Hebrus montanus Kolenati, 1857

Kment, Petr, Jindra, Zdeněk & Berchi, Gavril Marius, 2016, Review of West-Palaearctic Hebridae with description of a new species and redescription of Hebrus fulvinervis (Hemiptera: Heteroptera), Zootaxa 4147 (3), pp. 201-239 : 212-213

Hebrus montanus Kolenati, 1857

( Figs. 25 , 68 )

Hebrus montanus Kolenati, 1857: 474 . Syntypes: Azerbaijan, Karabagh, ‘Koepesdagh’ Mts., ‘Sullü-ghöll’ Lake near ‘Tschai- Kent’ [= Chaykend] (NHMW: 5 specimens—H. Zettel, pers. comm.).

Material examined. ALBANIA: Shkopet pr. Lezha, Mat river , 2. vii.2012, 1 ♀, L. Blažej lgt. ( MMBC) . BULGARIA: Blagoevgrad Province: Strumyani , 8. vi.2013, 1 ♀, E. Ezer lgt., P. Kment det. ( NMPC) . FRANCE: Corse: Navaccia River , 27. vii.1955, 1 Ƌ 1 ♀, Eckerlein lgt., P. Kment det. ( NMPC). ISRAEL: Huleh , 26. viii.1980, 1 ♀, D. Furth lgt., P. Kment det. ( NMPC) . ROMANIA: Mehedinți county: Cerneți [stream], 44.64°N 22.701944°E, 53 m a.s.l., 26. vii.2012, 1 Ƌ, G. M. Berchi lgt., P. Kment det. ( GBCR) . TURKEY (Asian Part): Adana Province: Taurus Mts., Pozanti , 24. v.1960, 1 Ƌ, Eckerlein lgt., L. Hoberlandt 1965 det. as H. eckerleini, P. Kment revid. ( NMPC) .

Distribution ( Fig. 68 ). Europe: Albania ( Josifov 1970), Bosnia Herzegovina ( Kment & Jindra 2006), Bulgaria ( Josifov 1958, 1960, 1963; Kment & Jindra 2006), France: Vendée, Corse ( Poisson 1944, 1957a; Kment & Kanyukova 2010), Greece ( Kment & Kanyukova 2010), Macedonia ( Wagner 1962, Protić 1998), Romania ( Horváth 1897, this paper), Russia: South European Territory ( Kanyukova 1997, 2006; Golub et al. 2014), Serbia ( Kment & Jindra 2006). North Africa:? Egypt ( Stichel 1956, Andersen 1995, Gadalla & Saleh Ahmed 2005, Salleh Ahmed & Gadalla 2005), Morocco ( Poisson 1944, Kment & Kanyukova 2010),? Tunisia ( Slimani et al. 2016). Asia: Armenia ( Kanyukova 1997, 2006), Azerbaijan ( Kanyukova 1997, 2006; Kment & Jindra 2006; Kment & Kanyukova 2010), Georgia ( Kanyukova 1997, 2006), Iran: Fars, Gilan, Golestan, Khorasan, Tehran ( Kanyukova 1997, 2006; Kment & Kanyukova 2010; Ghahari et al. 2013), Israel ( Nieser 1995, this paper), Jordan ( Kment & Kanyukova 2010), Lebanon ( Kment & Kanyukova 2010),? Syria ( Stichel 1956, Andersen 1995), Turkey (Asian part) ( Kment & Jindra 2006, Fent et al. 2011).

A record of H. montanus from Slovakia referring to Kment et al. (2003) was cited in error by Aukema et al. (2013a); the record refers to H. ruficeps . A record from Hormozgan Province of Iran ( Kment & Kanyukova 2010) was based on a misidentified specimen of H. pusillus arabicus (see below). Slimani et al. (2016) recorded H. montanus from Tunisia; however, the specimens on the photograph they provided are very dark, probably greasy, and it is difficult to determine to which species they really belong. Previous records from Egypt and Syria require further confirmation (see Fent et al. 2011). The occurrence of H. montanus in Israel and Romania is confirmed herein.

Comments. Kolenati (1857) listed the type locality of H. montanus as follows: ‘Habitat in superficie aquae lacus montani sic dicti Sullü-ghöll (lacu hirudinum), ubi Pinacobdella Kolenatii Diesing frequens, in monte Koepesdagh provinciae Transcaucasicae Karabagh prope pagum Tschai-Kent, insidiator ovulis hujusce Pinacobdellae.’ [= Habitat on water surface of mountain lake called as Sullü-ghöll (lake of leeches; in Turkish sülük = leech, göl = lake), where Pinacobdella kolenatii Diesing is frequent, in Kopetdag Mt., in Karabagh Province of Transcaucasia, near Tschai-Kent village, being here predator of Pinacobdella eggs]. So far, nobody has succeeded in precisely identifying the type locality, other than its location in Mountain Karabagh Republic, an Armenian exclave in Azerbaijan. The names of the lake and mountain seem to disappear nowdays, but there are two villages of the name Chaykend or Çaykənd (which means ‘built near river)’ with the following coordinates: 39°47′30.8″N 46°35′58.6″E and 40°07′47.1″N 46°03′38.1″E; the first is inside Mountain Karabagh Republic, the second is under the control of Azerbaijan (M. Kalashian, pers. comm.).

We follow here the concept of the species as redescribed and illustrated by Kanyukova (1997). Some potential problems concerning taxonomy and identification of the species are discussed under H. eckerleini , H. jeanneli djaneti and H. pusillus pusillus .

Figures

FIGURE 68. Distribution of Hebrus montanus Kolenati, 1857 (confirmed occurrence in green, unconfirmed records in yellow).

FIGURES 23 – 28. 23 – 24 — Hebrus jeanneli djaneti Poisson, 1953: 23 — female, Algeria: near Tamanrasset (body length 2.04 mm); 24 — female, Morocco: Qued Reraïa (1.98 mm). 25 — H. montanus Kolenati, 1847, male, Morocco: Asni (1.92 mm). 26 — H. syriacus Horváth, 1896, female, Cyprus: Kyrenis (1.62 mm). 27 — H. vaillanti Poisson, 1953, male, Morocco: Massa River (1.88 mm). 28 — H. acutiscutatus Brown, 1951, Israel: Ein Gedi (1.90 mm).