The bostrichidae of the maltese islands (coleoptera)

The Bostrichidae of the Maltese Islands are reviewed. Ten species are recorded with certainty from this Archipelago, of which 6 namely, Trogoxylonimpressum (Comolli, 1837), Amphicerusbimaculatus (A.G. Olivier, 1790), Heterobostrychusaequalis (Waterhouse, 1884), Sinoxylonunidentatum (Fabricius, 1801), Xyloperthellapicea (A.G. Olivier, 1790) and Apatemonachus Fabricius, 1775 are recorded for the first time. Two of the mentioned species (Heterobostrychusaequalis and Sinoxylonunidentatum) are alien and recorded only on the basis of single captures and the possible establishment of these species is discussed. Earlier records of Scobiciapustulata (Fabricius, 1801) from Malta are incorrect and should be attributed to Scobiciachevrieri (A. Villa & J.B. Villa, 1835). A zoogeographical analysis and an updated checklist of the 12 species of Bostrichidae recorded from the Maltese Islands and neigbouring Sicilian islands (Pantelleria, Linosa and Lampedusa) are also provided. Rhizoperthadominica(Fabricius, 1792)formgranulipennis Lesne in Beeson & Bhatia, 1937 from Uttarakhand (northern India) was overlooked by almost all subsequent authors. Its history is summarized and the following new synonymy is established: Rhizoperthadominica(Fabricius, 1792)formgranulipennis Lesne in Beeson & Bhatia, 1937 = Rhyzoperthadominica (Fabricius, 1792), syn. n. Finally, records of Amphicerusbimaculatus from Azerbaijan, of Bostrichuscapucinus (Linnaeus, 1758) from Jordan and Syria, of Scobiciachevrieri from Jordan and Italy, of Xyloperthellapicea from Italy, and of Apatemonachus from Corsica (France) and Italy, are also provided.