S. Mahunka szerk.: Folia Entomologica Hungarica 54. (Budapest, 1993)

FOLIA ENTOMOLOGICA HUNGARICA ROVARTANI KÖZLEMÉNYEK LIV 1993 p. 147-150 Taxonomic status of Raphidia mediterranea H. Aspöck, U. Aspöck et Rausch, 1977 (Raphidioptera: Raphidiidae) By Gy. Sziráki (Received December 15, 1992) Taxonomic status of Raphidia mediterranea H. Aspöck, U. Aspöck et Rausch, 1977 (Raphidioptera: Raphidiidae). - Examination of seven male snakefly specimens, determined before as "Raphidia ophiopsis L." and collected in different parts of Hungary, showed that all of them belong to the phenon described by Aspöck et al. as Raphidia ophiopsis mediterranea. As R. ophiopsis ophiopsis L. is well known also from many localities of the Carpathian Basin and from the northern part of the Balkan Peninsula (besides its Northern and Western European and Northern Asian area), this subspecies and "/?. o. mediterranea" are not isolated geographically. Consequently, the lack of the geographical isolation supports the opinion of B. Kis, who elevated R. mediterranea to species level on the basis of mophological characteristics. Some distinctive features of the male and female internal genitalia are also discussed. The subspecies Raphidia ophiopsis mediterranea H. Aspöck, U. Aspöck et Rausch was described from Greece and Italy (Aspöck et al. 1977). Later Kis (1984) reported it from many localities of the south-eastern part of Roumania, and elavated this phenon to the rank of species on the basis of the characeristic morphological features of the male genitalia. In the recent monograph on Raphidioptera (Aspöck et al. 1991) R. mediterranea was discussed as a subspecies with the remark that the four subspecis of R. ophiopsis L. (R. o. ophiopsis, R. o. alcoholica, R. o. iranica and R. o. méditer

ranned) may probably or possibly represent four distinct species. In connection of a survey of the Szigetköz landscape protection area I have examined a male of "Raphidia ophiopsis L." labelled as "Mosonmagyaróvár, from a stable, 18. 6. 1963., leg. Benedek,,. Surprisingly it proved to be as specimen of „Raphidia ophiopsis mediterranea" (Fig. 1). Hereupon I studied the genitalia of other six "Rhaphidia ophiopsis" males from the Hungarian Natural History Museum, which were collected in different parts of Hungary (Map 1). These examined specimens proved to be "/?. o. mediterranea" as well (Fig. 2). The discovered occurrence of "/?. o. mediterranea" within the Carpathian Basin shows that this phenon and R. o. ophiopsis are not separated geographically, as the latter is well known also from many localiaties of the same territory and from the northern part of Balkan Peninsula (besides its large Northern and Western European and Northern Asian area). The lack of the geographical isolation of R. o. ophiopsis and "/?. o. mediterranea" supports the above-mentioned opinion of B. Kis. Therefore, these two phena should not be regarded as two subspecies of the same species. On the other hand, the R. mediterranea and the geographically separated "Rhapidia ophiopsis iranica H. Aspöck et U. Aspöck, 1970" genitalically are extremely close to each other, as it is shown by the figures of Aspöck et al. (1977, 1991). Consequently, nor the latter phenon is conspecific with R. o. ophiopsis, but - regarding the yellow colour of the pterostigma, which is different from that of R. mediterranea - it may be cosidered as a distinct