new

global behavior implies the involvement of a

critical mass estimated at around 20% of the

nodes (Yang- Yu et al., 2011).

CONCLUSION

A critical period, both in social and environ-

mental terms, is approaching and the obligation

to learn as quickly as possible the sustainable

behavior will increase the importance of environ-

mental education and its widespread dissemina-

tion. Certainly, the environmental changes indu-

ced by climate change and the biodiversity loss

will not disappear overnight, but the sooner

humanity shall become aware of the problem and

intervene the better it will be able to control its

own destiny and protect the beauty and the diver-

sity of the planet for future generations.

The use of information technology now ena-

bles to expand awares and emotions, transfor-

ming the mode of construction of knowledges

and training processes. Global connectivity, rea-

ched through social media, could enable to rea-

lize these new behaviors, which should realize a

reversing of the actual trend: “ Destroy what is

essential to create the superfluous ” . For these

reasons, environmental education, in sinergy

with social media, represents a strategic tool for

the conservation of biodiversity at both global

and local level.

Environmental education, more than other

instruments and/or strategies, can certainly play a

decisive role in changing consciences and beha-

viors, provided that it is pervasively conveyed on

a variety of means of comunication, allowing to

reach a critical mass which could carry out the

significant changes. From this point of view,

information technology and communication,

which are increasingly entering our daily life,

while leading to a reduction of our liberties,

however, would enable to speed up the acquisi-

tion of new skills by creating a sustainable global

response constituted by the individual local

actions.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We are grateful to Dr. Oscar Lisi (Catania,

Italy) for his comments and suggestions to the

improvement of the text.

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Biodiversity Journal, 2011, 2 (4): 201-206

Observations on the saxicavous habits of Cepaea nemoralis (Linnaeus, 1 758)

(Pulmonata, Stylommatophora, Helicidae) in the Pyrenees (France)

Daniel Quettier

21 Avenue du Donjon, 31260 Salies du Salat, France; e-mail: daniel.quettier@wanadoo.fr.

ABSTRACT Since 1800 numerous geologists and biologists published several papers on the origin of holes in hard

limestone observed in several countries of Europe and North Africa assuming that terrestrials snails were

responsible for such a perforations. In the present paper a few observations on the saxicavous activities of

Cepaea nemoralis (Linnaeus, 1758) in the Pyrenees (France) are reported.

KEY WORDS Saxicava; Helixigenic; Pyrenees; Cepaea nemoralis.

Received 16.08.2011; accepted 11.10.2011; printed 30.12.2011

INTRODUCTION

The phenomenon of saxicavous land-snails of

Europe and North Africa, described and reported in

numerous papers (Prevost, 1843, 1854; Figuier,

1858; Gaudin, 1860; Bouchard-Chantereaux,

1861; Marrat, 1864; Merle Norman, 1864; Brehm,

1869; Mackintosh, 1869; Roffe, 1870; Trevelyan,

1871; Bretonniere, 1888; Forel, 1888; Platania,

1890; Meunier, 1890, 1900; De Gregorio, 1890,

1916; Harle, 1900; Wilson, 1913; Lamy, 1930;

Kiihnelt, 1932, Di Salvo, 1932, Rensch, 1932a,

1932b, 1937; Jamnik, 1997; Manganelli et al.,

2000; Quettier, 2002 ; Liberto et al., 2010;

Colomba et al., 2011), does interest different

species including Cepaea nemoralis (Linnaeus,

1758) which is one of the most frequently cited.

A few of these rock-boring species are

saxicavous only in some localities, while others

make perforations in the rock as their biological

constant characteristic.

Despite of different geographical areas and

dissimilar atmospheric conditions, this

phenomenon has always the same specific

characteristics. Perforations are constantly on

compact carbonate rocks and predominantly on

the vertical or sub-vertical surface, on the side

exposed to the prevailing direction of the rainfall;

the galleries are always directed from the bottom

up so that water can’t penetrate inside, flooding

them. The cast of a small group of holes made by

Cepaea nemoralis in the Pyrenees (Fig. 1) is

representative of its general characteristics; it is

possible to find tunnels leading to the upper edge

of the rock, but the origin of the perforations is

always on the bottom; the hole-diameter varies

from 2 to 3 cm and remains constant with no

significant restrictions along the tunnels.

Perforations begin with the construction of a

single gallery, then a second one is added, a third

one and so on, thus increasing in number and

depth; the rock wall between several contiguous

galleries gradually reduces up and finally

disappears, leaving a large cavity the bottom of

which appears completely pitted; sometimes

Cepaea nemoralis dug their tunnels also through

layers of calcite including fossils (Figs. 2-6).

DISCUSSION

As far as concerns observations on the

saxicavous habits of Cepaea nemoralis in the

Pyrenees (France), perforations in the rock made

by these animals are usually observed in karst

areas with partial or complete vegetation cover,

being less abundant in exposed areas with isolated

rocks; a few perforations can also be found in the

plains, on isolated rocks or in limestone houses

202

Daniel Quettier

Fig. 1

Fig. 4 Fig. 5

Fig. 6

Fig. 8 Fig. 9

Fig. 10

Fig. 7

Figure 1. The cast of a small group of holes made by Cepaea nemoralis in the Pyrenees.

Figures 2-6. General characteristics of perforations made by Cepaea nemoralis in the Pyrenees (France).

Figure 7. Pile Romaine of Luzenac (Ariege, France).

Figures 8-9. Cepaea trapped in the tunnels (Pyrenees, France).

Figure 10. Rocks completely altered and perforated by Cepaea nemoralis from Flider at Prat Bonrepaux (Ariege, France).

Observations on the saxicavous habits of Cepaea nemoralis ( Linnaeus , 1758) (Pulmonata, Stylommatophora, Helicidae) in the Pyrenees ( France ) 203

hand-made by man as is the case of “Pile

Romaine” of Luzenac (Ariege) (Fig. 7).

When galleries are particularly complex in

structure, Cepaea often remain trapped inside the

tunnels because of increasing size of shells (Figs. 8-

9), whereas sometimes specimens happen to die in

the holes for natural causes. As already observed in

some areas that in the past were the seat of an

intense activity of saxicava and today show a

luxuriant vegetation covering the holes inside of

which Cepaea nemoralis can rarely be found, in

various locations of the Pyrenees, as the cliffs of

Hider at Prat Bonrepaux (Ariege), Cepaea

specimens are not encountered anymore. In this

place, for example, there was a rocky area of over

100 square meters completely altered and perforated

every centimeter (Fig. 10) now abandoned by

Cepaea nemoralis , with ivy and moss invading the

tunnels and the ground vegetation extremely

abundant. Since it is a location away from human

settlements and activities, this ecosystem was

probably altered due to natural causes.

Some literature papers above-mentioned,

report that saxicavous land-snails dissolve the

rock by using an acidic substance. In 2002 an

experiment carried out by some CNRS

researchers revealed that after placing a few

Cepaea nemoralis specimens in some purposely-

cut blocks of limestone, several eroded areas

showing the same shape as the foot of the Cepaea

previously resting on the blocks were found.

It was observed that on the Pyrenees there is

a change in the orientation of the perforations

correlating to higher altitudes, probably due to

the colder air currents from the Atlantic Ocean.

At the local level, in each perforated area, the

tunnels have a prevailing orientation that, in the

same site, can vary by more than 20°, with the

exception of very chaotic rocky areas where it

can vary by up to 180°. In other places, along

the banks of rivers where the last limestone

rocky groups appear on the surface, at about

260 m above sea level and well protected in the

valleys, the orientation of the holes is of nearly

360°, with a few predominant directions

depending on the sites, including on the eastern

side of the massif. As clearly visible on the

graphs showing the orientation of the

perforations between 1,000 and 2,000 m above

sea level (Fig. 11), the more increasing the

North

1000 - 1500 m 1500 - 2000 111

South

Figure 11. Orientation of perforations made

by Cepaea nemoralis on the Pyrenees

(France) at different altitudes, expressed in m

above sea lave.

204

Daniel Quettier

altitude the more the hole-angle is reduced and

the western areas of the mountains, more

exposed to the natural elements, do not show

nearly any perforations at all.

As calculated in England by Stanton (1986),

the drilling speed of Cepaea nemoralis is equal

to 1.5 mm in 10 years. As demonstrated by the

same author, knowing the speed of drilling and

the main orientation of holes, it is possible to

reconstruct the original position of some blocks

of limestone reworked or processed by man. For

example, the “Dolmen de Comminge”

(Camarade-Ariege), a megalithic construction

with numerous perforations made by terrestrial

molluscs shows, on the horizontal part, a group

of reversed perforations, thus suggesting that

this block of several hundred pounds was

originally placed in reverse with an orientation

differing from the current one by about 85°;

moreover, the vertical walls show further

perforations that attest these movements and

reversals occurred during the assembly of the

construction (Fig. 12). Another example is that

of the “Pile Romaine“ of Fuzenac (Ariege), a

building dated between the I and IV century

A.C, more than 7 meters in height, located in a

field along the road D618. When the front of the

northwestern side of the building collapsed, it

was subject to saxicavous activities of land-

snails that bored holes in the blocks of limestone

just below the mortar. Taking into account that

perforations are, on average, 95 mm long, it can

be inferred that the building collapsed about 630

years ago, around 1380.

Probably, Cepaea nemoralis perforates the

limestone mainly to escape the cold

temperatures of winter; in fact, during the

winter this species is usually under the soil at a

depth of about 20 cm, avoiding the frozen

ground for a few months. Measurements

carried out in September 2011 on the

temperature of the subsoil at 20 cm compared

to the temperature inside a tunnel of the same

length bored by Cepaea nemoralis showed that

there is a difference with respect to the

temperature at the soil-level (Fig. 13). In

particular, the soil is sensitive to any changes

of outside temperature; an increase of 16 °C

causes in the ground, five hours later, a

temperature increase of 5 °C. On the rocks

there are not the same variations; the change

occurs in about eight hours, but the range is

only 1/10 of the outside temperature, i.e. for an

increase of 16 °C, the temperature in the rocks

increases only by 1.5 °C (Chabert, 1980;

Guillou-Frottier et al., 1998; Benhammou &

Draoui, 2011). Figure 14 summarizes the

temperatures recorded in September-November

201 1, in order to show either the trend curves in

rock and soil during the summer and winter

time or the condition of rocky micro-

environments when temperature is extremely

high or low.

Perforations in the rocks made by Cepaea

nemoralis also protect these animals against

predators such as the common shrew ( Sorex

araneus Finnaeus, 1758: Mammalia, Soricidae),

several species of insects and birds; that’s

probably the reason why Cepaea nemoralis

spend long periods inside the galleries even in

summer.

CONCLUSION

Observations on the saxicavous activity of

Cepaea nemoralis in the Pyrenees region

(France) reported in this paper confirm

numerous works previously made on this item.

In particular, the main cause that leads these

land-snails to rock-boring is likely to be the

need to escape the cold temperatures of some

rocky habitats, expecially during the winter.

Hence, as suggested by Sacchi (1955a, 1955b)

who hypothesized that the same phenomenon in

Cornu aspersum (O.F. Muller, 1774) and related

species of Algeria and in Erctella mazzullii De

Cristofori & Jan, 1832 complex from Sicily (see

also Colomba et al., 2011) was the result of the

adaptation to dry and arid climatic conditions

occurred in past geological periods, climatic

factors may be the prevalent cause of

saxicavous habits of mollusc species in

different geographical areas all over the world.

Observations on the saxicavous habits of Cepaea nemoralis ( Linnaeus , 1758) (Pulmonata, Stylommatophora, Helicidae) in the Pyrenees ( France ) 205

Fig. 12

Fig. 13

Monthly data

Fig. 14

Figure 12. Orientation pattern of perforations of Cepaea nemoralis from Dolmen de Comminge (Camarade-Ariege, France)

Figure 13. Measurements earned out during the day in September 2011 on the atmospheric temperature, temperature of the subsoil at 20 cm

and in a tunnel of the same length bored by Cepaea nemoralis (Pyrenees, France).

Figure 14. Temperatures recorded in September-November 2011 (Pyrenees, France), showing the trend curves in rock and soil during the

summer and winter time.

206

Daniel Quettier

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Biodiversity Journal, 2011, 2 (4): 207-208

New record of Tentyria Latreille, 1 802 (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae) as

host of Poecilotiphia rousselii (Guerin, 1838) (Hymenoptera, Tiphiidae)

Roberto A. Pantaleoni 1,2 & Mario Boni Bartalucci 3

1 Di parti memo di Protezione delle Piante, Universita degli Studi di Sassari, Via Enrico de Nicola, 1-07100 Sassari, Italy; e-mail: pantaleo@uniss.it. 2 Istituto per lo

Studio degli Ecosistemi, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (ISE-CNR), Traversa la Crucca 3, Regione Baldinca, 1-07 1 00 Li Punti (SS), Italy; e-mail: r.pantaleoni@ise. cnr. it.

3 Museo di Storia Naturale di Firenze, Sezione di Zoologia "La Specola", Via Romana 17, 1-50125 Firenze, Italy; e-mail: bartaluc@gmail.com.

ABSTRACT An attack of Poecilotiphia rousselii (Guerin, 1838) (Hymenoptera Tiphiidae Myzininae Meriini) on a larva of

Tentyria Latreille, 1802 (Coleoptera Tenebrionidae) is reported from sand dunes of Porto Ferro (Sassari, NW-

Sardinia, Italy). Only one previous record of Meriini hosts is known and it also regarded a larva of Tentyria.

KEY WORDS Myzininae, Meriini, Aculeata, Foraging, Prey.

Received 17.11.2011; accepted 09.12.2011; printed 30.12.2011

On September 7 th 1997, during a field survey

of ant-lion larvae in the sand dunes of Porto

Ferro (Sassari, Sardinia, Italy; 40°40’55”N

8°12’20”E), one of the Authors (RAP) observed

a larva of Coleoptera (around 2 cm long) tum-

bling and shaking on the ground. On prompt

examination, he could see a tiny adult

Hymenoptera that was attacking the larva. Both

were immediately collected.

The adult Hymenoptera (Fig. 1) was identi-

fied as a female of Poecilotiphia rousselii

(Guerin, 1838), a Tiphiidae of Myzininae sub-

family and Meriini tribe.

The larva of Coleoptera (Fig. 2) is a Tenebrio-

nidae. Following the papers of Boving & Craig-

head (1931), Marcuzzi & Rampazzo (1960) and

Sanchez et al. (1985), it was recognized as a Ten-

tyria Latreille, 1802. In the area of the sand

dunes of Porto Ferro there are three species of

Tentyria particularly T. grossa sardiniensis

Ardoin, 1973, T. ligurica confusa Ardoin, 1973,

T. rugosa floresii Gene, 1836 (P. Leo, in litteris).

Regarding the four tribes of the subfamily

Myzininae (Hymenoptera Tiphiidae) (Boni Bar-

talucci, 2004) we know well, by repeated and

exhaustive observations, that the larval hosts of

Figure 1. Female of Poecilotiphia rousselii

(Hymenoptera Tiphiidae) attacking a larva of

Tentyria (Coleoptera Tenebrionidae) in Porto

Ferro 7 th September, 1997 (R. A. Pantaleoni

legit). Photo by Marcello Romano (scale 1 mm).

208

Roberto A. Pantaleoni & Mario Boni Bartalucci

Figure 2. Larva of Tentyria (Coleoptera Tenebrionidae) attacked by a

female of Poecilotiphia rousselii (Hymenoptera Tiphiidae Myzininae

Meriini) in Porto Ferro 7 th September, 1997 (R. A. Pantaleoni legit).

Photos by Carlo Cesaroni (scale 1 mm).

the tribe Myzinini (with Nearctic and Neotropic

distribution) attack the larvae of soil-dwelling

scarab beetles (Krombein, 1938). In the tribe

Mesini we found a further well-known case, the

genus Hylomesa Krombein, 1968 (with

Afrotropical and Oriental distribution) adapted to

attacking wood-boring cerambycid larvae

(Krombein, 1968). Only hypotheses are possible

in the cases of the other genus of Mesini, Mesa

Saussure, 1892, and of the tribe, with Australian

distribution, Austromyzini. It would not be sur-

prising if both attacked scarab beetle larvae too.

Records about cicindelid larvae as hosts refer to

Pterombrus (e. g. Goulet & Huber, 1993;

O’Neill, 2001) which actually should be

removed from Myzininae and probably con-

nected to Methochinae.

Regarding the last tribe Meriini, the most

abundant in the Euro-Mediterranean region, only

one previous record on the hosts is known. Actu-

ally Ferton (1911), on the “naked sable” (dune ?)

in La Calle (today El Kala, El Tarf, Algeria),

observed the attack of a female on a larva of

Tentyria sp. The female was described as the new

species Myzine andrei Ferton, 1911, junior

synonym of Poecilotiphia rousselii (Guerin,

1838) (Boni Bartalucci, 1994).

Our record reflects Ferton’s old observation.

Consequently it is confirmed that Poecilotiphia

rousselii (Guerin, 1838) attacks larvae of Ten-

tyria in order to supply food for their offspring.

Whereas all the Meriini live in xerotermic habi-

tats, if not in deserts, where the species of Tene-

brionidae are particularly abundant, the hypothe-

sis that the foraging activity of the members of

the tribe Meriini are focused on the larvae of

Tenebrionidae appears very plausible.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This note was written thanks to the Forum

Entomologi Italiani (Italian Entomologist

Forum) [www.entomologiitaliani.net] where the

authors had the opportunity to share their own

entomological knowledge. A special thanks to

Davide Badano, Carlo Cesaroni, Piero Leo and

Marcello Romano for the help, photos and data

on Tenebrionidae.

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Hylomesa , a new genus of Myzininae wasp parasitic on

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of the United States National Museum, 124: 1-22.

Lopez Sanchez S., de los Santos A. & Montes C., 1985.

Estudio morfologico de la forma larvaria de Tentyria

platiceps Stev. 1829 (Col. Tenebrionidae). EOS, 41:

173-182.

Marcuzzi G. & Rampazzo L., 1960. Contribute alia cono-

scenza delle forme larvali dei Tenebrionidi (Col.

Heter.). EOS, 36: 63-117.

O’Neill K.M., 2001. Solitary Wasps: Natural History and

Behavior. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York,

XIII + 406 pp.

