NEW DATA ON THE BIODIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONAL PATTERN OF COLEOPTERA IN THE CARPATHIAN LANDSCAPE*

EUGEN NITZU1, IONUŢ POPA1, ŞTEFAN BABA1, RODICA PLĂIAŞU1

Abstract. The faunal diversity and distributional pattern of species of Coleoptera in the Carpathians is fragmentarily and disproportionally known, the Buzau Mountains being one of the very poorly investigated geographic area, from coleopterological point of view.In the year 2017, three seasonal samplings in five sites situated in the Buzau Mountains were carried out (leg. Popa I., Baba St., Plaiasu R. and Giurginca A.). In the sampled material we identified a total of 92 Coleoptera species belonging to 23 families. This represents the first study on the Coleoptera fauna of the forest ecosystems developed on sandstones bedrock in the Buzau Mountains. The faunal dissimilarities between these five sampling sites from the “Buzau Land Geopark” (analysed using Cluster Analysis with Jaccard distance equation and complete linkage method suggests a great heterogeneity in faunal composition of the sampled geographic area. The present study brings new data on the distribution and association of the species of Coleoptera in the Southern Carpathians, contributing to the completion of the knowledge of the Biodiversity pattern of Coleoptera in the Carpathian landscape.

Key words: Coleoptera, Buzău Mountains, Curvature Carpathians, species associatios, rare species.

1. INTRODUCTION

During the framework of projects “Fauna Romaniei”, “Fauna Carpathica” and “Implementation of the Natura2000 Network in ” one of us (N.E.) aimed to check, and update the information about the species richness, diversity and the distributional pattern of the Coleoptera in the Carpathian landscape. The main purpose was to obtain a more comprehensive knowledge on the distributional pattern of species and to identify the hotspots of diversity and vulnerability of natural areas – for a better conservation and monitoring of them. Also, in the thematic projects of the ISER we proposed to compare the species richness and diversity between different types of ecosystems developed on karst and non-karst

Trav. Inst. Spéol. «Émile Racovitza», t. LVII, p. 49–59, Bucarest, 2018 50 Eugen Nitzu, Ionuţ Popa, Ştefan Baba, Rodica Plăiaşu 2 areas. In this context we observed that the faunal diversity and distributional pattern of the Coleoptera species in the Carpathians is fragmentarily and disproportionally known, the Buzău Mountains being one of the very poorly investigated geographic areas from faunal point of view. Most of the faunal investigations on Coleoptera, since last two centuries up to present, have been carried out in Transylvania, in northern part of the South-Eastern Carpathians and the Southern Carpathians (BIELTZ, 1887; HORMUZACHI, 1888; SEIDLITZ, 1891; KUTHY, 1896; PETRI, 1912, 1926; MALLASZ, 1930; CSIKI,1946; PANIN, 1952, 1955A, 1955B, 1957, 1961; IENIŞTEA, 1934, 1936,1941, 1956 and others) but not up to the eastern part of the South Carpathians (also known as the Curvature Carpathians). With the purpose to cover this serious gap in information on the fauna of the Curvature Carpathians, in 2001 we have investigated and published (NITZU et al., 2002) the first note on the soil (edaphic) and subterranean fauna from two Evaporitic karst regions. With that occasion we have sampled the soil and subterranean fauna from ecosystems developed on gypsum (Bertea) and salt (Meledic). Our faunal studies on soil and subterranean species was completed with data about planticolous species (frondicolous and arboricolous) by UNGUREANU et al. (2008) in the same area. Up to present we have no data on the -fauna of ecosystems developed on sandstone from this geographic area with a great landscape heterogeneity. The differences between the investigated habitats were appreciable, although they are situated at distances of only tens of kilometers.

2. MATERIAL AND METHODS

In the year 2017, three seasonal samplings (in vernal, aestival and autumnal seasons) in five sites – Agatonul Nou, Biserica lui Iosif, Schitul Fundatura, Fundul Pesterii and Schitul Alunis situated in the Buzau Land Geopark, were carried out (leg. Popa I., Baba Şt., Plăiaşu R. and Giurginca A.). Each sample was composed by 5 sample units (Barber traps) removed after one month of trapping. As preservation solution the ethanol was used. Other methods used to sample the soil fauna were Winkler sieve and soil extraction with a core drill.

