Revisiting the saproxylic beetle ‘Propomacrus cypriacus Alexis & Makris, 2002’ (Coleoptera: Euchiridae) using molecular, morphological and ecological data

ABSTRACT

Propomacrus cypriacus a saproxylic beetle endemic to Cyprus, was described as a species distinct from P. bimucronatus on the basis of a few morphological characters and has been evaluated as Critically Endangered by IUCN, as it depends on veteran trees and has a restricted distribution. Herein we explored the distribution, ecology, morphology and genetic variation of the populations from Cyprus, and we attempted a phylogenetic analysis including related species based on two mitochondrial and one nuclear DNA markers. We also used published mtDNA divergence rates to date cladogenetic events. Despite extensive sampling, we found only a small number of individuals, adding a few additional localities to the known distribution of the species, and we identified two more host species to those previously reported. Morphological examination showed that only the form of male protibiae differs consistently in Cyprus populations compared to those of P. bimucronatus from Turkey and the Lebanon. Nevertheless, genetic analyses do not support a distinct species status for populations from Cyprus, which should instead be considered as a subspecies of P. bimucronatus. Morphological and ecological data further support this conclusion. Cyprus populations have diverged from nearby continental ones in mid to late Pleistocene.

KEYWORDS:

• Cladochronology
• Cyprus
• host trees
• phylogeny
• species status
• systematics

Acknowledgements

We would like to express our gratitude to Dr Goeffrey Miessen (Belgium) for showing us how to locate larvae of Propomacrus inside tree hollows and for useful information on many aspects of this work. We also thank Dr N. Poulakakis (Natural History Museum of Crete, Greece) for kindly sending us specimens for molecular analysis, and Dr Hervé Brustel (France) for sharing with us the results of his cross-breeding experiment. Many thanks also to George and Fani Constantinou, Aristos Aristophanous, Dr Marios Aristophanous, Sophia and Ioannis Hadjiconstanti for their valuable help during sampling, and to Erodotos Kakkouris (Cyprus Forest Department) for useful information about the studied species.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was partially funded by the Mohammed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund.