Andrena (Micrandrena) saxonica Stockhert 1935
Creators: name: WOOD, T. J.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Andrenidae
Andrena
Andrena saxonica

description: Andrena (Micrandrena) saxonica Stöckhert, 1935
Andrena saxonica Stöckhert, 1935: 82 ♀ ♂ [Germany, ZSM, not examined]
Andrena (Micrandrena) crypta Warncke, 1975b (nec. Pterandrena crypta Viereck, 1904): 96, ♀ ♂ [Turkey, OÖLM, examined]
Andrena (Micrandrena) warnckei Gusenleitner & Schwarz, 2000: 112, nom. nov. for A. crypta Warncke, 1975 syn. nov. (Figures 39A–D)
Remarks. Warncke (1975b) described A. crypta from eastern Turkey, though the name was unavailable and was replaced by Gusenleitner & Schwarz (2000). Warncke diagnosed A. crypta against A. minutula and surprisingly did not mention A. saxonica; the two taxa are extremely similar morphologically, and the genital capsule of the holotype of A. crypta is identical to that of A. saxonica (Figure 39D). The two taxa are therefore synonymised syn. nov. Wood & Monfared (2022) reported A. saxonica from eastern Turkey, this species thus occurring within the reported range of A. warnckei, but A. saxonica is also widespread in mountainous areas throughout Turkey, including the Taurus mountains in south-western Turkey.
Furthermore, Warncke (1975b: 53) described A. sillata Warncke, 1975 from Turkey, Greece, Ukraine (Donetsk), and southern European Russia (Smolensk), and diagnosed it against A. saxonica. The locus typicus is the Taurus mountains in south-western Turkey (Figures 40A; 41A), and hence the inclusion of material from Eastern Europe in the type series is perplexing. A single female paratype from Ukraine is available in the OÖLM collection (Figures 41B; D; F; H), and in direct comparison is larger and presents terga that are more strongly shagreened than typical A. sillata (compare Figures 41G–H). No males were reported by Warncke from the Eastern European populations. Comparison of the genital capsule of typical A. sillata (Figure 40D) and A. saxonica (Figure 39D) shows clear differences in the shape of the gonocoxal teeth (narrow and pointed in A. sillata, broad and truncate in A. saxonica) and penis valves (relatively narrow in A. sillata, strongly basally broadened and triangular in A. saxonica). One newly examined male specimen from Crimea shows typical A. saxonica genitalia.
It was possible to generate sequences (Figure 37) of A. sillata (Lebanon) and A. saxonica (Spain and Greece). The sequence of A. sillata from Lebanon was separated from Spanish and Greek A. saxonica by 6.67% (range 6.28–7.15%). Andrena saxonica itself showed average intraspecific variation of 2.49% (range 0.00–4.10%), with Spanish and Greek sequences forming clades with 89 and 98 bootstrap support, respectively. The division between the Spanish and Greek sequences is considered to represent separation by distance, since A. saxonica is found across most of Central Europe, and therefore Spanish and Greek specimens represent the east and west extremes of the European population. The same can be seen to a slightly lesser extent in A. simontornyella Noskiewicz, 1939, with average intraspecific variation of 1.90 (range 0.15–3.81%) between specimens from Spain, France, and southern Greece. The overall A. saxonica clade received bootstrap support of 90, and the inclusion of additional sequences from Central Europe (not currently available) is highly likely to reduce this average intraspecific variation further. In conclusion, Whilst A. sillata and A. saxonica are clearly distinct species, material from Eastern Europe and eastern Turkey is considered to belong to A. saxonica. Andrena sillata is therefore considered to have a range restricted to Greece (Rhodes), south-western Turkey, Lebanon *, Syria *, Jordan *, and Israel.
description: Published as part of WOOD, T. J., 2024, Further revisions to the Palaearctic Andrena fauna (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae), pp. 1-150 in Zootaxa 5483 (1) on pages 60-61, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5483.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/13209307