Melitturga praestans Giraud 1861

Abstract

Melitturga praestans Giraud, 1861 (Figs. 7, 8) MATERIAL EXAMINED: Armenia: 1♂, 8 km SE Shumuch [probably Shurnukh], 10 May 2003, Mučka leg. (OÖLM). Austria: 1♀, Bisambg [Bisamberg], 7 Jul. 1889, K. Warncke det. (OÖLM); 2♀, Bisambg [Bisamberg], 23 Jun. 1889, K. Warncke det. (OÖLM); 1♀, Bisambg [Bisamberg], 25 Jul. 1884, K. Warncke det. (OÖLM); 1♂, Pitten, N.O. [Niederösterreich], 16 Jun. 1889, K. Warncke det. (OÖLM). Azerbaijan: 1♂, 1♀, Аз. ССР [Azeri SSR] ТАЛЫШ [Talysh] ДИАбАр. КОТЛ [Diabag. Cauldron], 7 Jun. 1967, A. Osytshnjuk leg., A. Osytshnjuk det. (ZSM); 1♀, Talysch, Zuwand Plateau, Gosmolojan [Qosmalyan], 1600 m a.s.l., 21 May 2001, Dolin & Andreewa leg. (ZSM). Bulgaria: 1♂, 3♀, Bulgaria, Blagoevgrad, Katuntsi, 2.6 km ESE of Katuntsi, 300 m a.s.l., 25 May 2024, T.J. Wood leg. (TJWC); 1♂, Bulgaria, Blagoevgrad, Petrovo, 5.3 km SE of Petrovo, 700 m a.s.l., 27 May 2024, T.J. Wood leg. (TJWC); 1♀, Kresno, 12 May 1979, M. Kocourek leg., M. Kocourek det. (OÖLM); 1♂, Nessebr [Nessebar], 27 Jun. 1982, M. Kocourek leg., M. Kocourek det. (OÖLM); 1♂, Sandanski, 1–8 Jun. 1967, M. Kocourek leg., M. Kocourek det. (OÖLM). Czechia: 1♂, 1♀, Pouzdřany, 18 Jun. 1966, B. Tkalců leg. (OÖLM). Iran: 2♂, Tehran, 10 km N Karaj, 22 May 1976, C. Holzschuh leg., K. Warncke det. (OÖLM). North Macedonia: 1♀, Ohrid, 29 May – 10 Jun. 1972, H. Teunissen leg. (RMNH; RMNH. INS.1652057); 2♂, Varos [Varosh], NW Prilep, 1 Jun. 1972, H. Teunissen leg. (RMNH; RMNH.INS.1652058– RMNH.INS.1652059). Russia: 1♂, 1♀, Bashkiria, Chishmy, 28 May 1957, Nikiforuk leg. (OÖLM); 1♀, Bashkiria, Chishmy, 24 Jul. 1960, Nikiforuk leg. (OÖLM). Slovakia: 1♀, Dev. Koblya [Devínska Kobyla], 19 Jun. 1969, M. Kocourek det. (OÖLM); 1♂, 1♀, Gbelce, 1–30 Jun. 1973, M. Kocourek leg. (OÖLM); 1♂, 1♀, M. Karpaty, Dev. Koblya [Devínska Kobyla], 29 Jun. 1977, J. Lukáš leg., M. Kocourek det. (OÖLM); 2♂, M. Karpaty, Dev. Koblya [Devínska Kobyla], 28 Jun. 1978, J. Lukáš leg., M. Kocourek det. (OÖLM). Turkey: 1♂, 10 km S Ankara, 5 Jun. 1988, K. Warncke leg., K. Warncke det. (OÖLM); 1♀, 30 km N Kutahya [Kütahya], 13 Jun. 2000, M. Halada leg. (OÖLM); 1♂, 4♀, 50 km S Kars, Pasli, 1 Jul. 1997, Ma. Halada leg. (OÖLM); 1♀, Ankara, 3 Jun. 1972, K. Warncke leg., K. Warncke det. (OÖLM); 1♂, Ankara, 80 km SE Cogun Lake [Çoğun Barajı], 22 Jun. 1993, K. Deneš leg. (OÖLM); 1♀, Bolu, 17 km S of Seben, 17 Jun. 1998, J. Halada leg. (OÖLM); 1♀, Elazig [Elâzığ], 29 May 1968, J. Gusenleitner leg., K. Warncke det. (OÖLM); 5♂, 3♀, Ercek [Erçek]/ Van, 9–10 Jun. 1977, K. Warncke leg., K. Warncke det. (OÖLM); 1♀, Erzurum, 9 Jun. 1970, H. Özbek leg., K. Warncke det. (OÖLM); 1♂, Göreme, 23 Jun. 1993, K. Deneš leg. (OÖLM); 1♂, Horasan / Arastal, 16 Jun. 1973, K. Warncke leg., K. Warncke det. (OÖLM); 2♀, Madensehir [Madenşehri], Konya, 6 Jun. 1971, K. Warncke leg., K. Warncke det. (OÖLM); 1♂, Muradiye env., 2000m, 120 km NE Van, 5 Jun. 2001, K. Deneš