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

In the sampled material we identified a total of 93 species of Coleoptera belonging to 23 families (Tab. 1, Fig. 1), this representing the first study of the Coleoptera of the Buzău forest ecosystems developed on sandstones bedrock in the Buzăului Mountains. 3 New data on the Carpathian Coleoptera 51

Curculionidae Brent idae Ch r y so m e l i d ae Tenebrionidae Zopher i dae Mordellidae Lat hr i di i dae En do mych i dae Cr y p t o p h agi d ae Cerylonidae Melyridae Nitidulidae Ptinidae Throscidae El at er i dae Li mni chi dae Byrrhidae Lucani dae Geotrupidae Scarabaeidae Silphidae Leididae Staphylinidae Car ab i d ae

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

Sp e c i e s n o Fig. 1. The distribution of species per families. The greatest species richness was observed in the Schitul Fundatura (716 m a.l.s.) sampling site, with 39 species, followed by Biserica lui Iosif sampling site (834 m a.l.s.), with 33 species and Fundul Pesterii (716 m. a.l.s.) with 28 species (Tab. 1). In the sampling sites Agatonul Nou (960 m. a.l.s.) and Schitul Alunis (648 m a.l.s.) we identified only 17 species each. Among the identified species it is worth mentioning Chaetonix robustus Schaum, 1862 – the unique blind species of Scarabaeide inventoried in our fauna (Fig. 2). This species, with an East-Mediterranean chorotype, is extremely rare, the last record belonging to PANIN (1933) in PANIN, 1957. Another rare and strictly localised species is Laena hopffgarteni Weise, 1878 (Fam. Tenebrionidae) (Fig. 3), species recorded up to present only in Bosnia, Herzegovina, Dalmatia, Serbia, and Romania. 52 Eugen Nitzu, Ionuţ Popa, Ştefan Baba, Rodica Plăiaşu 4

Fig. 2. Chaetonyx robustus, habitus. Fig. 3. Laena hopffgarteni, habitus. The faunal dissimilarities between these five sampling sites from the” Buzau Land Geopark” (analysed using Cluster Analysis with Jaccard distance equation and complete linkage method) varies significantly from 10.63 (min.) to 24,13 (max.) (Fig. 3), suggesting a great heterogeneity in faunal composition of the sampled geographic area.

Fig. 4. Dendrogram of similarities based on species composition between Schitul Alunis (sample 5), Fundul Pesterii (sample 4), Schitul Fundatura (sample 3), Biserica lui Iosif (sample 2) and Agatonul Nou (sample 1). 5 New data on the Carpathian Coleoptera 53

The present study, far to be exhaustive, bring the first data on the diversity of Coleoptera of an unstudied geographic area up to present, contributing to the completion of the knowledge of the biodiversity pattern of Coleoptera in the Carpathian landscape. Subsequent studies based on more intensive capture effort will be necessary to have a real picture of the species richness of this area.

REFERENCES

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SEIDLITZ, G., Fauna Transsylvanica. Die Kaefer (Coleoptera) Sienebürgens. Königsberg, XVI+914 p., 1888. UNGUREANU, V., MAICAN, S., SERAFIM, R., Diversity of Coleopterans: Cerambycidae, Chrysomelidae, Coccinelidae from Buzau area (Romania). Travaux du Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle «Grigore Antipa», LI: 171–183, 2008. *Presented at Biospeleology and Theoretical and Applied Karstology Symposium – Honouring the 150th Anniversary of Birth of Emil Racovitza, 27–30 September 2018.

“Emile Racovitza” Institute of Speleology, the Romanian Academy, 13 Septembrie No 13, 050711, Bucharest E-mail: [email protected]

Table 1 Species identified in: A_N = Agatonul Nou, B_I = Biserica lui Iosif, S-F = Schitul Fundatura, P_F_P = Pestera Fundul Pesterii, S_A = Schitul Alunis in the V = vernal, E = aestival, A= autumnal seasons A_N B_I S_A 960 m Alt S-F P_F_P 834 m Alt 648 m Alt 45°25'51.15 716 m lt 716 m Alt No Species 45°25'36.25" 45°24'34.15" "N 45°25'30.37"N 45°25'23.71"N N N 26°26'41.40 26°26'51.94"E 26°26'22.12"E 26°26'23.49"E 26°24'49.98"E "E V E A V E A V E A V E A V E A 1 Fam. Carabidae Abax parallelepipedus 1 (Piller & X X X Mitterpacher, 1783) Abax parallelus 2 X X X X X (Duftschmid, 1812) Amara (s.str.) littorea 3 X Thomson, 1857 Aptinus bombarda 4 X (Illiger, 1800) arvensis 5 X X carpathus Born, 1902 Carabus auronitens X escheri Palliardi, 1825 Carabus cancellatus 6 X X X Illiger, 1798 Carabus convexus 7 X X X Fabricius, 1775 Carabus coriaceus 8 X X X Linnaeus, 1758 Carabus glabratus 9 X X X X extensus Kraatz, 1885 Carabus intricatus 10 X X X X Linnaeus, 1761 Carabus linnaei 11 X Panzer, 1810 Carabus montivagus 12 X Palliardi, 1825 Carabus obsoletus X 7 New data on the Carpathian Coleoptera 55

A_N B_I S_A 960 m Alt S-F P_F_P 834 m Alt 648 m Alt 45°25'51.15 716 m lt 716 m Alt No Species 45°25'36.25" 45°24'34.15" "N 45°25'30.37"N 45°25'23.71"N N N 26°26'41.40 26°26'51.94"E 26°26'22.12"E 26°26'23.49"E 26°24'49.98"E "E V E A V E A V E A V E A V E A 14 prunneri Mallasz, 1901 Carabus violaceus 15 X X X X Linnaeus, 1758 Cychrus caraboides 16 X X (Linnaeus, 1758) Cymindis humeralis 17 (Geoffroy in X X Fourcroy, 1785) Limnodromus 18 assimilis (Paykull, X X X X 1790) Molops piceus 19 X X X X (Panzer, 1793) Nebria brevicollis 20 X (Fabricius, 1792) Notiophilus 21 biguttatus(Fabricius, X 1779) Notiophilus laticollis 22 X Chaudoir, 1850 Platyderus rufus 23 X (Duftschmid, 1812) Pristonychus terricola 24 punctatus (Dejean, X 1828) Pterostichus 25 hungaricus (Dejean, X 1828) Pterostichus 26 melanarius (Illiger, X 1798) Pterostichus niger 27 X (Schaller, 1783) Pterostichus 28 oblongopunctatus X X X (Fabricius, 1787) Pterostichus 29 transversalis X (Duftschmid, 1812) Pterostichus 30 unctulatus X (Duftschmid, 1812) Trechus 31 quadristriatus X X X (Schrank, 1781) 56 Eugen Nitzu, Ionuţ Popa, Ştefan Baba, Rodica Plăiaşu 8

A_N B_I S_A 960 m Alt S-F P_F_P 834 m Alt 648 m Alt 45°25'51.15 716 m lt 716 m Alt No Species 45°25'36.25" 45°24'34.15" "N 45°25'30.37"N 45°25'23.71"N N N 26°26'41.40 26°26'51.94"E 26°26'22.12"E 26°26'23.49"E 26°24'49.98"E "E V E A V E A V E A V E A V E A 2 Fam Staphylinidae Aleochara sparsa 32 X Heer, 1839 Atheta incognita 33 X (Sharp, 1869) Drusilla canaliculata 34 X (Fabricius, 1787) Habrocerus 35 capillaricornis X X X (Gravenhorst, 1806) Medon fusculus 36 X (Mannerheim, 1830) Nevraphes angulatus 37 (Müller & Kunze, X 1822) Ocalea badia 38 X Erichson, 1837 Ocypus (Goerius) 39 X X nitens (Schrank, 1781 Philonthus decorus 40 X (Gravenhorst, 1802) Phloeocharis 41 subtilissima X Mannerheim, 1830 Phloeostiba plana 42 X (Paykull, 1792) Platydracus 43 chalcocephalus X (Fabricius, 1801) Proteinus laevigatus 44 Hochhuth, 1872 X (=macropterus) Quedius (Microsaurus) 45 X xanthopus Erichson, 1839 Rugilus rufipes 46 X X Germar, 1836 Stenus fossulatus 47 X Erichson, 1840 Tachyporus hypnorum 48 X (Fabricius, 1775) Tachyporus nitidulus 49 X (Fabricius, 1781) 3 Fam. Leiodidae Catops fuliginosus 50 X Erichson, 1837 9 New data on the Carpathian Coleoptera 57

