The first survey of the beetles (Coleoptera) of the Farasan Archipelago of the southern Red Sea, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Abstract The Farasan Archipelago is a group of small coral islands and islets in the southern Red Sea, offshore of the southwestern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). These islands are internationally important as breeding sites for turtles and bird species and regionally for its threatened, rare, and endemic flora and other fauna. The beetles (Coleoptera) of the Archipelago have not been previously surveyed. This study presents the first data on the beetle fauna based on a recent survey of the Farasan Archipelago. In total, 179 beetle species (including three synanthropic species) in 145 genera and 31 coleopteran families were determined. The Carabidae are represented by 31 species, followed by the Tenebrionidae (22 species), Chrysomelidae (17 species), Scarabaeidae (13 species), and Coccinellidae (12 species). The genus Lasiocera Dejean, 1831 and the species Amblystomus villiersanus Bruneau de Miré, 1991 (Carabidae) are new for the beetle fauna of the Arabian Peninsula, and eighteen species are new country records for KSA. Sand dune habitats on the islands were inhabited by the greatest number of species in comparison with other habitats. Zoogeographically, the beetle fauna of the Archipelago was dominated by the representatives of the Saharo-Arabian and Afrotropical elements (74 spp., 41.0%). Fourteen species (7.8%) were recognized as cosmopolitan and subcosmopolitan. No species was known to be exclusively endemic to Farasan Archipelago. Eighteen species (10.1%) were endemic to Arabian Peninsula and KSA. Approximately 64.8% (116 spp.) of the archipelago beetle species is found on the KSA mainland and is most closely allied to the south and southwestern KSA regions (sharing 91 spp.). Comparisons of the beetle faunas of the Farasan and Socotra archipelagos indicate that 30 families, 70 genera, and 28 species are shared.


Introduction
Geographically, the Red Sea is the world's northernmost tropical sea, located between Africa and Asia. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) occupies ca. 80% of its eastern coastline, which includes ca. 1,150 islands (SGS 2017). The KSA islands in the southern part of the Red Sea occupy an interesting geographical and ecological position, due to location between East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula and being part of the northern desert belt (Hall et al. 2010;Mallon 2011). Additionally, the flora and fauna range from localized temperate endemics that occur as disjunctive extensions of the Horn of Africa Hotspot and the Eastern Afromontane Hotspot in the southwestern regions (Myers et al. 2000;Mallon 2011).
The Farasan Archipelago is recognized as having important floral communities, with numerous nationally and regionally rare, and endemic species (Kingdon 1990;Hall et al. 2010). However, its flora is not strikingly rich as compared to the Socotran Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, where 30% of the flora is endemic (Miller and Nyberg 1991). Most of the Farasan Archipelago has been declared as protected area since 1989 by the KSA government, mainly for conserving and restoring animal wildlife, especially the Idmi gazelle (Gazella gazella farasani) endemic to the islands and KSA, a species listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List (Cunningham and Wronski 2011).
In order to conserve the diversity of life, it is important to have a fundamental knowledge of what that biodiversity encompasses. The diversity and biogeography of flora have received considerably more attention than the fauna of the Farasan Archipelago. Currently available are several floristic studies conducted in the Archipelago (El-Demerdash 1996;Alfarhan et al. 2002;Atiqur Rahman et al. 2002;Hall et al. 2010;Tomas et al. 2010;Al Mutairi et al. 2012;Al Mutairi and Al-Shami 2014). There is some information on the vertebrates (birds : Jennings 1988;mammals: Habibi 1992;Masseti 2010;Cunningham and Wronski 2011;Wronski et al. 2012; and herpetofau-na: Masseti 2014). The entomofauna knowledge of the Farasan Archipelago is relatively unknown with only published records for ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) (Sharaf and Al-Zailaie 2006), chewing lice (Phthiraptera, Menoponidae) (Alahmed et al. 2015), leucospid wasps (Hymenoptera, Leucospidae) (Gadallah et al. 2018), blow flies (Diptera, Calliphoridae) , and for cuckoo wasps (Hymenoptera, Chrysididae) (Strumia and Dawah 2019). Additional entomological studies are needed to document insect diversity, composition, and especially for needed conservation assessments for these islands. Currently, no information is available on beetles of any KSA island in the Red Sea, contrary to nearby mainland of the Arabian Peninsula. Therefore, the objective of this study was to survey the beetles of the larger islands, Farasan Al-Kabir and Sajid, of the Farasan Archipelago and outline the zoogeographical features of this beetle fauna.

