21 Nov Six new species of Curculionidae from Sicily!
The research activities of WBA, besides including the biodiversity hot spots all over the world, are also directed to investigate the biodiversity of the Italian and European countryside. Our members Cesare Bellò and Cosimo Baviera, who is researcher to the Department of Animal Biology and Marine Ecology of the University of Messina, for many years engaged in faunistic research in Sicily, published on the review ZOOTAXA (3100: 35-68; 2011) the issue “On the Sicilian species of Pseudomeira Stierlin (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Entiminae)”. It is a very interesting work that describes six new species of Coleoptera Curculionidae. In particular, the new species of Sicily are the following: Pseudomeira erinacea, Pseudomeira ficuzzensis, Pseudomeira himerensis, Pseudomeira natalii, Pseudomeira petrensis and Pseudomeira trinacriae. The holotypes are preserved in the authors’ collections.
Our Association for many years supported the naturalistic researches in the Mediterranean region through a specific research project (Research Missions in the Mediterranean Basin), that until now brought to the discovery of several tens of new species for science. Therefore, WBA wants to express sincere congratulations to the authors for the new discoveries and undertakes to keep, also in the future, a concrete support to their researches in Sicily.
The persons concerned can ask for a PDF copy of the paper directly to our member Bellò to the following e-mail address: cesarebello@ortoveneto.it