First record of a specialized hygropetricolous cave beetle, genus Croatodirus (Coleoptera: Leiodidae), in Slovenia

Abstract

The cave hygropetric, an inaccessible subterranean habitat defined by films of water flowing down the cave walls, is renowned for its specialized filter feeding cave beetles. To date, no data on cave hygropetricolous beetles have been known for Slovenia, despite the existence of suitable karst areas. This paper reports on the first finding of a hygropetricolous cave beetle in Slovenia. A single female of a species belonging to the genus Croatodirus was discovered in the cave »Brezno treh src« on the Snežnik Plateau. The geomorphology and climate of the sampling site as well as the biology of hygropetricolous cave beetles are briefly described.Težko dostopne podzemeljske habitate, katerih značilnost je čez stene v obliki filma mezeča voda, imenujemo jamski higropetrik. Ta je znan po jamskih hroščih, ki se prehranjujejo s filtriranjem vode. Doslej o pojavljanju specializiranih higropetričnih hroščev, kljub obstoju primernih območij, v Sloveniji ni bilo podatkov. V prispevku je podan opis prve najdbe higropetričnega hrošča iz rodu Croatodirus za Slovenijo, iz »Brezna treh src« na Snežniku. Opisani so tudi geomorfologija, klimatske lastnosti najdišča ter kratek pregled biologije higropetričnih hroščev.