Study area
The entire Farasan Archipelago (Fig. 1) consists of more than 120 coral reef islands of varying size (> 0.2-381 km 2 ). The Archipelago reaches a width of ca. 120 km in southeast to north-west direction. The collective landmass of its islands covers ca. 710 km 2 scattered across 5,408 km 2 of sea (Cooper and Zazzaro 2014). Of the Archipelago's islands, only two of them, Farasan Al-Kabir or Greater Farasan and Sajid or Saqid, are the two largest, and have permanent human residents (Almalki et al. 2017). Both islands together form the main landmass of the Archipelago and are connected together by a 300 m road bridge. The elevation ranges from 0 to 30 m with some hills rising up to 70 m. Farasan Al-Kabir is the largest of the islands, located in 16°42'N, 42°06'E, with a length of 66 km and a width of 6-8 km. It is 381 km 2 in area and has the longest perimeter (216 km) (Fig. 1). Sajid Island to the northeast of Farasan Al-Kabir is the second largest island, with an area of approximately 150 km 2 and a perimeter of 98 km. The islands are made up of elevated plateaus of Plio-Pleistocene coral reefs, limestone, and Aeolian deposits (Cooper and Zazzaro 2014). The characteristic features of the island soils are marine flats and dunes, and coral rock outcrops (Hall et al. 2010).

Climate
There are no meteorological stations in any islands of the Farasan Archipelago, therefore climate data (temperature and rainfall) was obtained from the climate grids derived from WorldClim data set (http://www.worldclim.org). Arid and subtropical climate characterized the Archipelago, with a high annual average temperature (30.3 °C), a low rainfall and 64.2% average relative humidity. June to August is the hottest period of the year (28.7-38 °C) and December to February is the coolest (21.9-31.1 °C) (Fig. 2). The average annual precipitation of less than 50 mm, but being surrounded by the sea, the Archipelago is characterized with relatively high humidity present year around (NCWCD 2000). The most rain falls in January, August, November, and December (16-18 mm) (Fig. 2). The mean relative humidity in winter ranges from 70% to 80% and in summer between 65% and 78% (ALQthanin 2019).

Beetle collections
The beetle survey was conducted within the two largest islands, Farasan Al-Kabir and Sajid of Farasan Archipelago. Adult beetles were collected between January and December of 2017 using pitfall traps (PT), light traps (LT), and sweeping nets (SW). A voucher collection of all beetle species was deposited in the King Saud Museum of Arthropods (KSMA), College of Food and Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, KSA. Beetles that we or other experts could not reliably determine to species were listed at genus level but were included in the study if specimens were considered morphologically different from related species.

Data arrangement
The suborder, superfamily and family level classification and arrangement used here is that of Löbl andSmetana (2003-2008). The genera and species are arranged alphabetically under each family. Data on the general distribution is based mainly on Catalogue of Palaearctic Coleoptera (Löbl andSmetana 2003-2008) and Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF: http://www.gbif.org). The distribution of each species in various zoogeographical regions is also indicated as a letter code (see "Abbreviations") corresponding to main zoogeographic regions of the world proposed by Holt et al. (2013). The province distribution records of species shown with literature records are based on the published data in the series "Fauna of Saudi Arabia", being published as part of the "Fauna of Arabia" (1979 to date), and other sources on KSA beetles. General distribution. ORR_PAL_SAR species, spreading through southern Europe to Balkans and central Asia, southward from Levant, Arabian Peninsula (KSA, Yemen) and Iran to India.
Remarks. The specimens were collected by PT under the canopies of Ind. oblongifolia in limestone areas, Sen. alexandrina in sand dunes. Identification by A.A. Elgharbawy.
General distribution. AFR_ORR_PAL_SAR species, distributed from Canary Islands through Sahara Desert; east to Egypt, Levant, Arabian Peninsula (United Arab Emirates), Iran and India; northward to south Europe (Italy, Spain) and central Asia (Turkmenistan); southward to Africa (Cabo Verde, Gambia, Senegal). New country record for KSA.
Remarks. This unique specimen was collected by LT from a sand dune. Identification by M.S. Abdel-Dayem. Remarks. The listed specimens were frequently collected from sand dunes by SW on Sen. alexandrina and by LT in old palm tree field.
General distribution. AFR_MAD species, widely distributed in tropical Africa, Madagascar, and cited from Egypt and Yemen. New record for KSA.
Remarks. This unique specimen was collected by LT in a sand dune. Identification by M.S. Abdel-Dayem.
Remarks. This species was frequently collected by LT in sand dunes.
General distribution. AFR_PAL_SAR species, distributed in West and East Africa, north to the entire of the Sahara Desert from Morocco east to Levant, Arabian Peninsula (KSA, Kuwait, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Yemen (Socotra)), Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, north to Eastern and Southern Europe, Central Asia.
Remarks. The single listed specimen was collected by LT near a temporary freshwater pool in sandy area. Identification by M.S. Abdel-Dayem.   Literature records. KSA is the only representative of the Arabian Peninsula that is listed within the distribution range of this species in the Catalogue of Palaearctic Coleoptera (Háva 2007), subsequently A. obtusus was excluded from the Arabian fauna by Háva (2012).

