Ciliophora, Phyllopharyngea, Discophryidae, Setodiscophrya steinii (Claparède and Lachmann, 1859): range extension and first record from Italy

Abstract

The genus Setodiscophrya Jankowski, 1981 has been previously recorded only from Germany, France, Russia, Ukraine and Japan. We provide the new record of Setodiscophrya steinii (Claparède and Lachmann, 1859) as an ectosymbiont of Ochthebius sp., in the province of Basilicata, Italy which represents the first record of the genus Setodiscophrya for Italy and the first worldwide record of S. steinii being associated to the coleopteran family Hydraenidae (Ochthebius sp.). The range distribution of S. steinii is expanded 900 km southwards.