1Museo di Storia Naturale, Università di Pisa, Via Roma 79, I-56011 Calci (Pisa), Italy;
e-mail: dellacasa@museo.unipi.it
2Via Talamone 31/19, I-16127 Genova, Italy; e-mail: dellacasag@alice.it
3Podlubnik 301, SI-4220 Skofja Loka, Slovenia; e-mail: bojan.kofler@telemach.net

Abstract. Rare coprophagous scarab beetle Copris umbilicatus Abeille de Perrin, 1901 is recorded from the first time from Corsica (France) and Island of Pag (Croatia).

Key words: Copris umbilicatus, new records, Corsica, Croatia

Introduction

     When identifying a lot of Scarabaeoidea from various localities, we found two specimens of Copris umbilicatus Abeille de Perrin, 1901 from Corsica and from Island of Pag (Dalmatian coast of Croatia) not yet recorded from these localities; moreover Stefano Ziani (Imola, Italy) gently handed us the data of an additional specimen from Croatia he recently identified.
     Taxonomically, C. umbilicatus pertains to the group of species with three teeth at outer margin of fore tibia, relatively small hornlike appendage of pronotum, metasternal plate with median longitudinal groove ending with a deep fovea, and (in males) without denticles at base of epistomal horn (Figs 1-2).
     Its distribution is southern European. It is known from south-eastern France, Italy (Sardinia and Sicily excluded), southern Slovakia, Hungary, Albania, Bulgaria, Greece (Löbl et al., 2006; Maughan & Paulian, 2011) and Romania (Ziani et al., 2015). Distribution of this species in the Balkan Peninsula is known only fragmentary and more thorough study is badly needed.
     Adults of this rare species are active during spring and summer, they feed on cow and sheep dung in open areas at moderate altitude (500-1000 m a.s.l.).

Material examined:

     France: Corsica, Propiano, 28.IV.1996, leg. B. Kofler, 1 ♂, deposited in coll. G. Dellacasa (Genova). Croatia: Hrvatska, Pag, 01.V.1979, leg. Starc, 1 ♀, deposited in coll. Kofler (Skofja Loka); Velebit mountain range, Karlobag env., Susanj, 02.V.1997, leg. Saltini, 1 ♀, deposited in coll. Saltini (Modena).

Acknowledgements

Thanks are due to Aleš Bezděk (České Budějovice) and to Gianni Tognon (Genoa) for technical support.

References
 

ABEILLE DE PERRIN E. (1901): Nouvelles espèces de coléoptères français. L’Échange 17: 68-70.

LÖBL I., KRELL F.-T. & KRÁL D. (2006): Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae: Coprini. Pp. 151-154. In: Löbl I. & Smetana A. (eds): Catalogue of Palaearctic Coleoptera. Volume 3. Apollo Books, Stenstrup, Denmark, 690 pp.

MAUGHAN N. & PAULIAN A. (2011): Précisions sur la biogéographie du genre Copris Geoffroy, 1762, dans le sud-est de la France (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Coprini). Bulletin de la Société Entomologique de France 116: 435-452.

ZIANI S., BEZDĚK A., BRANCO T., HILLERT O., JÁKL S., KRÁL D., MANTIČ M., RÖSSNER E. & SEHNAL R. (2015): New country records of Scarabaeoidea (Coleoptera) from the Palaearctic Region. Insecta Mundi 409: 1-36.

Figures 1-2: Copris umbilicatus, male, Corsica, Propiano. 1 – dorsal view; 2 – lateral view.