A review of the Palaearctic Anthrenus pimpinellae (Fabricius, 1775) complex species in Spain (Coleoptera, Dermestidae, Megatominae)

www.aegaweb.com/arquivos_entomoloxicos ISSN: 1989-6581 Holloway (2024) ARQUIVOS ENTOMOLÓXICOS, 30: 29-36 29 ARTIGO / ARTÍCULO / ARTICLE A review of the Palaearctic Anthrenus pimpinellae (Fabricius, 1775) complex species in Spain (Coleoptera, Dermestidae, Megatominae) Graham J. Holloway Cole Museum of Zoology, School of Biological Sciences, HLS Building, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6EX, UK. e-mail: g.j.hollowa[email protected]c.uk Abstract: This review examines the Anthrenus pimpinellae (Fabricius, 1775) complex species (Coleoptera, Dermestidae, Megatominae) in Spain, from where seven species and one subspecies of this complex are currently listed. Further taxonomic research on this group leads to the removal of three species and one subspecies from the Spanish list, a modification of the taxonomy for one species, and the addition of one new species. As a result, there is strong evidence for the presence of five A. pimpinellae complex species in Spain. Additionally, the evidence supporting A. valenzuelai Holloway & Herrmann, 2024 is analysed, along with methods to distinguish it from A. isabellinus Küster, 1848. Key words: Coleoptera, Dermestidae, Anthrenus pimpinellae complex, checklist, distribution, genitalia, dissection, aedeagus, Mallorca, Spain. Resumen: Revisión de las especies paleárticas del complejo de Anthrenus pimpinellae (Fabricius, 1775) (Coleoptera, Dermestidae, Megatominae) en España. En esta revisión se examinan las especies paleárticas del complejo de Anthrenus pimpinellae (Fabricius, 1775) (Coleoptera, Dermestidae, Megatominae) en España, de donde se conocen siete especies y una subespecie. Nuevos estudios sobre la taxonomía de este grupo conducen a la eliminación de tres especies y una subespecie de la lista española, una modificación de la taxonomía para una especie y la adición de una nueva especie. Como resultado, existe una fuerte evidencia de la presencia de cinco especies del complejo A. pimpinellae en España. Además, se analiza la evidencia que apoya a A. valenzuelai Holloway & Herrmann, 2024, junto con los métodos para distinguirla de A. isabellinus Küster, 1848. Palabras clave: Coleoptera, Dermestidae, complejo de Anthrenus pimpinellae, lista de especies, distribución, genitalia, disección, edeago, Mallorca, España. Recibido: 25 de junio de 2024 Publicado on-line: 28 de julio de 2024 Aceptado: 10 de julio de 2024 Introduction The Dermestidae are not a well-studied family of Coleoptera so that there remains a great deal to be discovered. One of the largest genera within the family is Anthrenus Geoffroy, 1762 with nearly 300 species (HÁVA, 2024a) and sitting within Anthrenus is the Palaearctic A. (s. str.) pimpinellae (Fabricius, 1775) complex (HÁVA, 2024a). HOLLOWAY et al. (2019a) identified seven species from this complex in Spain according to published material. However, recent studies question the accuracy of this number. The current study critically reviews the evidence to determine which A. pimpinellae complex species should remain on the list and which should be excluded. HÁVA (2024b) claims Anthrenus valenzuelai Holloway & Herrmann, 2024 from Spain whilst noting the difficulty in distinguishing it from Anthrenus isabellinus Küster, 1848. This claim is examined, and images are provided to assist researchers differentiate between A. valenzuelai and A. isabellinus. The current study also considers the reliability of A. pimpinellae complex species records in faunistics publications. Holloway (2024): A review of the Palaearctic Anthrenus pimpinellae (F.) complex species in Spain (Col., Dermestidae) 30 Materials and methods Specimens of Anthrenus pimpinellae complex species collected from Spain presented here were either found on Mallorca (A. amandae Holloway, 2019, A. angustefasciatus Ganglbauer, 1904, A. isabellinus and A. munroi Hinton, 1943) or held in the Dermestidae collection at the Natural History Museum, London, (NHML) (A. chikatunovi Holloway, 2020). Species not found in Spain (A. delicatus Kiesenwetter, 1851, A. goliath Saulcy in Mulsant & Rey, 1867, and A. pimpinellae) are held in the NHML Dermestidae collection. The identification features of all these species are reported in references included in the Results section. Results Species to be retained on the Spanish list There is strong evidence for five Anthrenus pimpinellae complex species occurring in Spain. These species are shown collectively in Fig. 1.  Anthrenus amandae (Fig. 1a) has only been noted from Mallorca (HOLLOWAY, 2019; HOLLOWAY & BAKALOUDIS, 2020) and could be a species endemic to the Balearics (HOLLOWAY et al., 2024).  Anthrenus angustefasciatus (Fig. 1b) is a common species distributed throughout western Europe (HOLLOWAY & HERRMANN, in press), including Spain (HOLLOWAY et al., 2024).  Anthrenus chikatunovi (Fig. 1c) is described from the French Pyrenees (HOLLOWAY, 2020). In addition, there are a few online records from Girona (Spain) that are likely to be A. chikatunovi (INATURALIST, 2024). The aedeagus of A. chikatunovi is distinctive (HOLLOWAY, 2020) and easy to differentiate from other A. pimpinellae complex species in Spain. It is even possible to identify them using habitus colour pattern (HOLLOWAY & CAÑADA LUNA, 2022). Given this, it is not clear why the species is synonymized with A. isabellinus in the World Catalogue (HÁVA, 2024a). A. chikatunovi and A. isabellinus differ substantially across many internal and external characteristics.  Anthrenus isabellinus (Fig. 1d) is recorded as A. dorsatus Mulsant & Rey, 1868 by HOLLOWAY et al. (2019b). HOLLOWAY et al. (2020) established that A. dorsatus is a synonym of A. isabellinus, that is distributed around the entire Mediterranean (HOLLOWAY et al., 2023).  Anthrenus munroi (Fig. 1e) has a wide distribution around the Mediterranean and into some eastern European countries (HÁVA, 2024a). HOLLOWAY & CAÑADA LUNA (2022) have described this species in detail from Spain. Species to be removed from the Spanish list Three Anthrenus pimpinellae complex species and one subspecies listed for Spain should be removed. These species (apart from the subspecies) are shown collectively in Fig. 2.  Anthrenus delicatus (Fig. 2a) is quite easy to distinguish from other A. pimpinellae complex species occurring in western Europe on the basis of colour pattern (HOLLOWAY & CAÑADA LUNA, 2022) coupled with antennal structure. The distribution of this species is concentrated around eastern Mediterranean (INATURALIST, 2024) reaching as far west as Sardinia. All specimens labelled as A. delicatus and coming from Spain in NHML and Andreas Herrmann’s private entomological collection (AHEC) have turned out to be A. angustefasciatus or A. isabellinus (GJH pers. obs.). Contrary to the list provided by HOLLOWAY et al. (2019a), there is no evidence that A. delicatus occurs in Spain. ARQUIVOS ENTOMOLÓXICOS, 30: 29-36 31  Anthrenus goliath (Fig. 2b) seems to be commonly misidentified. This species is currently only known with certainty from Egypt (HOLLOWAY & HERRMANN, 2023). HÁVA (2015) lists it as occurring across much of eastern and southern Europe, although the current World Catalogue (HÁVA, 2024a) suggests a more restricted distribution across north Africa, perhaps