Suborder Polyphaga
General distribution. PAL_SAR species, widely distributed through Sahara Desert, from the eastern Canary Islands, east across North Africa and Arabian Penin-sula (KSA) to Iran; north to the southwestern Palaearctic region, in eastern, northern, southern, and western Europe.
Remarks. The single listed specimen was collected by LT in a sand dune. Identification by M.S. Abdel-Dayem.
Literature records. Eastern Province and Riyadh (Abdel-Dayem et al. 2017). General distribution. AFR_SAR species, distributed in Sahel and North Africa, east to Levant and Arabian Peninsula (KSA, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Yemen (Socotra)), north to Spain.
Remarks. This species was frequently collected by SW on Ind. oblongifolia and Sen. alexandrina in limestone areas and sand dunes, respectively. Identification by M.S. Abdel-Dayem.
Remarks. The listed specimens were collected by LT in limestone and by SW on Sen. alexandrina from sand dunes. Remarks. These listed specimens were collected by LT from sand dunes.
Remarks. The listed specimens were collected by SW on Ind. oblongifolia and Sen. alexandrina in limestone areas and by LT in sand dunes. Identification by A.A. Elgharbawy. Remarks. The listed specimens were collected by LT from sand dunes.
Remarks. The specimens of this species were collected by SW in limestone areas and LT in sand dunes. Identification by H.H. Fadl.
Remarks. This species was collected by SW on Sua. monoica in salt marshes, Ind. oblongifolia in limestone areas, and Sen. alexandrina in sand dunes. Also, it was collected by LT from sand dunes and SW in coastal sandy areas. Identification by D. Baiocchi and G. Magnani.
Literature records. Asir and Riyadh (Bílý 1982). General distribution. AFR_SAR species, distributed from Morocco to Egypt across North Africa, east to Levant, Arabian Peninsula (KSA) and Iran.
Remarks. This unique listed specimen was collected from SW on branches of Sua. monoica in a salt marsh. Identification by D. Baiocchi and G. Magnani. Literature records. Asir, Eastern Province, and Riyadh (Bílý 1982).
General distribution. PAL_SAR species, distributed in south Caucasus, Anatolia, and Central Asia, south to Arabia Peninsula (KSA), Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan.
Remarks. The species was collected by SW on Lim. axillare and Sen. alexandrina, and by LT in sand dunes. Identification by D. Baiocchi and G. Magnani. Literature records. Jizan (Bílý 1982). General distribution. SAR species known only from Egypt (including Sinai), Sudan, and Arabian Peninsula (KSA).

Sphenoptera gossypicida
Remarks. This species was collected by SW branches on Ind. oblongifolia, Lim. axillare, and Sua. monoica in limestone areas, sand dunes and salt marshes, respectively. Also, this species was collected by LT in sand dunes and SW in coastal sandy areas. Identification by D. Baiocchi and G. Magnani. Literature records. Jizan and Makkah (Holzschuh 1993). General distribution. AFR_MAD species, widely distributed in tropical Africa, Madagascar, Egypt, and southern Arabian Peninsula (KSA, Oman, Yemen (Socotra)).

Superfamily Chrysomeloidea
Remarks. The listed specimens were frequently collected in sand dunes from Dic. foveolatum and Ind. oblongifolia. Identification by P. Rapuzzi.

