Skip to main content

Biodiversity Journal 2014, 5 (3): 375-444

  • Biodiversity Journal, 5 (3): 375-376
    Vittorio Aliquò
    The family of Tenebrionidae Latreille, 1802 (Coleoptera)
  • Biodiversity Journal, 5 (3): 377-386

    Veerasamy Aravindhan & Arumugam Rajendran
    Diversity of invasive plant species in Boluvampatti forest Range, Southern Western Ghats, India

    ABSTRACT
    The present study deals with the implication of invasive plant species on the diversity of Boluvampatti forest range in Southern Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu, India. A total number of 90 invasive alien species under 74 genera belonging to 37 families have been recorded based on field exploration and literature consultations. Among these, 53 species are being used by local inhabitants who reside in this forest range for medicinal purposes. Thirteen species have been introduced intentionally, while the remaining species established unintentionally through trade. The present study shows that a better planning is needed for early detection to control and reporting of infestations of spread of naturalized species to be scrutinized.

  • Biodiversity Journal, 5 (3): 387-390

    Dexter S. Ontoy & Roberto N. Padua
    Measuring species diversity for conservation biology: incorporating social and ecological importance of species

    ABSTRACT
    A new Importance-Diversity Index is proposed as an enhancement to the traditional Shannon diversity index. The proposed index incorporates an importance weight to each species of organisms found in an ecosystem. The importance weights are derived from four (4) main domains deemed important in conservation biology, namely: (1) species endemicity, (2) economic utility, (3) functional role in the ecosystem, and (4) risk status of the species (threatened or endangered). Scenario simulations show that the new index aids in conservation decisions particularly in cases where the Shannon’s indices of the ecosystems are equal or near equal or even in situations where the Shannon’s index clearly identifies a site but the relative importance of the species found in other sites is heavier.

  • Biodiversity Journal, 5 (3): 391-396

    Pietro Lo Cascio & Vincent Rivière
    Herpetofaunal inventory of Kuriat and Jbel islets (Tunisia)

    ABSTRACT
    The present paper provides the results of the herpetological investigations carried out on the Kuriat Archipelago, in the Khnis Bay, and the islet of Jbel, off the harbor of Echebba. Six reptile species on the whole have been found on the studied islets. Tarentola fascicularis (Daudin, 1802), familia Phyllodactylidae, occurring on Great Kuriat, and Trachylepis vittata (Olivier, 1804), familia Scincidae, detected on all the three islets, are recorded for the first time for the islands of Tunisia.

  • Biodiversity Journal, 5 (3): 397-420

    Claudio Di Russo, Mauro Rampini & Marina Cobolli
    The cave crickets of Greece: a contribution to the study of Southern Balkan Rhaphidophoridae diversity (Orthoptera), with the description of a new species of Troglophilus Krauss, 1879

    ABSTRACT
    The taxonomy, geographic distribution and ecology of Rhaphidophoridae of Greece are updated herein. At present, 28 species of Dolichopoda Bolívar, 1880 and five species of Troglophilus Krauss, 1879 are known to colonize Greek caves and, in a few circumstances, epigean habitats. Dolichopoda includes a high number of species and shows a wide geographic distribution, including most of Greece. The genus diversity peaks in the Hellenic region, which hosts 28 of the 51 species described thus far. Most of the Dolichopoda species show a high degree of endemism, being recorded from only one or a few caves in restricted geographic areas. The thermo-xerophilic climate characterizing most of the southern Balkan Peninsula and the high fragmentation of the Greek karstic areas could have played an important role in the reduction of gene flow among cave cricket populations, leading to strong isolation and multiple speciation events. All the Dolichopoda species found in the area are highly dependent on caves and show clear adaptations to the subterranean ecosystems. Of the five Troglophilus species known for the area, only two occur in continental Greece, with a very scattered geographic distribution including a few mountain localities in northern and central Greece. The remaining three species are widespread throughout Crete and some Aegean islands. Finally the newly discovered Troglophilus zoiai n. sp. from a cave on the western slope of Mount Parnassos (central Greece) is described.

  • Biodiversity Journal, 5 (3): 421-424

    Calogero Muscarella
    On the presence of Buprestis (Ancylocheira) cupressi Germar, 1817 (Coleoptera Buprestidae) in Sicily, Italy

    ABSTRACT
    Buprestis (Ancylocheira) cupressi Germar, 1817 (Coleoptera Buprestidae) had already been reported in the past for Sicily (Italy), but it had been excluded from more recent catalogues because of lack of evidence. In the present paper the occurrence of the species in Sicily is confirmed by some findings in Vendicari (Siracusa province). Moreover, it is emphasized the importance of the dunal environments of Vendicari as regards the preservation of the insect fauna.

  • Biodiversity Journal, 5 (3): 425-428

    Chiara Di Leo, Francesco Paolo Faraone & Mario Lo Valvo
    A new record of the Red swamp crayfish, Procambarus clarkii (Girard, 1852) (Crustacea Cambaridae), in Sicily, Italy

    ABSTRACT
    The Red swamp crayfish, Procambarus clarkii (Girard, 1852), is a decapod crustacean native of the United States and Northern Mexico that was introduced in several countries of the world. This species are known to have detrimental effects on invaded ecosystems. The Red swamp crayfish was found for the first time in Sicily in 2012, inside the Nature Reserve “Lago Preola e Gorghi Tondi” (Trapani province). This paper describes the discovery of a second population of this species at the “Rosamarina” reservoir (Palermo province), whose origin appears to be independent of the first one. This new finding emphasizes the need for extensive survey in Sicily and the development of an adequate action plan for containment or eradication of this species.

  • Biodiversity Journal, 5 (3): 429-442

    Vittorio Aliquò & Fabien Soldati
    Updating the CD-rom on Coleoptera Tenebrionidae of Italy and the check-list of the same family

    ABSTRACT
    The authors update their recent work on Italian Tenebrionidae. At first, they present main taxonomic changes, new taxa to Italian fauna and new faunistic data, secondly they present an up to date check-list of Italian Tenebrionidae, including Sardinia and Sicily.