leg. (OÖLM); 1♀, Sille, Konya, 21 Jun. 1973, K. Warncke leg., K. Warncke det. (OÖLM); 1♂, Sivas, Şarkışla, 15 Jun. 1977, K. Warncke leg., K. Warncke det. (OÖLM); 1♂, Zor Dagi [Zor Dağ], Sulucan env., 25 Jun. 1993, K. Deneš leg. (OÖLM). REMARKS: Following the characters given in the key (below), M. praestans and M. syriaca can be consistently and unambiguously separated across their ranges. To date, we have not been able to examine the two species occurring together in sympatry. Melitturga praestans has a distribution across warm grasslands such as in the Pannonian basin or steppe in Central Turkey, whereas M. syriaca is a species found in true Mediterranean habitats extending to the sub-Mediterranean habitats of Hakkâri in south-eastern Turkey and the Zagros mountains in south-western Iran (Fig. 7). The distribution of M. praestans relative to M. syriaca is strongly reminiscent of the distribution of Systropha planidens Giraud relative to Systropha anatolica Warncke (Wood & Le Divelec, 2022). In both cases, there is a species distributed from Central Europe across Turkey to northern Iran (the two taxa coincidentally described by Giraud in the same publication), which is mirrored by a more recently described species found in southern Turkey and that descends into the Levant. There is a visible tension between central Turkey (which supports the widespread Eurasian taxa) and southern Turkey (which supports the Mediterranean/Middle Eastern taxa). In Central Europe, the population trend of M. praestans is strongly negative. We have not comprehensively revised Central European collections, but based on the material we have checked, the last records from Austria (1889), Czechia (1966), and Slovakia (1978) suggest that populations are in trouble. We stress that we have not examined modern collections from Czechia and Slovakia, but in Czechia the species was listed as Critical Endangered in 2005 and is now considered regionally extinct (Farkač et al., 2005; Hejda et al., 2017), supporting a position of no modern records. Establishing the status of Central European populations is needed to understand if the species persists here, in contrast to the southern Balkans where the species was recorded in the Struma valley as recently as 2024. DISTRIBUTION: Austria, Czechia, Slovakia, Romania, North Macedonia, Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan *, Russia (Bashkiria, Orenburg), Iran, and Kazakhstan (Patiny, 2012; Kuhlmann et al., 2014; Proshchalykin et al., 2016) (Fig. 7).

Authors 2

1. Thomas James Wood Aachen Naturalis Biodiversity Center

   Naturalis Biodiversity Center

   Affiliation as printed

   Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Darwinweg 2, 2333 CR, Leiden, the Netherlands (thomas. wood @ naturalis. nl)

2. Sébastien Patiny

   University of Mons

   Affiliation as printed

   Laboratory of Zoology, University of Mons, 7000, Mons, Belgium (patiny. s @ gmail. com)