Neobisium (Neobisium) sylvaticum (C. L. Koch, 1835 )

Novák, János, 2024, An updated checklist for the pseudoscorpion fauna of Hungary (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones), Zootaxa 5433 (1), pp. 51-95 : 66-67

Neobisium (Neobisium) sylvaticum (C. L. Koch, 1835)

Obisium sylvaticum C.L. Koch, 1835 : n/a, fasc. 132.1.

Obisium sylvaticum : Tömösváry 1882a: 222–224; Pillich 1914: 153; Daday 1918: 2.

Obisium dumicola C. L. Koch : Tömösváry 1882a: 226–227; Daday 1889a: 131 (misidentification).

Obisium (Obisium) dumicola nitidum Daday, 1889a: 131–132 .

Obisium manicatum L. Koch : Daday 1918: 2 (misidentification).

Obisium (Obisium) manicatum : Daday 1889a: 132, 188 (misidentification).

Microbisium dumicola (C. L. Koch) : Szalay 1968: 46; Kárpáthegyi 2005: 68 (misidentification).

Neobisium sylvaticum : Loksa 1966: 392; Szalay 1968: 41; Novák 2011: 68–69; Novák 2013: 124; Novák 2014a: 29; Novák 2015: 155; Novák 2016: 6.

Neobisium (Neobisium) sylvaticum sylvaticum : Mahnert 1990: 683.

Neobisium (Neobisium) sylvaticum : Kárpáthegyi 2007: 84–85; Christophoryová et al. 2011b: 37; Novák 2012: 62; Harvey 2013; Červená et al. 2020a: 222; WPC 2023.

Neobisium inaequale Chamberlin, 1930: 14-15 ( Neobisium inaequalum [sic]); Kárpáthegyi 2007: 92. Syn. nov.

Neobisium (Neobisium) inaequale : Beier 1932a: 88 (as Neobisium (Neobisium) inaequalum [sic]); Beier 1963a: 96; Harvey 1991: 360; Kárpáthegyi 2007: 84; Christophoryová et al. 2011b: 37; Harvey 2013; Červená et al. 2020a: 222.

Occurrence: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine (WPC 2023).

Known localities in Hungary: Gyenesdiás; Pécs; Sátoraljaújhely; Szombathely; Szentmárton ( Tömösváry 1882a). Simontornya ( Pillich 1914, Novák 2014). Magyarpeterd; Fehérvárcsurgó; Vác; Lilafüred ( Szent-Ivány 1941). Bakony Mts ( Loksa 1966). Bátorliget Swamp ( Mahnert 1990). Zemplén Mts (Kárpáthegyi 2005). Nova, Mátrafüred; Süttő: Kis-Gerecse; Somogyudvarhely: Vecseye-erdõ; Szőkedencs: cemetery; Nógrádszakál: Párizs Brook; Jósvafő: Valley of Tohonya Brook, Szögliget, Sátoraljaújhely: Esztáva; Sátoraljaújhely: Zsólyomka Spring; Sátoraljaújhely: Lőtér; Sátoraljaújhely: Gejzír Hill; Háromhuta: Huta-völgyi-kút; Bózsva: Farkas Valley; Füzérradvány: Arborétum; Nagymaros: St. Mihály-Mt. ( Kárpáthegyi 2007). Bakonycsernye; Bodajk: Borz Hill; Hegymagas: Szent-György Hill; Hegymagas: Rókalyuk-dűlő; Litér: Morgyorós Hill; Nagytevel; Sóly: Őr Hill; Súr: fishing lake II; Szentbékkálla; Porva: Szépalmapuszta; Várpalota: Juli-vágás; Veszprém: Ördögrágta-kő; Vilonya: Külső Hill ( Novák 2011). Bükkszentkereszt: Vivrát Hill; Bükkszentkereszt: Hollóstető; Felsőtárkány: Tar-kő; Nagyvisnyó: Ablakos-kő; Szilvásvárad: Szalajka Valley; Varbó: Örvény-kő ( Novák 2012). Bátorliget: Fényi Forest; Hanság: along the road to Nyíres; Ipolytarnóc: Kilencfenyýő Forest; Mosonszolnok: Bordacs-Császár-réti canal; Paks ( Novák 2013a). Bakonybél; Balatonkenese: Soós Hill; Eplény: Malom Valley; Farkasgyepű; Hárskút: Rák-tanya; Hegymagas; Réde; Vászoly; Zirc: Arboretum; Zirc: Bocskor Hill; Zirc: Pintér Hill (Novák 2015). Budaörs; Budapest: Csillaghegy, Sas Hill, Tétényi Upland ( Novák 2016). Szalonna: Köszvényeskút; Szögliget: Ménes Valley; Sátoraljaújhely: Boda-dűlő; Sátoraljaújhely: Esztáva; Sátoraljaújhely: Májuskút-fenyves (Novák 2018).