Biodiversity Journal, 2011, 2 (4): 209-212

New records of Gerromorpha, Leptopodomorpha and Nepomorpha

(Heteroptera, Insecta) from Madhya Pradesh, India

Kailash Chandra & E. Eyarin Jehamalar

Zoological Survey of India, New Alipore, Kolkata- 700 053, India; e-mails: kailash611@rediffmail.com; jehamalar@gmail.com.

ABSTRACT Four species of aquatic Heteroptera Gerris nepalensis Distant, 1910, Mesovelia horvathi Lundblad, 1934,

Valleriola cicindeloides Distant, 1908, and Anisops kuroiwae Matsumura, 1915 belonging to four families and

three infraorders namely Gerromorpha, Leptopodomorpha and Nepomorpha are newly recorded for the state

of Madhya Pradesh. The diagnosis and distribution data of all these four species are provided here.

KEY WORDS New records, Aquatic Heteroptera, Madhya Pradesh.

Received 25.11.2011; accepted 23.12.2011; printed 30.12.2011

INTRODUCTION

Aquatic bugs belonging to the order

Hemiptera, suborder Heteroptera, include three

infraorders viz., Gerromorpha, Leptopodomorpha

and Nepomorpha. The first two infraorders are

semiaquatic bugs and the latter one is true aquatic

bugs. They play a major role as biological control

agents, and ecologically as food for higher trophic

levels such as fishes, birds etc. Thirumalai et al.

(2007) have given detailed information about

aquatic bugs belonging to infraorders Gerromorpha

and Nepomorpha from Madhya Pradesh.

Leptopodomorpha have not been given due

attention in India, except for the record of the

occurrence of 4 genera and 10 species

(Thirumalai, 1999). In the present study four

species of aquatic and semiaquatic Heteroptera,

Gerris nepalensis Distant, 1910 and Mesovelia

horvathi Lundblad, 1934 (Gerromorpha),

Valleriola cicindeloides Distant, 1908 (Leptopo-

domorpha) and Anisops kuroiwae Matsumura,

1915 (Nepomorpha), belonging to four families,

namely Gerridae, Mesoveliidae, Leptopodidae

and Notonectidae are newly recorded from

Madhya Pradesh. Previously four species of

aquatic Heteroptera, namely Microvelia albomaculata

Distant, 1909 ,Rhagovelia ( Neorhagovelia ) sumatrensis

Lundblad, 1936, Rhagadotarsus ( Rhagadotarsus )

kraepelini Breddin, 1905 and Naboandelus

signatus Distant, 1910 were recorded by Chandra

et al. (in press) from Madhya Pradesh, after the

record of 57 species of aquatic Heteroptera from

the state by Thirumalai et al. (2007).

ACRONYMS. The materials used for this

study are deposited in Zoological Survey of

India, Kolkata (ZSIK) and Zoological Survey of

India, Jabalpur (ZSIJ) collections: collection

H.S. Sharma (HSS), ZSIK, Reg. No. 2522/H15

{Gerris nepalensis ); collection D.K. Ghosal

(DKG), ZSIK, Reg. No. 2520/H15 (G.

nepalensis ); collection D.S. Mathur (DSM),

ZSIK, Reg. No. 2523/H15 (G. nepalensis);

collection R.K. Singh (RKS), ZSIK, Reg. No.

2521/H15 (G. nepalensis ); collection D.K.

Harshey (DKH), ZSIK, Reg. No. 2519/H15 (G.

nepalensis ); collection E.E. Jehamalar (EEJ),

ZSIK, Reg. No. 2518/H15 {Mesovelia horvathi );

ZSIK, Reg. No. 2516/H15 {Anisops kuroiwae);

collection E.E. Jehamalar and Devanshu

(EEJD), ZSIJ, Reg. No. A/15098 {Valleriola

cicindeloides ); collection N.K. Sinha (NKS),

ZSIJ, Reg. No. A/15100 {V cicindeloides );

collection V.V. Rao (VVR), ZSIJ, Reg. No.

A/15099 {V cicindeloides ); collection H.

Khajuria (HK), ZSIK, Reg. No. 2517/H15

{Anisops kuroiwae ).

210

Kailash Chandra & E. Eyarin Jehamalar

RESULTS

Infraorder GERROMORPHA

Family GERRIDAE

Subfamily GERRINAE

Gerris nepalensis Distant, 1910

1910. Gerris nepalensis Distant, Ann. Mag.

nat. Hist., 5: 142.

1903. Gerris nepalensis Distant: Fauna of

British India, 5: 143-144.

1993. Gerris (Gerris) nepalensis Distant: Ent.

Scand., 24: 157.

2002. Gerris (Gerris) nepalensis Distant:

Thimmalai, Rec. zool. Surv. India, 100 (Part 1-2): 61.

Examined material. Betul, Mura, 24.III. 1990,

1 apt. male (HSS); Jabalpur, Amkhas, Nagpur Road,

2.VI.1971, 1 apt. female (DKG); Budhagar tank,

20.III.1974, 1 mpt. female, 1 apt. female, 1 imm. ex.

(DSM); Panna, Pratappur, 15.11.1987, 1 apt. male

ex. (RKS); Shivpuri, SSS Club, 24.III.1980, 3 apt.

males, 3 mpt. females, 6 apt. females (DKH).

Diagnosis. Body piceous and flat ventrally. Male

body length 6.87 mm, width across mesoacetabula

2.27 mm, female, length 8.27 width 2.68 mm;

generally apterous (Fig. 1), rarely macropterous;

head predominantly black and shiny, base with

crescent shaped yellow marking; pronotum piceous,

anterior pronotal lobe with median yellow stripe;

apex of 7 th abdominal sternum excavated medially;

eighth abdominal sternum of male with two silvery

white patches; connexival spines well developed in

females, very small in males; ventral sclerite of male

endosoma rod shaped.

Distribution. Vietnam, India, China, Japan,

Far East of Russia. Distribution in India:

Arunachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya

Pradesh, Sikkim and Uttar Pradesh.

Remarks. Distant (1903) mentioned that body

above and hemelytra are black, but in the specimens

recorded here they are dark brown to piceous.