Literature records. Asir, Jizan and Makkah
Remarks. The species was collected by LT and SW in limestone areas and sand dunes. Identification by P. Rapuzzi. Literature records. This species was described Asir and Riyadh (Lopatin 1979). General distribution. END_AR species, so far known only from KSA and Yemen.
Remarks. The listed specimens were collected by SW on Ind. oblongifolia, Sen. alexandrina, and Sua. monoica in limestone areas, sand dunes, and salt marshes, respectively, and in coastal sandy areas. Identification by A. El-Torkey and J. Bezděk.
Literature records. Jizan (Medvedev 1996). General distribution. AFR species, distributed through Sahel part of Africa, from Niger east to Sudan and the Horn of Africa (Eritrea, Somalia); Congo, south and southeast of Africa; southern Arabian Peninsula (KSA, Yemen).

Bruchidius medaniensis
Literature records. This species was described by Decelle (1982) from Sudan, and 28 years later, Delobel and Le Ru (2010) reported it from Kenya. The first record of this species from the Arabian Peninsula was reported by Delobel (2011) from United Arab Emirates. In the Catalogue of Palaearctic Coleoptera, KSA and Yemen is listed among the distribution range of the species (Anton 2010). No previously published specific KSA locality records for this species are known to us.
General distribution. AFR species, distributed in eastern Africa (Kenya, Sudan) and southern Arabian Peninsula (United Arab Emirates).
Remarks. The specimens were collected by SW on Ind. oblongifolia in limestone areas and sand dunes, Dic. foveolatum in sand dunes, and Sen. alexandrina in limestone areas. Identification by A. El-Torkey.
Remarks. The listed specimens were collected by SW on Ind. oblongifolia in limestone areas and Sen. alexandrina in sand dunes.
Remarks. The specimens of this species were collected by SW on Sen. alexandrina in sand dunes and by LT in limestone areas.  (Decelle 1979). General distribution. SAR species, distributed in Egypt, Levant, Arabian Peninsula (KSA, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Yemen), Iran, and Pakistan.

Callosobruchus
Remarks. The listed specimens were collected on Ind. oblongifolia and Sen. alexandrina in limestone areas and sand dunes, respectively. Also, the species was collected by LT in sand dunes. Identification by A. El-Torkey. Literature records. Although most of the Arabian Peninsula countries are listed within the distribution range of this species (Anton 2010), none of the countries, except the United Arab Emirates are included in the distribution of the species as documented by Delobel (2011). We know of no previous published specific KSA records for this species.
General distribution. AUS_ORR_SAR species, distributed from Egypt, Levant, Arabian Peninsula (KSA, Kuwait, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Yemen (Socotra)) and Iran east to Pakistan, India and southeast Asia, and south to Australia. Widely distributed in the tropics of the Old World Remarks. The specimens of this species were collected by LT in sand dunes. Identification by A. El-Torkey. Remarks. The listed specimens were collected by SW on Idn. oblongifolia and Sen. alexandrina in limestone areas and sand dunes, respectively.
General distribution. AFR_ORR_PAL_SAR species, distributed in whole North Africa and Sahel; eastward through Levant, Arabian Peninsula (KSA, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Yemen (Socotra)) and Iran to Pakistan, India, and Nepal; northward to southern Europe and central Asia.
Remarks. The single listed specimen of this species was collected by SW on Sen. alexandrina in a sand dune. Identification by A. El-Torkey and J. Bezděk.
Remarks. The listed unique specimen was collected by SW on Ind. oblongifolia in a limestone area. Identification by A. El-Torkey and J. Bezděk.
Remarks. The specimens were collected by SW on Ind. oblongifolia and Sen. alexandrina in limestone areas and sand dunes, respectively.
Remarks. The listed specimens were collected by SW on Ind. oblongifolia in limestone area.
Remarks. The listed single specimen was collected by SW on Ind. oblongifolia in a limestone area. Identification by A. El-Torkey and J. Bezděk. Literature records. This species was reported as P. signata sennariensis from Jizan, Makkah, and Riyadh (Medvedev 1993). Paraclytra signata sennariensis was elevated to specific rank by Bezděk and Kantner (2010).
General distribution. AFR_SAR species, distributed through Sahel and the Horn of Africa, east to western Arabian Peninsula (KSA, Yemen), and north to Egypt and Syria.
Remarks. This species was collected by SW on Lim. axillare and Sen. alexandrina in sand dunes, and on Ind. oblongifolia and Sua. monoica in limestone areas and salt marshes, respectively. Also, it was collected by LT and SW in sand dunes and coastal sandy areas, respectively. Identification by A. El-Torkey and J. Bezděk.
Remarks. The specimens of this species were collected in limestone areas, salt marshes and sand dunes by SW on Ind. oblongifolia, Sua. monoica, and Sen. alexandrina, respectively. Identification by A. El-Torkey and J. Bezděk.   Literature records. Previous specific locality information for KSA records was not available to us.
Remarks. The listed specimens were collected by SW on Ind. oblongifolia, Sua. monoica, and Sen. alexandrina in limestone areas, salt marshes, and sand dunes, respectively. Also, the species was collected by LT in a sand dune. Identification by H.H. Fadl.
General distribution. AFR_ORR_SAR species, distributed through North Africa, east to Levant, Arabian Peninsula (KSA, United Arab Emirates, Yemen), Iran, Pakistan, and India, also recorded from Eretria.
Remarks. The listed specimens were collected by SW on Sen. alexandrina from sand dunes. Identification by A.N. Al Ansi. Literature records. Riyadh (Fürsch 1979). General distribution. AFR_SAR species, distributed in tropical Africa (South Africa), Sahel, and North Africa (Egypt, Libya), east from Levant, Arabian Peninsula (KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Yemen), and Iran to Pakistan.

Henosepilachna elaterii orientalis
Remarks. This species was collected by SW on Ind. oblongifolia, Sen. alexandrina, and Sua. monoica in limestone areas, sand dunes, and salt marshes. Also, it was collected in coastal sandy areas by SW. Identification by A.N. Al Ansi. General distribution. AFR_SAR species distributed in West Africa (Gambia, Senegal) and North Africa (Libya), east in Arabian Peninsula (KSA, United Arab Emirates, Yemen) and Iran.

Hyperaspis vinciguerrae
Remarks. The listed specimens were collected by SW on Ind. oblongifolia in limestone areas and sand dunes, and on Aer. javanica and Sen. alexandrina from sand dunes. Identification by A.N. Al Ansi.
General distribution. ORR_SAR species, distributed throughout North Africa, east from Levant, Arabian Peninsula (KSA, United Arab Emirates) and Iran to India, north to southern Europe (Italy, Malta, Portugal, Spain).
Remarks. This species was collected by SW on Com. gileadensis and Sal. persica in coastal sandy areas, Ind. oblongifolia in limestone areas, and Aer. javanica, Abu. pannosum, and Sen. alexandrina from sand dunes. Identification by A.N. Al Ansi.

Literature records. Asir and Riyadh
Remarks. The unique listed specimen was collected by SW on Ind. oblongifolia in a limestone area. Identification by A.N. Al Ansi.
Literature records. Asir and Riyadh (Abdel-Dayem et al. 2017). General distribution. SCO species, widely distributed in the South, Southwest and East Asia, East and North Africa, southern Europe, and Australia.
Remarks. The specimens of this species were collected by SW on Ind. oblongifolia in limestone areas. Identification by A.N. Al Ansi. General distribution. AFR_PAL_SAR species, widely distributed through Western to Eastern Europe and Central Asia, southward to Southern Europe, North Africa, Levant, Arabian Peninsula (KSA, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Yemen), and Iran to Pakistan.

