Trechus cardioderus athonis Schatzmayr, 1909

Kostova, Rumyana & Bekchiev, Rostislav, 2025, New insights into the taxonomy of Trechus Clairville, 1806 (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in the Balkans, with the first description of the male of Trechus bohemorum Pawlowski, 1973, Zootaxa 5661 (4), pp. 538-552 : 544-545

- Trechus cardioderus athonis Schatzmayr, 1909

Material studied: GREECE: 2 ♂♂ ‘Janina- IV.1927, Grecia, Dr. Purkyně’ (NMPC); 1 ♂ ‘ Kephallenia, Paganetti , col. Kouřil’ (NMPC); 1 ♂ labelled as T. subnotatus ‘ Attica, Reitter, col. Kouřil’ (NMPC); MONTENEGRO: 1♂ ‘ Jaz u Budvy, 5.VI.67, Mařan lgt.’ (NMPC); 1♂ labelled as Trechus subnotatus athonis : Bocca di Cattaro, Rittm. Matcha, col. Kouřil’ (NMPC); 1 ♂ ‘ Topla, Paganetti’ (NMPC); BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA: 1 ♂ ‘ Saraievo, V. M. Duchoň’ (NMPC); BULGARIA: 1 ♂ ‘ Šarlir Vrch , Pyrin plan., Bulgaria, B. Kuřil’ (NMPC), 1 ♂ ‘ Šarlir Pirin, Mac. VII 32, Mař. et Táb’ (NMPC).

The study of the male genitalia showed that all the above-mentioned specimens belong to the subspecies T. cardioderus athonis . The median lobe of the aedeagus in all males is with a copulatory piece strongly arcuate distally, and the apex of the median lobe slightly curved downwards ( Fig. 7 , J–O). The specimen from Attica does not match T. subnotatus , as it was labelled, which according to Jeannel has a median lobe of the male genitalia with an almost straight copulatory piece in lateral view ( Jeannel 1927: 443 Fig. 1051). In the present specimen, however, it is strongly curved upwards in the apical part.

The two specimens from Šarlir (as it was already noted, most likely a misspelling of Sharaliya peak, Pirin Mts. ) in Bulgaria, reported by Mařan (1933) as T. cardioderus goleshnicensis and by Pawlowski (1973) as T. subnotatus , with copulatory apparatus slightly different from that described by Jeannel (1927), perfectly match the diagnostic characters of T. cardioderus athonis . At the same time, they differ from both T. subnotatus and the morphologically closer T. cardioderus goleshnicensis . The latter, under Jeannel’s concept, is characterised by a straight apex of the median lobe in lateral view ( Jeannel 1027:455 Fig. 1078). Consequently , the assumption proposed by Kostova and Bekchiev (2023) about the lack of T. cardioderus goleshnicensis in the Bulgarian fauna is confirmed. T. cardioderus athonis was previously known from Greece, North Macedonia, and Bulgaria ( Jeannel 1927; Nonveiller et al. 1994; Hristovski & Guéorguiev 2015; Belousov 2017; Kostova & Bekchiev 2023). New subspecies records are: Bosnia and Herzegovina — Sarajevo ; Montenegro — Budva env., Bocca di Cattaro ( Bay of Kotor), and Topla — Castelnuovo (Herceg novi) env.; Greece — Ioannina env. and Cephalonia Isle ( Fig. 5 ). Thus , this study provides the first confirmed records of T. cardioderus athonis for Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Giving the current known distribution, it is highly probable that T. cardioderus athonis could also be found in Albania. New labels with revised identifications were pinned beneath the specimens.

Figures

FIGURE 5. Map of the currently known distribution of Trechus cardioderus athonis Schatz.

FIGURE 7. Median lobe of the male genitalia (lateral and dorsal views) of taxa of the Trechus “subnotatus” group: A–C— Trechus cardioderus cardioderus Putz. (Slovenia, Radoha, NMPC); D—Trechus binotatus Putz. (Italy, Vallombrosa, NMPC); E—Trechus cardioderus irenis Csiki (Bulgaria, Central Stara Planina Mts., according to Kostova & Bekchiev 2023); F— Trechus cardioderus balcanicus Jeann. (Bulgaria, East Stara Planina Mts., according to Kostova & Bekchiev 2023); G–I— Trechus pilisensis pilisensis Csiki (G—Slovakia, M. Bor; H—Czechia, Skryje; I—Austria, Schobrstein, NMPC); J–O—Trechus cardioderus athonis Schatz. (J—Greece, Yoanina; K—Greece, Attica; L—Montenegro, Bay of Kotor; M—Greece, Cephalonia; N—Bulgaria, Pirin Mts., Oshtava Vill.; O—Bulgaria, Šarlir; NMPC); P—Trechus strandzhensis Kost. & Bekch. (Strandzha Mts., according to Kostova & Bekchiev 2023).