Family MESOVELIIDAE

Subfamily MESOVELIINAE

Mesovelia horvathi Lundblad, 1934

1934. Mesovelia horvathi Lundblad, Arch.

Hydrobiol. Suppl., 12: 190.

1980. Mesovelia horvathi Lundblad: Thimmalai,

Rec. zool. Surv. India, Misc. Occ. Pap., 165: 26.

2002. Mesovelia horvathi Lundblad: Thimmalai,

Rec. zool. Surv. India, 100 (Part 1-2): 78.

2011. Mesovelia horvathi Lundblad: Man and

Murphy, Raff. Bull. Zoology, 59: 54-55.

Examined material. Madhya Pradesh, Tilwa-

raghat, 9.IX.2011, 1 macropterous male (EEJ).

Diagnosis. Length: 2.6 mm; colour luteous

(Figs. 3, 4); inner margin of mid leg 1-2 black

spines on both sexes; apices of rostmm, tibiae and

tarsi fuscous; tarsi 3-segmented; inner subapical

margin of fore femur with 5 minute spines; 8 th

abdominal sternum of male with a pair of black

tuft of hairs on the sublateral region.

Distribution. Australia, China, Japan,

Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand

and Vietnam. Distribution in India: Madhya

Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

Remarks. Commonly in the plains and

mountains in stagnant and slow running water

(Thimmalai, 2001) and also found in brackish water

(Man & Murphy, 2011). In the present study it has

been collected in an abandoned dirty pond.

Infraorder LEPTOPODOMORPHA

Superfamily LEPTOPODOIDEA

Family LEPTOPODIDAE

Subfamily LEPTOPODINAE

Tribe Leptopodini

Valleriola cicindeloides Distant, 1908

1908. Leptopus cicindeloides Distant: Ann. Mag.

nat. Hist., 8: 140.

1910. Leptopus cicindeloides (Distant): Fauna

of British India, 5: 224.

Examined material. Jabalpur, Vijay Nagar, ZSI

Residential Colony, 25.IX.2010, 1 ex. (EEJ-D);

Bheraghat, 24.XI.1972, 1 ex. (NKS); Khargone,

Gangli Village, 10.11.1971, 1 ex. (WR).

Diagnosis. Length 5.5 mm; Colour greyish

ochraceous; body (Fig. 2) with pale pilosity; head

with ocelli and median tubercle; first antennal

segment stout, small and the 3 rd segment very

longer; pronotum with four dark brownish grey

fascia, which is not reached upto the apex of

New records of Gerromorpha, Leptopodomorpha and Nepomorpha (Heteroptera, lnsecta) from Madhya Pradesh, India

211

Figure 1. Gerris nepalensis male, apt. form (length 6.87 mm). Figure 2. Valleriola cicindeloides (length 5.5

mm). Figure 3. Mesovelia hor\>cithi male dorsal view (length 2.6 mm). Figure 4. idem Fig. 3, ventral view.

Figure 5. Anisops kuroiwae male dorsal view (length 5.6 mm). Figure 6. idem Fig. 5, head ventral view.

212

Kailash Chandra & E. Eyarin Jehamalar

pronotum; base, postero-lateral margin and apex

of pronotum ochraceous; scutellum and wings

fuscous; clavus with two ochraceous spots, one at

the apex and another at the base; middle and apex

of the corium with two ochraceous spots;

membrane grayish ochraceous.

Distribution. Yemen, India. Distribution

in India: Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and West

Bengal.

Remarks. Anterior central longitudinal line

and the fascia on the posterior region of

pronotum is not prominent in all specimens.

Sometimes the fascia united and only leaving the

central prominent apical and faint postero sub

lateral ochraceous patch.

Infraorder NEPOMORPHA

Family NOTONECTIDAE

Subfamily ANISOPINAE

Anisops kuroiwae Matsumura, 1915

1915. Anisops kuroiwae Matsumura, Ent. Mag.

Kyoto, 1: 109.

2004. Anisops batillifrons Lundblad: Bal &

Basu, Zool. Surv. India, State Fauna Series, 10: 300.

2004. Anisops kuroiwae Matsumura: Nieser,

Raff. Bull. Zoology, 52: 86-87.

2007. Anisops kuroiwae Matsumura: Thimmalai,

Rec. zool. Surv. India, Occ. Paper No., 273: 39.

Examined material. Jabalpur, Vijay Nagar,

ZSI Residential Colony, 27.IX.2010, 2 males, 2

females (EEJ); Shahdol, Bandhavgarh National

Park, 7.IX.1972, 2 exx. (HK).

Diagnosis. Length male 5. 6-6. 4, female 5.4-

6.3; width, male 1.5-1. 6, female 1.3-1. 8.

Interocular space anteriorly produced into a

cephalic projection. Cephalic projection in dorsal

view rounded at apex, in lateral view extending in

front of eye less than half the total length of the

frons. In frontal view, tylus and frons are excavate

with two carinae on each. Males (Figs. 5, 6) are

easily recognized by the structure of the cephalic

projection and the frons.

Distribution. Widespread in Australasia

from southern China to Australia, Southeastern

Palaearctic (Japan) and West Malaysia.

Distribution in India: Arunachal Pradesh,

Assam, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur,

Sikkim, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

CONCLUSION

In the present study 4 species of aquatic

Heteroptera, Gerris nepalensis, Mesovelia horvathi,

Valleriola cicindeloides and Anisops kuroiwae,

belonging to the infraorders Gerromorpha,

Nepomorpha and Leptopodomorpha are newly

recorded from Madhya Pradesh. It is interesting to

note that Mesovelia horvathi hitherto recorded only

from South India (Tamil Nadu) has been reported

from Central India.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The authors are thankful to the Director, Dr. K.

Venkataraman, Zoological Survey of India,

Kolkata for facilities and encouragements. We are

also thank Dr. Talmale, Assistant Zoologist,

Zoological Survey of India, Jabalpur for arranging

special tour.

REFERENCES

Chandra K., Jehamalar E.E. & Thimmalai G., in press.

Four new records of Gerroidea (Hemiptera:

Heteroptera) from Madhya Pradesh. Records of

Zoological Survey of India.

Distant W.L., 1 903 . Rhynchota. The Fauna of British India

including Ceylon and Burma. Appendix, 5: 143-144.

Man Y.C. & Murphy D.H., 2011. Guide to the aquatic

Heteroptera of Singapore and peninsular Malaysia.