Scymnus scapuliferus
Remarks. The specimens were collected by SW on Sen. alexandrina from sand dunes. Identification by A.N. Al Ansi.
Remarks. The species was collected by SW on Ind. oblongifolia and Sen. alexandrina in limestone areas and from sand dunes, respectively. Identification by E. Colonnelli.
General distribution. END_AR species, recently was described from United Arab Emirates (Magnano et al. 2009). New country record for KSA.
Remarks. This species was collected by SW on Sal. persica in coastal sandy areas, Ind. oblongifolia in limestone areas, Sua. monoica in salt marshes, and Aer. javanica, Ind. oblongifolia, Lim. axillare, and Sen. alexandrina in sand dunes. Identification by E. Colonnelli.
Literature records. Previous specific locality information for KSA records was not available to us.
General distribution. AFR_SAR species, distributed through Sahel, north to Egypt, east to Arabian Peninsula (KSA, United Arab Emirates).
Remarks. The specimens were collected by LT in sand dunes. Identification by E. Colonnelli.
General distribution. AFR species, distributed in the Horn of Africa, east to Arabian Peninsula (Yemen). New country record for KSA.
Remarks. This species was collected by SW on Sal. persica in coastal sandy areas, Ind. oblongifolia in limestone areas, Sua. monoica in salt marshes, and Lim. axillare and Sen. alexandrina in sand dunes. Identification by E. Colonnelli.
Remarks. The unique listed specimen was collected by SW on Ind. oblongifolia in a limestone area.
Literature records. Riyadh (Caldara and Fogato 2013). General distribution. SAR species, distributed in Western Sahara from Morocco to Libya, east to Arabian Peninsula (KSA, United Arab Emirates).
Remarks. The species was collected by SW on Ind. oblongifolia and Sen. alexandrina in limestone areas and from sand dunes, respectively. Identification by E. Colonnelli.
Remarks. The listed specimens were collected by SW on Sal. persica in coastal sandy areas, Ind. oblongifolia in limestone areas, Sua. monoica in salt marshes; and Lim. axillare and Sen. alexandrina in sand dunes.
Remarks. This record is the second locality documented for KSA. The single listed specimen was collected by SW in a limestone area. Identification by E. Colonnelli.
Remarks. The species was collected by SW on Lim. axillare and Sen. alexandrina in sand dunes. Identification by E. Colonnelli.
General distribution. PAL_SAR species, widely distributed in the Sahara Desert through North Africa east to Levant, Arabian Peninsula (KSA, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Yemen), Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan; north to Greece, Ukraine, Central Asia.
Remarks. This species was collected by PT and SW in coastal sandy areas, limestone areas, salt marshes, and sand dunes. Identification by H.M. Aldhafer.
General distribution. END_AR species, until now cited from Oman. New country record for KSA.
Remarks. The listed specimens were collected by SW on Ind. oblongifolia in limestone areas and by LT in sand dunes. Identification by H.M. Aldhafer.
General distribution. END_AR species, until now reported from Yemen. New country record for KSA.
Remarks. The listed unique specimen was collected by LT in a sand dune. Identification by H.M. Aldhafer. General distribution. AFR_SAR species, distributed in the Horn of Africa, north to North Africa, east to Arabian Peninsula (KSA, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Yemen), Syria, Iran.

Dicronychus bicoloratus
General distribution. SAR species, distributed through entire the North Africa, east to Arabian Peninsula (KSA, Yemen).

Lanelater wittmeri
Literature records. This species was previously known only from its type locality in Asir Province (Chassain 1983).
General distribution. END_SA species, known only from KSA. Remarks. This is the first report of this species since it was first described in Asir (Chassain 1983). The listed specimens were collected by LT in sand dunes. Identification by H.M. Aldhafer.
Remarks. The specimens of this species were collected by LT in sand dunes. Identification by H.M. Aldhafer. Remarks. Selasia arabica is only known, in KSA, from a single specimen (without head and prothorax) collected in 1982 from Fifa (Jizan Province) (Trllova and Kundrata 2015). This second specimen was collected by LT in a sand dune. Identification by H.M. Aldhafer. General distribution. SCO species (Penati and Vienna 2006), widely distributed through the entire Sahar Desert to southeast Asia, south to Africa and Australia, north to southern Europe and Central Asia, also reported from South America.

Superfamily Histeroidea
Remarks. This species was collected by PT under the canopy of Zyg. coccineum in salt marshes. Identification by M.S. Abdel-Dayem.
Literature records. Dahlgren (1974) mentioned KSA among the distribution of this species without providing an exact locality. General distribution. COS species, cosmopolitan. Remarks. This species was frequently collected by LT in sand dunes. Identification by D. Král.
Remarks. The listed specimens were collected by SW on Ind. oblongifolia and by LT in limestone areas and sand dunes. Identification by D. Král.