A_N B_I S_A 960 m Alt S-F P_F_P 834 m Alt 648 m Alt 45°25'51.15 716 m lt 716 m Alt No Species 45°25'36.25" 45°24'34.15" "N 45°25'30.37"N 45°25'23.71"N N N 26°26'41.40 26°26'51.94"E 26°26'22.12"E 26°26'23.49"E 26°24'49.98"E "E V E A V E A V E A V E A V E A Catops picipes 51 X X (Fabricius, 1792) Nargus wilkini 52 X (Spence, 1815) Sciodrepoides watsoni 53 X X (Spence, 1815) 4 Fam. Silphidae Nicrophorus humator 54 X (Gleditsch, 1767 Nicrophorus 55 vestigator Herschel, X X X X 1807 (=sepultor) Nicrophorus 56 vespilloides Herbst, X X X 1784 Oiceoptoma 57 thoracicum Linnaeus, X 1758 Silpha carinata 58 X Herbst, 1783 5 Fam. Scarabaeidae Chaetonyx robustus 59 X Schaum, 1862 Onthophagus 60 coenobita Herbst, X 1783 Onthophagus 61 verticicornis X (Laicharting, 1781) Volinus sticticus 62 X (Panzer, 1798) 6 Fam. Geotrupidae Anoplotrupes stercorosus 63 X X X X X X X X X X x (Hartmann in L.G. Scriba, 1791) 7 Fam. Lucanidae Dorcus 64 parallelipipedus X X (Linnaeus, 1758) 8 Fam. Byrrhidae Byrrhus luniger 65 X Germar, 1817 9 Fam. Limnichidae Pelochares versicolor 66 X (Waltl, 1838) 58 Eugen Nitzu, Ionuţ Popa, Ştefan Baba, Rodica Plăiaşu 10

A_N B_I S_A 960 m Alt S-F P_F_P 834 m Alt 648 m Alt 45°25'51.15 716 m lt 716 m Alt No Species 45°25'36.25" 45°24'34.15" "N 45°25'30.37"N 45°25'23.71"N N N 26°26'41.40 26°26'51.94"E 26°26'22.12"E 26°26'23.49"E 26°24'49.98"E "E V E A V E A V E A V E A V E A 10 Fam. Elateridae Dalopius marginatus 67 X X Eschscholtz, 1829 Limonius minutus 68 X X (Linnaeus, 1758) 11 Fam. Throscidae Trixagus 69 dermestoides X (Linnaeus, 1766) 12 Fam. Ptinidae Ptinus fur Linnaeus, 70 X 1758 Fam. Nitidulidae Carpophilus ligneus 71 X Murray, 1864 Epuraea pallescens 72 X (Stephens, 1830) Glischrochilus 73 quadripunctatus X (Linnaeus, 1758) 13 Fam. Melyridae Psilothrix 74 viridicoerulea X X (Geoffroy, 1875) 14 Fam. Cerylonidae Cerylon histeroides 75 X (Fabricius, 1792) Fam. 15 Cryptophagidae Cryptophagus 76 corticinus Thomson, X 1867 Cryptophagus 77 montanus C. Brisout X X de Barneville, 1863 Cryptophagus 78 scutellatus Newman, X X X 1834 16 Fam. Endomychidae Mycetaea subterranea 79 X (Fabricius, 1801) 17 Fam. Lathridiidae Corticaria fulva 80 X (Comolli, 1837 18 Fam. Mordellidae Anaspis flava 81 X (Linnaeus, 1758) 11 New data on the Carpathian Coleoptera 59

A_N B_I S_A 960 m Alt S-F P_F_P 834 m Alt 648 m Alt 45°25'51.15 716 m lt 716 m Alt No Species 45°25'36.25" 45°24'34.15" "N 45°25'30.37"N 45°25'23.71"N N N 26°26'41.40 26°26'51.94"E 26°26'22.12"E 26°26'23.49"E 26°24'49.98"E "E V E A V E A V E A V E A V E A 19 Fam. Zopheridae Nosodomodes 82 tuberculatus (Germar, X 1831) 20 Fam. Tenebrionidae Gonodera luperus 83 X (Herbst, 1783) Laena hopffgarteni 84 X X X Weise, 1878 21 Fam. Chrysomelidae Gastroidea polygoni 85 X Linnaeus, 1758 Hydrothassa 86 marginella (Linnaeus, X 1758) 22 Fam. Brentidae Protapion assimile 87 X (W. Kirby, 1808) 23 Fam. Curculionidae Acalles (Ruteria) 88 hypocrita (Boheman, X 1837) Hylobius abietis 89 (Linnaeus, 1758) X X

Otiorhynchus 90 (Tournieria) pauxillus X Rosenhauer, 1847 Phyllobius arborator 91 X X X (Herbst, 1797) Rhyncolus reflexus 92 X Boheman, 1838 Trypodendron 93 lineatum (Olivier, X 1795) Total 15 2 2 23 6 12 30 6 5 7 3 21 8 7 2 17 total 33 39 28 17