6. Mesoveliidae, with description of a new

Nereivelia species from Singapore. The Raffles

Bulletin of Zoology, 59: 53-60.

Thimmalai G., 1999. Aquatic and semi-aquatic

Heteroptera of India. Indian Association of Aquatic

Biologists (IAAB) Publication No., 7: 1-74.

Thimmalai G., 2001. Insecta: Aquatic and semi-aquatic

Heteroptera. Zoological Survey of India, Fauna of

Conservation Area Series, II: Fauna of Nilgiri

Biosphere Reserve, 111-127.

Thimmalai G., Sharma R.M. & Chandra K., 2007. A

checklist of aquatic and semiaquatic Hemiptera

(Insecta) of Madhya Pradesh. Records of Zoological

Survey of India, 1 07 (Part-4) : 7 1 -9 1 .

Biodiversity Journal, 2011, 2 (4): 213-216

On the specific validity of Rupestrella jaeckeli Beckmann, 2002

(Gastropoda, Pulmonata, Chondrinidae)

Walter Renda 1 , Marco Bodon 2 & Gianbattista Nardi 3

'Via Bologna 18/a, 87032 Amantea (CS), Italy.

2 Dipartimento di Scienze Anibientali dell'Universita di Siena, Via Mattioli 4, 53100 Siena, Italy.

3 Via Sorzana 43, 25080 Nuvolera (BS), Italy.

Corresponding author: W. Renda, email: w.rendal@tin.it.

ABSTRACT After studying the shells of a large population of Rupestrella jaeckeli Beckmann, 2002, located ESE of

Agrigento (southern Sicily), near the type locality, a complete correspondence of characters with Rupestrella

philippii (Cantraine, 1840) was observed; the latter has already been known to occur in central-eastern Sicily

as well as other Mediterranean areas. Synonymy is therefore proposed between the two taxa: R. jaeckeli should

be more properly considered a junior synonym of R. philippii.

KEY WORDS Rupestrella jaeckeli , R. philippii, southern Sicily, taxonomy.

Received 30.11.2011; accepted 15.12.2011; printed 30.12.2011

INTRODUCTION

The genus Rupestrella Monterosato, 1894,

includes xeroresistant and calciphilic molluscs

inhabiting calcareous rocks, distributed in the

Mediterranean region (Gittenberger, 1973, 1984;

Holyoak & Seddon, 1986; Burgos & Gittenberger,

1994; Beckmann, 1997; Bank, 2011). According

to the checklist of the family Chondrinidae,

recently proposed by Kokshoom & Gittenberger

(2010), 15 species and some subspecies are

attributed to this genus.

While highlighting the need for a critical review

of the group, four species were considered belonging

to the Italian fauna (Manganelli et al., 1995), all of

them also present in Sicily. Three of them are

considered endemic to this island: R. occulta

(Rossmassler, 1839), R. rupestris (Philippi, 1836)

and R. scalaris (Benoit, 1882), while the fourth, R.

philippii (Cantraine, 1840), is also widespread in

central and southern Italy, Sardinia and the Tuscan

Archipelago, as well as the island of Majorca, the

Maltese Islands, Croatia, Dalmatia, Albania,

Montenegro, Greece, Turkey, Cypms and Libya

(Gittenberger, 1984; Giusti et al., 1995; Beckmann,

2007; Kokshoom & Gittenberger, 2010).

More recently, Beckmann (2002) has revised the

Rupestrella species endemic to Sicily, proceeding to

confirm the subspecific level of some taxa described

historically ( R . homala homala (Westerlund, 1892);

R. occulta gibilfunnensis (De Gregorio, 1895); R.

rupestris coloba (Pilsbry, 1918)), and describing

some new subspecies (R. homala falkneri

Beckmann, 2002, R. homala massae Beckmann,

2002, R. rupestris carolae Beckmann, 2002, R.

rupestris lamellosa Beckmann, 2002, and R.

rupestris margritae Beckmann, 2002); however

many of these do not seem to be very

characterised and, probably, they represent

phenotypic variations of individual populations

or even of specimens of the same population.

Finally, in the same article, he has described a

new species: R. jaeckeli Beckmann, 2002. This

latter entity was separated on the basis of the

shell, after analyzing a small number of

specimens, collected in two places located in

Agrigento (Beckmann, 2002: 73).

The recent discovery of a large population of

Rupestrella , surveyed in the same area from which

the materials studied by Beckmann (2002) had

been collected, allowed to check the taxonomic

status of R. jaeckeli.

214

Walter Renda, Marco Bodon & Gianbattista Nardi

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The population object of this note was found on

a limestone cliff located 3 km ESE of Agrigento

(Fig. 1), 160 m a.s.l. (Municipality of Agrigento,

AG), UTM 33S UB7729, where it lives together

Figure 1. Distribution of the Rupestrella populations surveyed near

Agrigento (southern Sicily). Black circle: site identified by the

authors; red circle: site studied by Beckmann (2002).

with Rupestrella rupestris (Philippi, 1836). Here

more than 200 shells and living adult specimens

were found, W. Renda leg. 18.IX.2008 and

09.IV.2009. The visit of the locus typicus of R.

jaeckeli , “Sizilien, Mte. Biaggio, Kalkfels SE

Agrigenf ’ (Beckmann, 2002), namely the Tempio

di Demetra, S. Biagio, Valle dei Templi in

Agrigento, UTM 33 S UB7629, which took place in

this UNESCO World Heritage Site (Nappi, 2004),

under the supervision of assigned staff, highlighted

the current complete absence of molluscs belonging

to the genus Rupestrella ; amongst the Chondrinidae

only Granopupa granum (Draparnaud, 1801)

specimens were collected (A. Margelli leg.

12.V.2008). Even in other rocky or raderal areas

located in the immediate vicinity of this site, such

as Porta di Gela or the other temples in Valle dei

Templi (M. Bodon, 04.1.1989 and 30.XII.2007; G.

Nardi, 04.X.2011), the presence of the genus

Rupestrella was not detected.

The typical material from the Jaeckel

collection, preserved in the CISMAR collection

(Gromitz, Germany), was requested, but without

obtaining their authorization. However, good

pictures of R. jaeckeli , which have allowed to

highlight the apertural armature in detail, in

addition to those present in the original

publication (Beckmann, 2002), are those available

in Welter-Schultes (2009).

For the nomenclature of plicae and lamellae

inside the shell aperture of the specimens studied,

the scheme proposed by Nardi (2009) was followed

and, specifically for the genus Rupestrella , that by

Beckmann (1997). The materials analysed are

stored in the private collections of the authors.

DISCUSSION

Beckmann (2002) described Rupestrella

jaeckeli after studying only four specimens, three

of them coming from S. Biagio, the Tempio di

Demetra (S.G.A. Jaeckel jun. leg. 04. IV. 1958);

the fourth coming from Agrigento, without

further and more precise details (W. Blume legit

1958). Beckmann separated this taxon because of

the presence of only one palatal plica (the upper

one), moreover absent in one of the four

specimens, and because of the parietal lamella

absent or reduced. He compared R. jaeckeli only

withR. occulta (Rossmassler, 1839), an endemic

taxon present in western Sicily, not comparing it

with R. philippii , a species widely distributed

throughout south-eastern Sicily, southern Italy

and other Mediterranean countries. Beckmann

(2002) identified the latter in the same material

from the Jaeckel collection, from the same

locality S. Biagio, though with one single

specimen. Probably, as the author considered R.

jaeckeli and R. philippii sympatric and thus

distinct, did not compare them. The material

studied by Beckmann (2002) not only is

objectively very scarce and very variable, but

some of these specimens even seem to be

immature (Beckmann, 2002: Tab. 11, Fig. 13).

The population studied here, surveyed in a

place very close to the locus typicus established by

Beckmann for R. jaeckeli (Fig. 1), is undoubtedly

attributable to R. philippii and has highlighted a

high variability in the morphology of the shell, a

phenomenon already known in other populations

of the same species (Sacchi, 1954). The adults,

with well thickened peristome, show a cylindrical-

conical profile (Fig. 2 A), or conical (Fig. 2 B),

On the specific validity of Rupestrella jaeckeli Beckmann, 2002 ( Gastropoda , Pulmonata, Chondrinidae)

215

while inside the aperture it is possible to find

different combinations of plicae and lamellae.

Almost all of the examined shells (97%), have one

columellar lamella (columellaris) and two palatal

plicae, the upper palatal plica (upper palatalis) and

the lower palatal plica (lower palatalis) (Figs. 2 A,

2 B, 2 D), as usually found in R. philippii (Figs. 3

A-C). A small proportion (2.6%) has one

columellar lamella and only one palatal plica, the

upper palatal plica (Fig. 2 C), while one single

shell (0.4%) shows two columellar lamellae and

two palatal plicae (Fig. 2 E). The lower palatal

plica, when not developed, is either absent or

reduced to a rudimentary tubercle (Fig. 2 C),

barely visible even in the typical material (Welter-

Schultes, 2009: Fig. 1). The presence of an

angular lamella (angularis) and a parietal lamella

(parietalis) remains rather constant, more or less

developed. The specimens without palatal plicae

or angular and parietal lamellae present the

peristome not thickened, they are therefore

considered to be still immature (Figs. 2 F, 2 G).

CONCLUSION

In light of the variability present in a large

population of R. philippii , located near the locus

typicus of R. jaeckeli , it is believed that the few

specimens on which this latter taxon was

described are simply morphological variations of

the same species. Synonymy is therefore

proposed between the two entities: R. jaeckeli

should therefore be considered as a junior

synonym of R. philippii.

Figure 2. Variability of apertural armature in shells of Rupestrella philippii (Cantraine, 1840) (= R. jaeckeli Beckmann, 2002), belonging to a

population collected 3 km ESE of Agrigento, 160 m a.s.l. (municipality of Agrigento, Agrigento, southern Sicily), 33S UB7729, W. Renda leg.

18.IX.2008 and 09.1V.2009. A: specimen with cylindrical-conical profile; B: specimen with conical profile; C: specimen with one columellar

lamella and one palatatal plica; D: specimen with one columellar lamella and two palatatal plicae (as specimens A and B); E: specimen with

two columellar lamellae and two palatatal plicae; F, G: two immature specimens without palatal plicae inside the aperture and with not

thickened peristome (W. Renda and G. Nardi coll.; photo by S. Bartolini).

216

Walter Renda, Marco Bodon & Gianbattista Nardi

Figure 3. Shells of Rupestrella philippi (Cantraine, 1840) belonging to different Italian populations. A: specimen from Monte Argentario SSW of

Porto S. Stefano, 150 m a.s.l. (municipality of Monte Argentario, Grosseto, Tuscany), 32T PM7398, G. Nardi, A. Braccia & L. Romani leg.

07.XI.2004; B: specimen from S. Maria di Pulsano, 490 m a.s.l. (municipality of Monte S. Angelo, Foggia, Apulia), 33T WG7514, G. Nardi &

A. Braccia leg. 22.IH.2001; C: specimen from the archaeological mins of the Teatro Greco, Siracusa, 30 m a.s.l. (municipality of Siracusa, eastern

Sicily), 33S WB2403, G. Nardi leg. 06.X.2011 (G. Nardi coll.; photo by S. Bartolini).

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We wish to thank Stefano Bartolini (Florence,

Italy) for the photographs of shells and Alessandro

Margelli (Santa Maria al Monte, Pisa, Italy) for his

unpublished data about the collecting undertaken

in Agrigento.

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Biodiversity Journal, 2011, 2 (4): 217-220

Odostomia brevicula Jeffreys, 1 883 junior synonym of Turbonilla amoena

(Monterosato, 1 878) (Gastropoda, Heterobranchia, Pyramidellidae)

Riccardo Giannuzzi Savelli 1 , Pasquale Micali 2 , Italo Nofroni 3 & Francesco Pusateri 4

1 Via Mater Dolorosa 54 - 90146 Palermo, Italy; email: malakos@tin.it

2 Via Papiria, 17 - 61032 Fano (PU), Italy; email: lino.micali@virgilio.it

3 Via B. Croce, 97 - 00142 Roma, Italy; email: italo.nofroni@uniromal.it

4 Via Castellana 64 - 90135 Palermo, Italy; email: francesco@pusateri.it

ABSTRACT Based on the study of the type material of Odostomia brevicula Jeffreys, 1883, deposited in the United States

National Museum Washington (USNM), this doubtful taxon appears to be based on two immature shells of

Turbonilla amoena (Monterosato, 1878) of which it shall be considered a junior synonym.