126.
General distribution. AFR species, distributed in the Horn of Africa (Ethiopia, Somalia) and the southwestern Arabian Peninsula (Yemen). New country record for KSA.
Remarks. This species was collected by SW vegetation in sand dunes. Identification by D. Král. Remarks. The listed specimens were collected by LT in sand dunes. Identification by S. Ziani.
Remarks. This species was frequently found in sand dunes and collected by LT. Identification by S. Ziani.
General distribution. SAR species, distributed through the Sahara Desert, in Levant, Arabian Peninsula (KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Yemen), Iran, but extended its range to Southern Europe (Greece) and Africa (Eretria).
Remarks. The above-listed specimens were collected by LT in sand dunes. Identification by D. Král. General distribution. AFR species, distributed in Sub-Saharan Africa, from Senegal eastward to East Africa and Arabian Peninsula (KSA, Yemen (Socotra)); also cited from Egypt.
Literature records. The species is known only from its type locality in the southwestern high mountains of Asir (Kamis Mushayt) and Hijaz (Makkah, Taif ) (Maly and Montreuil 2011).
General distribution. END_SA species, only known from KSA. Remarks. The specimens were collected from much lower altitude and are considered the second record of S. krutai from southwestern KSA. The species was collected by PT under the canopy of Ind. oblongifolia in limestone areas. Identification by D. Král.
Literature records. This species has been documented from Asir, Jizan, and Makkah provinces of KSA (Scholtz 1980), but was not listed from KSA in the Catalogue of Palaearctic Coleoptera (Pittino 2006).
Remarks. This species was collected by PT under the canopies of Ind. oblongifolia and Ble. edulis in limestone areas and salt marches, respectively. Identification by H.H. Fadl.
General distribution. SAR species, cited from Egypt, Levant, and Arabian Peninsula (United Arab Emirates, Yemen). New country record for KSA.
Remarks. The listed specimens were collected by PT under the canopy of Ind. oblongifolia in limestone areas and by LT in sand dune. Identification by H.H. Fadl.
Remarks. The single listed specimen was collected by LT in a sand dune.
Remarks. The unique species was collected by LT in a sand dune.
Remarks. This unidentified species was collected by LT in sand dunes.
Remarks. The single specimen, separable from the previous species, was collected by LT in a sand dune.
General distribution. PAL_SAR species, distributed in southern Europe; through Sahara from Libya east to Egypt and Levant, Arabia Peninsula (KSA, Yemen).
Remarks. The specimens of this species were collected by SW on Dic. foveolatum and Ind. oblongifolia in sand dunes. Identification by A. El-Torkey.
General distribution. Perhaps AFR species that was recently described from Socotra Island (Yemen). New country record for KSA.
Remarks. The species was frequently found in sand dunes and collected LT and by SW on Dic. foveolatum and Ind. oblongifolia. Identification by A. El-Torkey.
General distribution. COS species. Remarks. The above-listed specimens were collected by LT in sand dunes. Identification by A. El-Torkey.
General distribution. SAR species, widely distributed from Morocco and Mauritania east to Egypt and Sinai. New country record for KSA.
Remarks. The species was collected by SW on Ind. oblongifolia and Sen. alexandrina in limestone areas and sand dunes, respectively. Identification by A. El-Torkey.
Literature records. Eastern Province, Riyadh, and Tabouk (Uhmann 1998). General distribution. ORR_PAL_SAR species, widely distributed throughout the Sahara Desert and North Africa east to Levant, Arabian Peninsula (KSA, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Yemen), and Iran to India; and northwards from southern Europe to central Asia.
Remarks. The unique listed specimen was collected by LT in a sand dune. Identification by A. El-Torkey. Literature records. Makkah (Kaszab 1981). General distribution. END_AR species, a southwestern Arabian Peninsula endemic (KSA, Yemen).
General distribution. COS species.

Cheirodes brevicollis
General distribution. AFR_ORR_PAL_SAR species, distributed through the entire Sahara Desert, from Morocco to Pakistan, north to southern Europe and Central Asia; cited from East Africa and China.

Cheirodes sardous
General distribution. AUS_PAL_SAR species, distributed in North Africa, east to Levant, Arabian Peninsula (KSA, United Arab Emirates) and Iran, north to southern and western Europe, and cited from Australia.
Remarks. This species was collected by LT in sand dunes. Identification by A. El-Torkey and W. Schawaller.
General distribution. AFR species, known from East Africa (Ethiopia) and Arabian Peninsula (Yemen). New country record for KSA.

Diphyrrhynchus aenescens
Remarks. The above-listed specimens were frequently collected in sand dunes by LT. Identification by W. Schawaller. Literature records. Hail, Jouf, Qaseem, and Riyadh (Kaszab 1979(Kaszab , 1982. and reaches the Indian Subcontinent; north to southern Europe and Central Asia; south to East Africa.

