Page 11 - Muscarella_Baragona_2017

The endemic fauna of the sicilian islands 259

(20 taxa pointed out) are then neoendemic species, mic of Pantelleria, Apterola (Apterola) kuenckeli
which differentiated in relatively recent times start- focarilei Tamanini, 1964. The biogeographical in-
ing from some founding propagules that re-coloni- terpretation of the Oedemerid Coleoptera Sten-
zed the island following two main lines: from Sicily ostoma cossyrense Bologna, 1995. This species
and Northern Africa (cf. Francini Corti & Lanza, belongs to a genus that includes 3 endemic species
1973; Massa, 1995b). Endemic species akin to found, other than in Pantelleria, in Madera and
Northern African species are allegedly the Isopod Maltese Islands, as well as a very diffused Western-
Spelaeoniscus vandeli Caruso, 1974, the Orthoptera Mediterranean-Atlantic species. It is likely, then,
Gryllotalpa cossyrensis Baccetti et Capra, 1978 that it belongs to a very ancient genus, with paleo-
(Baccetti et al., 1995a), the Buprestid Beetle mediterranean distribution, whose original area
Acmaeodera bipunctata romanoi Sparacio, 1992 fragmented more recently in the present islands
(Sparacio, 1992; Sparacio & Ratti, 1995), the where it rapidly evolved for the founder principle
Curculionid Beetle Alaocyba separanda Dodero, (Bologna, 1995; Massa, 1995b). Hardly explainable
1916 (cf. Massa, 1995b) and Echinodera diottii is also the presence of Leptanilla poggii Mei, 1995,
(Stuben, 2010), and Melolonthid Coleoptera a hymenoptera formicidae included in a genus with
Pseudoapterogyna euphytus lamantiai (Sparacio, scarce dispersive capacities. The most likely hypo-
2014). The Curculionid Beetles Otiorhynchus thesis is, according to Mei (1995), the introduction
(Arammichnus) cossyrensis Magnano, 1992 e for anthropic cause from Northern Africa in an un-
Pseudomeira cossyrica (Osella & Riti, 1995) have specified moment of the recent history of the island.
uniquely Tyrrhenian affinities. The Pselaphid To anthropic reasons, too, is connected the presence
Tychomorphus cossyrensis (Dodero, 1919) is part of the Muridae mammal Apodemus sylvaticus
of a genus of strictly West-Mediterranean diffusion hermani Felten et Storch, 1970 and of Crocidura
(Poggi, 1995), while to a species with Mediter- pachyura cossyrensis Contoli, 1990 (Sarà & Zanca,
ranean Geonemy belongs the only heteropter ende- 2008; Angelici et al., 2009).

Figure 1. Aeolian Archipelago: Panarea Island.