New data: Balf: 1985, leg. IL (HNHM Pseud-1586: 1♀; HNHM Pseud-1593: 1♂, 1♀; HNHM Pseud-1605: 1♀; HNHM Pseud-1613: 1♂; HNHM Pseud-1616: 2 adults); 1986, leg. IL (HNHM Pseud-1591: 1♂; HNHM Pseud-1615: 1♂); Cserkút: scrogs, 18.05.2013, leg. JN (HNHM Pseud-1367: 1 adult) ; Dég: 14.06.2011, leg. EB, FS (HNHM Pseud-1580: 1♀) ; grassy edge of motorway, 24.09.2012, leg. KF (HNHM Pseud-1583: 1♀) ; Feketeerdő: hardwood grove, 31.05.1989, leg. OM (HNHM Pseud-1567: 1 adult) ; Fertőboz: 1983, leg. IL (HNHM Pseud-1589: 2♂, 3♀) ; Fertőrákos: 1986, leg. IL (HNHM Pseud-1594: 1♂, 1♀; HNHM Pseud-1609: 3♂, 1♀; HNHM Pseud-1610: 4♂, 3♀; HNHM Pseud-1611: 1♂); Hangony: Sós-árnyék, 08.06.2005, leg. GH (KFM Pseud-006: 1♀) ; Hanság: near the road to Nyíresbe, 18.04.1996, leg. EH (HNHM Pseud-1276: 1 adult) ; Hárskút: Rák-tanya, 01.07.2007, leg. CK (NHMB Pseud-0039: 1♂, 2♀) ;); Ócsa: Nagyerdő, alder forest, sifted, 28.10.1952, leg. ZKa (HNHM Pseud-1564: 1 adult); Mezőszilas: 2011, leg. KF (HNHM Pseud-1579: 1♀) ; Pilisborosjenő: Castle of

Eger (movie setting), under plank, 04.04.1985, OM (HNHM Pseud-1368: 1♂) ; Tenkes-hegy: Cotino-Quercetum pubescentis, 27.10.1955, leg. IL (HNHM Pseud-1629: 1♀) ; Tubes : 30.09.1960, leg. IL (HNHM Pseud-1633: 1♂) ;

Vonyarcvashegy: Pető Hill, 26.08.1959, leg. IL (HNHM Pseud-1634: 1♂); Zánka: wineyard, 24.05.2012, leg. CK (NHMB Pseud-0041: 5 adults) .

Habitat preference: According to Beier (1963a), N. sylvaticum mostly prefers the leaf litter of forests, but is occasionally found under stacks of dry sticks, and near bushes in. In Slovakia, Krajčovičová et al. (2012) collected it by sifting organic material, and sifting rotten haygarden waste and compost. Jászayová & Jászay (2022) reported it from the following habitats: beech and fir flowery forest and birch, floodplain alder forest with beech and grey alder, furthermore, it was also reported from oak-hornbeam forests ( Christophoryová 2013); it was also found in compost heaps ( Christophoryová et al. 2017a), and from mammal nests ( Christophoryová et al. 2017b), and under tree bark ( Christophoryová et al. 2017c). Kárpáthegyi (2007) reported it from oak-hornbeam forest, alder forest, from a cemetery, from a vineyard, from oak forest, from arboretum. In Hungary it was earlier reported from willow groove, from beech forest, from poplar forest, from a gorge with fern and beech, from alder forest, from hardwood grove, from alder-swamp ( Kárpáthegyi 2007; Novák 2018), and in reed debris and willow litter, loess steppe, abandoned vineyard, pine forest, dolomite lawn, oak forest, abandoned fruit tree groove ( Novák 2011), in beech forests and mixed linden and ash forests ( Novák 2012), under tree bark, from wattle forest ( Novák 2013a), from false acacia grove, from loess steppe, from arboretum (Novák 2015). I found it predominantly in forest habitats, and in one case on the grassy edge of a motorway.

Remarks: this species was first recorded for Hungary by Tömösváry (1882a), and it is widespread across the country. Neobisium inaequale was described by Chamberlin (1930) from material collected by ”Dr. Chas. Sajo of Oersentmiklos” (Oersentmiklos may refer to the village Őrbottyán near Budapest), and Chamberlin gave the type locality in his monography as ” Hungary Orientalis”. As the exact date of the collection was not reported, we do not know whether the specimen originates from present-day Hungary or from Transylvania (now in Romania, but prior to 1920 was part of the Hungarian Kingdom). No further data of the species have been reported since its description. Unfortunately, no drawings were presented in the description of the species. In Chamberlin’s description, the main diagnostic character of the species was the unequal length of the chelal fingers, with ”the movable finger being distinctly the longer”. Furthermore, Chamberlin (1930) states that N. inaequale is most similar to N. elimatum (C. L. Koch, 1839) based on the unequal chelal fingers. However, the lack of drawings and the fact that N. elimatum was later synonymysed with N. sylvaticum by Beier (1932a) raises doubt about its identity. Also, there are no other Neobisium species reported with such characteristics. In order to clarify the taxonomical validity of the species, I have requested detailed photographs on the holotype male and the allotype female species from the California Academy of Sciences. Based on these images I have found that the movable chelal fingers are just slightly longer or not longer than the fixed ones. Furthermore, in other diagnostic characters, such as the morphology and morphometrics of the pedipalpal segment and the carapace, the presence of an epistome, the morphology and setation of the chelicerae, and in the arrangement of the chelal trichobothria, they were identical with Neobisium sylvaticum . According to this observation, N. inaequale is hereby regarded as a junior synonymy of Neobisium sylvaticum .