Biogeographia – The Journal of Integrative Biogeography

We report the first observations regarding the presence of the leaf-toed gecko, Euleptes europaea, in Sicily. During field activities for environmental impact assessment several leaf-toed gecko individuals were found in a restricted coastal area in the north-west of the island, near the city of Palermo. Further surveys were then carried out to better assess the presence of the species. A total of 21 E. europaea individuals were observed in a small area of approximately 4.4 hectares, consisting of mixed eucalyptus and pine reforestation. Out of the 21 individuals, there were 14 males, 5 females, and 2 whose sex could not be determined. Additionally, at least two pregnant females were observed. Leaf-toed geckos were found exclusively under eucalyptus bark, syntopic with two other Gekkota species (Tarentola mauritanica and Hemidactylus turcicus). The presence of such a breeding population of E. europaea is probably limited to a small area. However, our results do not allow us to clearly assess either its origin or its actual distribution and demography, therefore new field investigations are necessary.

Data on the distribution of 238 European black fly taxa recorded in 97 operational geographical units (OGUs), of which 54 are European, were taken from published primary and secondary sources, summarised, numerically analysed and evaluated for chorotype identification. In continental Europe, 225 species have been recorded, of which 91 were registered only on the mainland. On the European islands, 70 species have been recorded, 13 of which are exclusively there; among them, 10 are European endemics (5 on the Mediterranean islands and 5 in Macaronesia). The individual species were recorded in 1–64 OGUs, the observed frequency distribution of species, according to the occupied OGUs, is strongly asymmetric and skewed to the right. This distribution does not fit the Fisher’s log-series distribution, the zero-truncated negative binomial, or the zero truncated Poisson distributions. The prevailing number of European black flies has a clear tendency to occupy small ranges. More than half of all species (128) are known from six or fewer OGUs (median = 6) and more than one-third of the species (35.5%) are from only 1–3 OGUs. One-quarter of all species, including 11 species complexes, are known from 14 or more OGUs (Q3 = 14). Only 12 species (~ 5%) are known from 39 or more OGUs; half of them being recognised species complexes. A wide range can be considered a property of a species complex, and by abduction, a taxon with such a range can be considered a species complex. Splitting a species complex into separate species can result in a range-splitting effect, i.e. the disintegration of the original large range into a number of overlapping or non-overlapping smaller species ranges can result in existing chorotypes disappearing or new ones arising. Cluster analysis C1 (CLC = complete linkage clustering, Baroni-Urbani & Buser index of similarity) provided 30 significant clusters, 26 of them isolated, with 1 to 24 species each (median = 5.5). Cluster analysis C2 (CLC, Jaccard’s index of similarity) provided 53 significant clusters, 26 of them isolated, with 1 to 20 species each (median = 3). The cophenetic correlation coefficient r_coph between C1 and C2 was 0.8015, indicating a high agreement between the two classifications. In an expert assessment based on cluster analysis, 29 global chorotypes were distinguished. According to the overall range extent and its location on the continents, the chorotypes were arranged into seven groups as follows: Holarctic (26 spp., American–European, Pan-Holarctic, Holarctic boreal, Palaearctic–East Beringian chorotypes), Palaearctic (40 spp., Pan-Palaearctic, Euro–Asian, Sibero–European), West–Central Palaearctic group (10 spp., Central Asian–Euro–Mediterranean, Central Asian–Turano–Euxinian, Turano–Caucasian), Western Palaearctic (18 spp., Euro–Mediterranean, Mediterranean–Macaronesian, Macaronesian–West Mediterranean), European (86 spp., Pan-European, Western European, Northern European, Central European, Apenninian, Balkan, Eastern European), Mediterranean group (53 spp., Pan-Mediterranean, West Mediterranean, East Mediterranean, Euxinian, Crimean, Caucasian), and the Macaronesian group (5 spp., Azorean, Madeiran, Canarian). The main result of the analysis of ranges of European black flies is the description of 29 global chorotypes. The analysis shows that the chorological structure of the European black fly fauna is complex and it varies significantly in different parts of the continent and adjacent islands. This can be the start for further zoogeographical, phylogeographical and other analyses in this area of research.

The flowerpot blindsnake (Indotyphlops braminus), native to India, nowadays holds the widest global distribution among the snakes, due to passive transport by humans. Previous genetic analysis showed that two geographically separated mtDNA clades occur in India, one confined to the wetter parts of Western Ghats (“wet zone” clade), while the other distributed in the drier parts of central and eastern peninsular India (“dry zone” clade). All the so far studied flowerpot specimens found all over the world belong to the “wet zone” clade and are characterized by a very low mtDNA diversity. In this paper, the phylogenetic position, based on two mtDNA markers (16S and cytb) was assessed for one specimen of flowerpot blindsnake found in Ischia Island (Italy), one of the two localities where the species has been introduced in the country. The results showed an elevated divergence between the Ischia specimen and all other specimens from different worldwide non-native location (7.9% for 16S and 14.1 % for cytb). Moreover, the specimen unequivocally clusters within the Indian "dry zone" clade. In literature it has been suggested that the “dry zone” clade represents the nominal I. braminus, while the other clade represents a different and yet unnamed species. In this perspective, our results indicate that the Ischia specimen would be the first true I. braminus found outside its range of origin. Finally, the results of this study reinforce the necessity to continue studying the flowerpot snake populations outside their range of origin also from a chromosomal and morphological point of view.

The selection of strategic conservation areas is a complex undertaking that requires the integration of various elements, including planning, indicators, and mapping. An extensive evaluation of vertebrate distribution patterns in Espírito Santo state, southern Brazil, revealed the existence of four consensus areas defined by two endemicity methods that can be designated as priority regions for multitaxa conservation. A brief remark is made regarding the importance of endemic areas and biogeographic units in the definition of priority areas for conservation.

An updated version of the ‘Checklist of the Italian Fauna’ for the suborder Heteroptera (Insecta: Hemiptera) is presented here. The list reflects the state of art of chorological knowledge of both aquatic and terrestrial Italian Heteroptera in November 2020. The checklist records 1395 species-group taxa belonging to 6 infraorders and 48 families. The total number of species-group taxa includes 44 taxa currently considered endemic to Italy, 12 subendemic, 13 introduced and 10 cryptogenic. The distribution of Italian Heteroptera in the new checklist is based on the subdivision of Italy in two macro-regions, Continental Italy and Peninsular Italy, and two major islands, Sicily and Sardinia. Compared to the previous Checklist by Faraci & Rizzotti Vlach, published in 1995, the new one contains nomenclatural changes, additions and exclusions of species based on the perusal of 220 literature sources. The main changes concern the families Miridae (21 synonymies, 26 exclusions and 34 additions), Rhyparochromidae (15 exclusions and 14 additions) and Pentatomidae (13 exclusions and 5 additions). Explanatory notes are provided for all the updates of the new checklist. The full data set is attached to this paper as supplementary files, while a simplified version is freely accessible from the LifeWatch Italy Data Portal (https://dataportal.lifewatchitaly.eu/data) where it is expected to be regularly updated.