Dioxys cypriacus Popov 1944
Creators: name: Wood, T. J.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Megachilidae
Dioxys
Dioxys cypriacus

description: 5.Dioxys cypriacusPopov, 1944, sp. resurr.
Dioxys cypriaca Popov, 1944: 121, ♀ ♂ [Cyprus, ZISP, not examined].
Material examined.
Cyprus • 3 ♂, 3 ♀; Limassol; 1–30 Apr. 1924; G. A. Mavromoustakis leg.; RMNH; RMNH.INS.1660491 – RMNH.INS.1660496 • 1 ♀; Limassol; 29 May 1951; G. A. Mavromoustakis leg.; RMNH; RMNH.INS.1660497 • 1 ♂, 2 ♀; Limassol; 26 May 1956; G. A. Mavromoustakis leg.; RMNH; RMNH.INS.1660496 – RMNH.INS.1660498 • 3 ♂, 2 ♀; Limassol; 21 Apr. 1957; G. A. Mavromoustakis leg.; T. J. Wood det.; RMNH; RMNH.INS.1660499 – RMNH.INS.1660503.
Remarks.
Popov (1944) described D. cypriacus from Limassol (May 1935 and June 1936) based on specimens sent to him by George Mavromoustakis. Although I have not examined the type, specimens in the RMNH collection also come from Limassol and were labelled as “ D. cypriaca ” by Mavromoustakis, and so they are considered to be representative of the species. Popov compared D. cypriacus to D. rufipes based on the genital capsule, and due to the shape of the apexes of the penis valves which are produced into apical points in both species, but the outer margins of the penis valves are more parallel-sided in D. rufipes, and have the outer margin more strongly bulging in D. cypriacus. Moreover, D. cypriacus males have the scutal hairs short (typically as long as the length of a lateral ocellus), whereas in D. rufipes males the scutal hairs are long, clearly much longer than the diameter of a lateral ocellus.
Warncke (1977: 275) synonymised D. cypriacus with D. pumilus. However, he does not seem to have properly examined the male genital capsule of the taxa he placed either in synonymy or in combination with his broad species concept of D. pumilus. Across what can be called the pumilus - group, there is variation in the male genital capsule. Warncke (1977: 276, fig. 25) illustrates the genital capsule of D. “ pumilus ”, but this genital capsule does not match those displayed by topotypical specimens from the island of Rhodes (Fig. 3 A). Four genital forms can be seen amongst members of this group. The most pertinent is that of the oldest name, D. pumilus; four males from Rhodos were dissected, along with another from the nearby island of Kos (see Section 10 for examined material). This capsule has the penis valves apically produced into triangular-like points, with a clear angle laterally on the outer margins (Fig. 3 A). The genital capsule illustrated by Warncke is that of the form found in the western Mediterranean (D. varipes De Stefani) which has the penis valves apically broadened but without their apexes produced into triangular shapes (Fig. 3 C). This matches the illustration of D. maroccanus Popov, 1936 (Popov 1936: 17, fig. 5) which is here placed in combination with D. varipes (see Section 13 for an explanation).
For D. cypriacus, the genital capsule also differs meaningfully from D. pumilus. Like D. varipes, the penis valves are apically broadened but without their apexes produced into triangular shapes; the lateral margin is simply bulging (Fig. 3 E). Moreover, the apical margin of S 4 in the male sex is emarginate in both D. pumilus and D. cypriacus. However, whilst in D. pumilus there is a clear tooth placed medially in the emargination, in D. cypriacus there is a very short and obscure tooth found in the emargination. The combination of differences in the genital capsule and sternal morphology allows D. cypriacus to be considered again as a distinct species.
Distribution.
Cyprus (Popov 1944).
description: Published as part of Wood, T. J., 2025, Resolving issues in the genus Dioxys (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae, Dioxyini) in the West Palaearctic with a new identification key, pp. 261-302 in ZooKeys 1226 on pages 261-302, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1226.138377