Gonocephalum patruele (Erichson
Remarks. The above-listed specimens were collected by SW on Ble. edulis and Sen. alexandrina in salt marshes and sand dunes, respectively. Identification by A. El-Torkey and W. Schawaller.
General distribution. COS species.
Remarks. This species was collected by SW on Sen. alexandrina and by LT in sand dunes. Identification by W. Schawaller.
The geographical location of Farasan Archipelago between the Arabian Peninsula, Africa, and southeast Asia undoubtedly affects the composition of its flora and fauna (El-Demerdash 1996;Tomas et al. 2010;Masseti 2014). Thus, it is not surprising that 41.3% of the species belong to Saharo-Arabian and Afrotropical faunal elements (Fig. 5). Oriental elements (2 spp., 1.1%) contributed a low number of species. The cosmopolitan and subcosmopolitan elements are represented by only 14 species (9.8%). Similar to the Red Sea archipelagos which show a scarcity of endemism in comparison to the Mediterranean Sea or the Indian Ocean (Miller and Nyberg 1991;Masseti 2010Masseti , 2014, the Farasan Archipelago apparently has no endemic beetle species. In contrast, the Archipelago harbors eighteen species (10.1%) endemic to the Arabian Peninsula (14 spp.) and KSA (4 spp.). This may be due to the fact that these territories were connected to the southwestern Arabian Peninsula at the end of the Pleistocene (Macfadyen 1930). A direct comparison of the beetle fauna of KSA mainland with the beetles now known from Farasan Archipelago is problematic, since there are no available comprehensive lists of the beetles of KSA. Based on the published data on beetle distributions known from specific regions of KSA, more than half the Archipelago beetle species (64.8%, 116 spp.) also occur elsewhere on the KSA mainland. The Archipelago shares 91 species (50.8%) with southern and southwestern regions of KSA, 71 species (39.7%) with the central region, 32 species (17.9%) with eastern region, and 21 species (11.7%) with northern and northwestern regions of KSA. Similar relationships between the Archipelago and the KSA mainland have been reported for other faunas (Jennings 1988;Sharaf and Al-Zailaie 2006;Masseti 2010Masseti , 2014 and flora (El-Demerdash 1996, Tomas et al. 2010). The majority of species of beetles occurring on this Archipelago disperse from the mainland of Arabian shelf to the east and in the Eritrean Shelf to the west; this supports the concept that islands that are near the mainland will potentially receive propagules from more species than will distant islands (Rosenzweig 1995;Lövei et al. 2006;Warren et al. 2015).
Faunistic data are scarce for the beetles from the Red Sea islands and this makes the comparisons with these islands difficult. Although the Socotra Islands are more distant (1,357 km) in the Indian Ocean, and much larger (3,800 km 2 ), they are the only nearest islands for comparison in which significant progress has been made in entomological studies over the last thirty years (Bezděk and Hájek 2017). The fauna of Socotra comprises 645 beetle species (Hájek and Bezděk 2019), ca. 3.5 times more species than recorded from Farasan Archipelago. The families of beetles recorded by us from Farasan Archipelago are also known from the Socotra Archipelago except for one family, the Glaresidae (Table 1). Seventy of the 145 genera (48.3%) on Farasan Archipelago are shared with the 343 genera on the Socotra Archipelago whereas only 28 of Farasan Archipelago's 179 species (15.6%) are shared with the 645 species currently known from the Socotran fauna, half (50%, 14 spp.) of which are Saharo-Arabian and Afrotropical and 28.8% (8 spp.) are cosmopolitan and subcosmopolitan species. The long-term isolation (16-30 million years ago) and more detached location (approximately 240 km east of Africa and 380 km from Arabian Peninsula) of the Socotra islands have no doubt allowed the development of a unique fauna having a high proportion (47%, 305 spp.) of endemic taxa (Hájek and Bezděk 2019). In comparison, no endemic beetle species was recognized in the Farasan Islands, which have been detached from Arabian Peninsula for only ca. five million years (Bailey et al. 2015) and then only by 40 kilometers.
In conclusion, the beetle fauna of Farasan Archipelago of the southern Red Sea, KSA, is a subset of the beetles of KSA mainland and dominated by Saharo-Arabian and Afrotropical species. Only 15.6% of its species are shared with the Socotra Archipelago.
The new records for the Arabian Peninsula and KSA enrich knowledge of the region's fauna and also indicate that further studies on the beetles of KSA are still needed.