Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.2009, Page 112

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ACONUM FULICINOSUM (PANZER, 1809). A NEW RECORD FORM THE FAROE ISLANDS
(Panzer, 1809), was recorded as new to the
islands (Fig 1) as described in this note.
Agonum fuliginosum
Agonum fuliginosum was discovered in the
Faroe Islands for the first time in July 2007 by
the author. Three adult individuals of this
carabid were captured at altitudes 150 and
170 m a.s.l. above the village Funningur in
north-western Eysturoy, the second largest
island in the Faroe Islands (Fig 2). The locali-
ties were small wet meadow like riverside
banks; the whole area is used for sheep graz-
ing like all the outfield in the country. The
Agonum fuliginosum is about 5.5 - 7.8 mm in
size; the colour is black and has no metallic
shine which is unusual for the genus. A cha-
racteristic character of the genus is the short
and narrow pronotum; in Agonum fuligi-
nosum the pronotum is also narrow as com-
pared with the elytra. The insect has long
and slender legs which also is characteristic
ofAgonum.
Agonum has a worldwide distribution
and the members are usually hygrophilous
and occur close to water. They are predomi-
nantly carnivorous, feeding on small arthro-
pods like collembola, mites etc.Agonumfuii-
ginosum belongs to the subgenus Europhilus
containing 10 species (Lindroth, 1986; Tagli-
anti, 2007). A. fuliginosum is distributed all
over Fennoscandia, south to central France,
northern Italy and Bosnia. To the east they
are found in western Siberia (Lindroth, 1986).
Agonum fuliginosum reproduces in the
spring and is described as preferring moist -
often shaded - habitats, and it prefers eutro-
phic rather than oligotrophic habitats (Lin-
droth, 1986). Because of its wide distribution,
Agonum fuliginosum is not dependent on
Fig. 1. Agonum fuliginosum (5,5-7,8 mm).
human activity, but because of its preference
of eutrophic rather than oligotrophic condi-
tions, man's influence might enhance their
distribution.
How did Agonum fuliginosum come to
the Faroe Islands
The reason that this species has not been
recorded before, might be that the previous
studies did not cover enough areas. Agonum
fuliginosum is known from Shetland, which