Cylindera (Cylindera) germanica muelleri (Magistretti, 1966)

Boetzl, Fabian A. & Franzen, Michael, 2020, Taxonomy and distribution of Cylindera germanica (Linnaeus, 1758) in the Middle East with the description of two new subspecies (Coleoptera, Carabidae Cicindelinae), Zootaxa 4809 (1), pp. 95-110 : 98-100

Cylindera (Cylindera) germanica muelleri (Magistretti, 1966)

Material examined: TURKEY: Edirne: 26♂, 24♀, Edirne , 13.06.1976, leg. K. Witzgall [ ZSM] ; 1♂, Edirne , 13.06.1976, leg. K. Witzgall [ CMF] ; 1♀, Edirne , 10.06.1991, leg. D. Bernhauer [ CMF] , 1♀, Edirne , 14.06.1971, leg. K. Bernhauer [ CWH / SMNS] .

Morphology: C. germanica muelleri is characterised by its predominantly azure blue colour ( Figure 6 ). While blue or blueish individuals occasionally occur in most populations of C. g. germanica , these are dominant in all populations of C. germanica muelleri if not the only morph present. In the large series from Edirne only a few specimens show a completely typical azure blue colour while most individuals appear to be dull blue-green to green. We assume that this is due to intergradation between C. germanica muelleri and C. germanica germanica in this region, including areas east of the Bosporus (see also account of C. g. germancia). As C. germanica muelleri merely represents a colour morph with a separated distribution across the eastern Mediterranean, we see the necessity of a re-evaluation of the validity of this subspecies.

Distribution: Cylindera germanica muelleri is a trans-Ionian subspecies occurring in southern Italy and on the Balkan peninsula. The taxon was previously not recorded from Turkey but is known from the bordering regions of easternmost Greece (Nestos delta, database Jörg Gebert). Therefore, its occurrence in the European part of Turkey could have been expected.

Figures

FIGURES 2-7: Cylindera germanica ssp. from Turkey (males). C. germanica germanica from Erzurum (2), Çankırı (3), Izmir (4), Istanbul (5); C. germanica muelleri from Edirne (6); C. germanica lyciae from Antalya (7; paratype).