Pachysternum Motschulsky, 1863

Salah, Mohamed & Régil Cueto, Juan Antonio, 2017, An Annotated Checklist of the Aquatic Polyphaga (Coleoptera) of Egypt II. Family Hydrophilidae, The Coleopterists Bulletin 71 (2), pp. 259-278 : 266

Genus Pachysternum Motschulsky, 1863

49– Pachysternum capense ( Mulsant, 1844) Cryptopleurum capense Mulsant 1844: 381

Type locality: Cape of Good Hope ( South Africa) .

Description: Fikáček and Boukal 2004: 2.

Geographic distribution: AFR, PAL; Egypt (no precise locality data).

References: Hebauer 2006.

Remarks. We have not been able to verify the literature records of P. capense from Egypt. The species is a common Afrotropical species, recently spreading to southern Europe. It was first reported in Greece and subsequently in Italy and southern Hungary, Brazil, western Australia, and Romania (Fikáček and Boukal 2004; Hebauer and Ryndevich 2005; Lőkkös et al. 2014). Boukal et al. (2008) suggested that P. capense is currently spreading rather fast northwards and might be found in the Czech Republic in the future. The species is a strong flier, found in various decaying plant matter and the dung of large herbivores ( Boukal et al. 2008). Lőkkös et al. (2014) found that the current distribution data indicate that P. capense was mainly introduced to coastal areas by shipping and that it underwent several independent introductions to Europe. Pachysternum capense is now well established in Europe and spread from coastal areas to inlands.