KEY WORDS Chrysallida brevicula, Turbonilla amoena, recent, Mediterranean Sea.

Received 30.11.2011; accepted 20.12.2011; printed 30.12.2011

INTRODUCTION

Odostomia brevicula Jeffreys, 1883 was

described on two speciemens, indicated by the

Author as “more or less imperfect”, dredged off

Crete (Aegean Sea) at a depth of 70-120 fathoms

(128-220 m).

Original description (Jeffreys, 1883: p. 397):

“SHELL conical, solid, opaque, and glossy;

sculpture , short, strong, straight, and rather

sharp longitudinal ribs, of which there are about

a dozen on the last whorl; they terminate

abruptly at the periphery, which is bluntly

angulated; the interstices of the ribs have an

excavated appearance; under the microscope

the whole surface is covered lengthwise with

very fine and close-set striae; the apex is quite

smooth and polished; colour clear white; spire

short; whorls 4 (besides the bulbous and

heterostrophe embryonic nucleus), compressed,

and gradually enlarging; the last is almost equal

to half the spire; suture shallow and nearly

straight; mouth oval, pointed at the base; pillar

curved; tooth small and indistinct, tubercular,

placed on the upper part of the pillar; umbilicus

none; L. 0.1, B. 0.05”.

The species was figured by Jeffreys (1883: pi.

16, fig. 4), but the original drawing, here copied

(Lig. 1), is not much clear and has not allowed a

clear recognition of this species by the later

Authors.

As concerns the allocation in genus

Odostomia , it is useful to point out that Jeffreys

used to place in this genus almost all species of

Pyramidellidae and, in particular, the species

currently placed in Odostomia Lleming, 1813,

Ondina De Lolin, 1869, Turbonilla Risso, 1826,

Eulimella Jeffreys, 1847 e Chrysallida P.P.

Carpenter, 1856. Therefore the generic allocation

has not helped the Authors that successively tried

to understand this taxon.

Monterosato (1884: 88) proposed for this

species the new name Pyrgulina abbreviata for

O. brevicula Jeffreys, 1883 not Monterosato,

1878, that was however a nomen nudum,

therefore there is not the need of a replacement.

Really Monterosato was not aware of another

and valid senior homonym that is O. brevicula A.

218

R. Giannuzzi Savelli, R Micali, I. Nofroni & R Pusateri

Figure 1. Odostomia brevicula Jeffreys, 1883, original drawing.

Figures 2-5. Holotype of Odostomia brevicula. Fig. 2: frontal view (bar line = 0.2 mm). Figs. 3, 4: detail of protoconch (bar line = 0.1 mm).

Fig. 5: detail of axial microsculpture (bar line = 0.05 mm).

Figure 6. Paratype of Odostomia brevicula , dorsal view (bar line = 0.2 mm).

Figure 7. Turbonilla amoena. Frontal view, shell from Vibo Marina (VV) -200 m, 2007, S. Bartolini coll, (bar line = 0.25 mm).

Oclostomia brevicula Jeffreys, 1883 junior synonym of Turbonilla amoena

(Monterosato, 1878) (Gastropoda, Heterobranchia, Pyramidellidae)

219

Adams 1861, from sea of China, and this makes

available the name proposed by Monterosato.

Kobelt (1905: 133, pi. 71, fig. 18) placed O.

brevicula in Parthenina B.D.D., 1883, giving a

misleading description in German (it is different

from the description in Latin), because the striae,

indicated in the original description as “lengthwise”,

that means axial, are indicated as spiral.

Nordsieck (1972: 97, pi. PII, fig. 3) drew

under this name an immature specimen of

Turbonilla jeffreysii (Forbes & Hanley, 1850).

Aartsen (1977: 52) examined the type

material, pointing out that the specimens were

“badly preserved and [omissis] fixed to a carton

with a fair amount of adhesive”. The Author

clearly stated that “the figure by Nordsieck can

not be this species”.

Waren (1980: 37), in his work on Jeffreys’s

types, stated that at the l’USNM (United States

National Museum of Natural History) of

Washington are present the “partly broken”

holotype, registered at n° 132507, and a paratype

registered at n° 132504. A question mark was put

by the Author before the name, to indicate an

uncertain systematic value.

Based on these doubtful bibliographic

records, this species was included in the recent

list of species (Piani 1980; Bruschi et al., 1985;

Sabelli et al., 1990-1992; Cossignani &

Ardovini, 2011) under the name Chrysallida

brevicula , with doubtful specific validity.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The present work was carried out by

examining photos of two specimens of the type

series kept at the Department of Invertebrate

Zoology National Museum of Natural History,

Smithsonian Institution, USA (Figs. 2-6)

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION

From the study of the photos it is clear that

Odostomia brevicula is based on two immature

specimens of Turbonilla amoena (Monterosato,

1878), a species quite rare on muddy bottoms of

the bathyal zone, but widely distributed in the

Mediterranean (Fig. 7).

The holotype (Figs. 2-5) is 2.46 mm high, as

indicated by the Author. A characteristic of this

species, but also of others belonging to same

group, is the presence of an axial micro sculpture

consisting of irregular folds (Fig. 5), different

from growth lines.

The sinonimy proposed by Carrozza &

Nofroni (1993) for Turbonilla amoena shall be

therefore updated as follow:

Turbonilla amoena (Monterosato, 1878)

= Odostomia (Turbonilla) venusta Monterosato,

1875 not Issel, 1869

= Odostomia compressa Jeffreys, 1884

= Odostomia brevicula Jeffreys, 1883 not A.

Adams, 1861

= Pyrgulina abbreviata Monterosato, 1884

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We are grateful to Jerry Harasewych and

Yolanda Villacampa (Smithsonian Institution,

USA) for the SEM photos of type material and to

Stefano Bartolini for the digital photo.

REFERENCES

Aartsen J.J. van, 1977. European Pyramidellidae: I.

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Bruschi A., Ceppadomo I., Galli C. & Piani P., 1985.

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