Alocerus marcoi Sama, 1987

Subfamilia: SPONDYLIDINAE  /  Tribus: ANISARTHRINI

Alocerus marcoi
[Photo © David Navrátil, click on the picture for 4K resolution]

Alocerus marcoi, a rare species endemic to High Atlas Mts. (Morocco), has been described from Tizi n' Test pass environs as Alocerus moesiacus marcoi by Gianfranco Sama in 1987 [✱]. Larval development primarily in living or by other longhorn beetles (Trichoferus ilicis, Purpuricenus barbarus, Calchaenesthes sexmaculata) infested and weakened stems/twigs of young Quercus ilex rotundifolia. However, the development may be almost identical to that of the common Alocerus moesiacus (i.e. decaying parts of living big oaks) [✮]. Adults, active from May to July, are nocturnal and can be attracted by light.

Body length:8 - 15 mm
Life cycle:2 and more years
Adults in:May - July
Host plant:monophagous on Quercus ilex rotundifolia
Distribution:a species endemic to High Atlas Mts. (Morocco)


The depicted beetle were collected in Tanzzat hamlet environs (N30°54′49″; W08°18′58″;; 1870 m a.s.l., 10 km N Tizi n' Test pass, High Atlas Mts., Al Haouz province, Marrakesh-Safi region, Morocco) on June 13, 2014.

Collected by friend Zdeněk Košťál


[✱]
Sama G.:
Note préliminaire pour une faune des longicornes de l'Afrique du Nord.
Biocosme Mésogéen, Nice 11 (1): 43-64, 1987. [download pdf icon]

[✮]
Sama G.:
Atlas of the Cerambycidae of Europe and the Mediterranean Area. Volume 2: Northern Africa from Morocco to Egypt and Atlantic Isles.
Natura Edizioni Scientifiche di Alfonso Iorio, Bologna, Italy, 435 pp., 2023.
ISBN: 978-88-89327-16-6

Trócoli S.:
Actualización del catálogo de Longicornios de Marruecos Actualisation du catalogue des Longicornes du Maroc (Parte I / Partie I : Prioninae, Aseminae, Saphaninae).
Revue de l'Association Roussillonnaise d'Entomologie 27 (3): 130-140, 2018. [download pdf icon]


Alocerus marcoi - male genitalia

Male genitalia of Alocerus marcoi Sama, 1987 in detail: A. aedeagus, B. lateral lobes, C. subgenital plate.
[Photo © David Navrátil]


 
SubfamiliaSpondylidinae Audinet-Serville, 1832
TribusAnisarthrini Mamaev et Danilevsky, 1973
GenusAlocerus Mulsant, 1862
SpeciesAlocerus marcoi Sama, 1987