Distribution of Onthophagus vacca and O. medius (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae, Scarabaeinae) in Romania

Adrian Ruicănescu,Andreea-Cătălina Drăghici,Cornelia Chimișliu,Cosmin-Ovidiu Manci,Gabriela Cuzepan-Bebeșelea

doi:10.3897/travaux.62.e35197

Adrian Ruicănescu, Andreea-Cătălina Drăghici + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3897/travaux.62.e35197

Copy DOI

Abstract

Morphological and molecular data indicate that two valid species exist in Europe within the O. vacca group of species, O. vacca (Linnaeus, 1767) and O. medius (Kugelann, 1792) (Roy et al., 2015). This is supported also by the fact that they are widely sympatric (Rössner et. al., 2010). The research of Rössner et. al. (2010) mentions for the first time the species O. medius for Romania. The aim of our study is to check specimens from major museum collections and some personal collections from the country and to assign them to O. medius or O. vacca.We have examined 417 specimens belonging to the following collections: National Museum of Natural History ''Grigore Antipa'' Bucharest, Brukenthal National Museum- Natural History Museum Department from Sibiu and the personal collections of authors. We have extracted elevation data for each specimen and we have created distribution maps.The biogeographic distribution for Romania shows the ranges of O. vacca and O. medius overlap and they are found in all the country's bioregions. Our study shows a high ecological plasticity in both species. Our data apparently indicate a preference for altitudes below 500 meters, possibly influenced by non-random sampling.

Highlights

The genus Onthophagus is the biggest genus of the subfamily Scarabaeinae and tribe Onthophagini and has a worldwide distribution (Smith 2006)
Rössner et al (2010) mention the species O. medius for AB - Alba (Romania) for the first time: “Desert. Deliblát, Banat, Holtz” (4♀, Zoologisches Museum der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (ZMHB)); “Rumänien, Donaudelta, Unirea [bei Brăila]”, 11.VI.1988, leg
For our research we have examined 417 specimens, 330 specimens being identified as O. vacca and 87 specimens as O. medius

Summary

Introduction

The genus Onthophagus is the biggest genus of the subfamily Scarabaeinae and tribe Onthophagini and has a worldwide distribution (Smith 2006). Scarabaeinae currently include around 5700 valid species which belong to 227 genera and 12 tribes (Davis et al 2008). With about 2300 valid species, Onthophagus is a hyperdiverse genus within the subfamily Scarabaeinae (Rossini et al 2016). Erichson (1848) distinguished two taxa, Onthophagus vacca (Linnaeus, 1767) and O. medius (Kugelann, 1792) (from Prussia), based on a comparison of the two species that revealed clear differences between them. The wide variation of external morphology and colour determined that O. medius to be treated as a junior synonym of O. vacca by subsequent authors (e.g. Horion 1958, Balthasar 1963, Baraud 1985, 1992, MartinPiera and López-Colón 2000, Kabakov 2006). L. Montandon (1♂, DEI); “Dobroudja Mangalia” leg.

Objectives

Methods

Results