including Syria. However, prior to HOLLOWAY & HERRMANN (2023) no images of definitive A. goliath had ever been published so claims concerning distribution cannot be verified by the wider community. KADEJ et al. (2007) provided a habitus image claiming it to be A. goliath, but produced different images of aedeagi argued as belonging to A. goliath, so it was not certain which species each KADEJ et al. (2007) aedeagus image related to. Unfortunately, the original holotype of A. goliath had been lost prior to the move of Mulsant’s collection to Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France (HOLLOWAY & HERRMANN, 2023). Consequently HOLLOWAY & HERRMANN (2023) gathered all information available to raise a neotype which has been deposited in NHML.  Regarding Anthrenus pimpinellae pimpinellae (Fig. 2c) and A. p. isabellinus, HOLLOWAY et al. (2020) established that A. dorsatus and A. pimpinellae isabellinus were both synonyms of the same species, A. isabellinus. Having confirmed the taxonomy, HOLLOWAY et al. (2021, 2023) demonstrated that A. pimpinellae has a distribution restricted to northwestern Europe across to eastern Europe and down into southeastern Europe but does not include the Iberian Peninsula. It is understandable how A. pimpinellae is on the Spanish list given that it was not until 2020 that A. p. isabellinus was synonymized. Anthrenus p. isabellinus were simply paler examples of A. isabellinus (HOLLOWAY et al., 2022). Anthrenus valenzuelai Holloway & Herrmann, 2024 (Fig. 3) HÁVA (2024b) claimed A. valenzuelai from Spain and in doing so raised a number of points that require attention. Fig. 3 shows images of five A. valenzuelai, two males and three females. HÁVA (2024b) commented that A. valenzuelai can be very difficult to distinguish from A. isabellinus, raising variation in the colour of the apical spots on the elytra as an issue. No variation in the colour of the apical spots has been recorded although there is variation in the size of the sub-apical spots (see Fig. 4) which can be tiny. The size and shape (or colour) of the (sub) apical spots is not useful as far as known in the identification of any of the Palaearctic A. pimpinellae complex species, except perhaps A. munroi (HOLLOWAY & CAÑADA LUNA, 2022). Fig. 5 shows images of five A. isabellinus from Spain and Fig. 4 shows how to measure the relative width of the white fascia. HOLLOWAY & CAÑADA LUNA (2022) argued that distance A is always less than (or sometimes equal to) distance B in A. isabellinus. In all other Spanish species distance A is greater than distance B. In A. valenzuelai this is not a good character as in some cases distance A exceeds distance B and sometimes the other way round (Fig. 5). In most cases, the author agrees with HÁVA (2024b) that A. valenzuelai and A. isabellinus are not easy to separate with the exception of entirely (or mostly) white A. isabellinus. A more reliable way of separating A. isabellinus and A. valenzuelai (or to confirm a suspected A. valenzuelai) is to examine antennal structure (Figs. 3 and 5). In A. valenzuelai the antennal club is a narrow cone shape, straight along the ventral margin and only very slightly curved along the dorsal margin (Fig. 3). Male antennae are longer and slimmer than female antennae (a point not noted by HOLLOWAY & HERRMANN, 2024, who focused on males). In both sexes the terminal antennomere is asymmetric (Fig. 3). The antennal clubs of A. isabellinus are considerably broader, straight along the ventral margin but much more curved along the dorsal margin. The terminal antennomere is symmetrical (Fig. 5). HÁVA (2024b) agrees with HOLLOWAY & HERRMANN (2024) that males can be identified courtesy of genital structure, but he goes on to say that females are ‘more or less indeterminable’. Given the record of A. valenzuelai claimed from Zaragoza, Spain is of a female (HÁVA, 2024b), it does not constitute convincing evidence to add A. valenzuelai to the Spanish list at present. It is not Holloway (2024): A review of the Palaearctic Anthrenus pimpinellae (F.) complex species in Spain (Col., Dermestidae) 32 inconceivable that A. valenzuelai could occur in Spain (at least southern Spain) since it has been found in Morocco. Discussion Extensive new research into the A. pimpinellae complex has significantly enhanced species identification and our understanding of their distributions. In the current study, three of the originally listed seven species have been removed from the Spanish checklist, the taxonomy of one species has been revised, and one species recently new to science has been added, resulting in a total of five confirmed species. While this is not claimed to be a definitive list, the evidence supporting the presence of these five species in Spain is robust. HOLLOWAY et al. (2019a) compiled a Spanish checklist of Dermestidae based on published literature that was then considered valid evidence, primarily in the form of faunistic studies. However, much of the data from these studies is unreliable, especially when only species names are provided without supporting evidence, relying only on the reader’s trust in the correctness of the identification. The Palaearctic A. pimpinellae complex is particularly problematic due to the historically challenging differentiation of its species, with significant taxonomic, identification, ecological, and distributional research being conducted only recently. It is possible that unreliable faunistics data is restricted just to this complex of species within the Dermestidae. Nevertheless, this raises concerns about the reliability of the Spanish checklist. It suggests the need for a careful review, focusing on species for which strong evidence is available, thereby allowing for independent verification of species authenticity. Acknowledgements The author is very grateful to Max Barclay and the Coleoptera curatorial team at NHML and Andreas Herrmann (AHEC) for maintaining and making available specimens for research. The author is also grateful to the editors for reviewing the text so carefully. References HÁVA, J. 2015. Dermestidae (Coleoptera). World Catalogue of Insects, Volume 13. Leiden, Brill, i-xxvi + 419 pp. HÁVA, J. 2024a. Dermestidae World (Coleoptera). Available from: http://dermestidae.wz.cz/worlddermestidae/ [Last accessed: 20th June 2024]. HÁVA, J. 2024b. New faunistic records and remarks on Dermestidae (Coleoptera) - Part 26. Arquivos Entomoloxicos, 28: 253–256. HOLLOWAY, G.J. 2019. Anthrenus (s. str.) amandae (Coleoptera: Dermestidae): a new species from Mallorca, Spain. Zootaxa, 4543(4): 595–599. HOLLOWAY, G.J. 2020. Anthrenus (s. str.) chikatunovi (Coleoptera: Dermestidae): A new species from southern France. Israel Journal of Entomology, 50(2): 69–75. HOLLOWAY, G.J. & BAKALOUDIS, D.E. 2020. A comparative morphological study of Anthrenus pimpinellae pimpinellae (Fabricius, 1775) and Anthrenus amandae Holloway, 2019 (Coleoptera: Dermestidae). The Coleopterists Bulletin, 74(2): 315–321. ARQUIVOS ENTOMOLÓXICOS, 30: 29-36 33 HOLLOWAY, G.J., BAKALOUDIS, D.E. & COCKS, L. 2022. Colour pattern plasticity in Anthrenus isabellinus (Coleoptera Dermestidae). Bulletin of Insectology, 75(1): 131–136. HOLLOWAY, G.J., BAKALOUDIS, D.E. & FOSTER, C.W. 2021. Anthrenus dorsatus new to the United States and a comparison with Anthrenus pimpinellae ssp. pimpinellae (Coleoptera: Dermestidae). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society, 93(2): 153–163. HOLLOWAY, G.J., BAKALOUDIS, D.E., BARCLAY, M.V., FOSTER, C.W., KADEJ, M., CALLAGHAN, A. & PAXTON, R.J. 2020. Revision of taxonomic status of Anthrenus pimpinellae isabellinus (Coleoptera: Dermestidae). European Journal of Entomology, 117: 481–489. HOLLOWAY, G.J. & CAÑADA LUNA, I. 2022. A morphometric analysis of Anthrenus munroi Hinton, 1943, and a key for citizen scientists to the Western European species in the Anthrenus pimpinellae complex (Coleoptera: Dermestidae). Entomologist's Monthly Magazine, 158(4): 289–298. HOLLOWAY, G.J., CAÑADA LUNA, I. & KADEJ, M. 2019a. A review of the literature and a check list of Spanish Dermestidae (Coleoptera). The Coleopterists Bulletin, 73: 513–520. HOLLOWAY, G.J., EVANS, J., SAUNDERS, K.S., TILLEY, B.L. & CALLAGHAN, A. 2024. Some Dermestidae (Coleoptera) of Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Spain). Arquivos Entomolóxicos, 28: 207–212. HOLLOWAY, G.J., FOSTER, C.W. & CALLAGHAN, A. 2019b. New distributional record of Anthrenus dorsatus Mulsant & Rey, 1868 (Coleoptera, Dermestidae) on the island of Mallorca, Spain. Check List, 15(1): 33–36. HOLLOWAY, G.J. & HERRMANN, A. 2023. Neotype designation of Anthrenus goliath Saulcy in Mulsant & Rey, 1867 (Coleoptera, Dermestidae, Megatominae). Baltic Journal of Coleopterology, 23(2): 341–348. HOLLOWAY, G.J. & HERRMANN, A. 2024. Anthrenus (Anthrenus) valenzuelai (Coleoptera, Dermestidae, Megatominae): a new species from Sardinia (Italy), Tunisia, and Morocco. Zootaxa, 5453(1): 144-150. HOLLOWAY, G.J. & HERRMANN, A. (in press). Anthrenus canadalunai (Coleoptera: Dermestidae) sp. nov. from Turkey and a comparison with Anthrenus angustefasciatus and Anthrenus mroczkowskii. Annales Zoologici. HOLLOWAY, G.J., MACLURE, C.J. & FOSTER, C.W. 2023. Palaearctic distributions of Anthrenus pimpinellae (Fabricius) and Anthrenus isabellinus Küster (Coleoptera: Dermestidae). Entomologist’s Monthly Magazine, 159: 239–244. INATURALIST. 2024. Available from https://www.inaturalist.org. [Last accessed: 20th June 2024]. KADEJ, M., HÁVA, J. & KALÍK, V. 2007. Review of the Anthrenus pimpinellae species group from Palaearctic region (Coleoptera: Dermestidae: Anthrenini). Genus, 18(4): 721–750. Holloway (2024): A review of the Palaearctic Anthrenus pimpinellae (F.) complex species in Spain (Col., Dermestidae) 34 Fig. 1.– Palaearctic A. pimpinellae complex species definitively collected from Spain. All scales bars = 1 mm. 1a.– Anthrenus amandae. 1b.– Anthrenus angustefasciatus. 1c.– Anthrenus chikatunovi. 1d.– Anthrenus isabellinus. 1e – Anthrenus munroi. 1a 1b 1c 1d 1e Fig. 2.– Palaearctic A. pimpinellae complex species not found in Spain. All scale bars = 1 mm. 2a.– Anthrenus delicatus. 2b.– Anthrenus goliath. 2c.– Anthrenus pimpinellae. 2a 2b 2c ARQUIVOS ENTOMOLÓXICOS, 30: 29-36 35 3a 3c 3e 3g 3i Fig. 3.– Habiti and antennae of Anthrenus valenzuelai. All habiti scale bars = 1 mm; all antennae scale bars = 100 µm. 3a-b. – Female (Tunisia). 3c-d.– Female (Tunisia). 3e-f.– Female (Italy, Sardinia). 3g-h. –, Male (Morocco). 3i-j.– Male (Italy, Sardinia). 3b 3d 3h 3j 3f Fig. 4.– Linear elytral features used to measure relative width of white elytral fascia (image first appeared in HOLLOWAY & CAÑADA LUNA, 2022). Neither area C nor the lateral spot are relevant for the current study. Holloway (2024): A review of the Palaearctic Anthrenus pimpinellae (F.) complex species in Spain (Col., Dermestidae) 36 5a 5c 5e 5g 5i 5b 5d 5h 5j 5f Fig. 5.– Habiti and antennae of Spanish Anthrenus isabellinus. All habiti scale bars = 1 mm; all antennae scale bars = 100 µm. 5a-5f– Females. 5g-5j.– Males.