The beetle fauna (Insecta, Coleoptera) of the Rawdhat Khorim National Park, Central Saudi Arabia

Mahmoud S. Abdel-Dayem; Hassan H. Fad; Ashraf M. El-Torkey; Ali A. Elgharbawy; Yousif N. Aldryhim; Boris C. Kondratieff; Amin N. Al Ansi; Hathal M. Aldhafer

doi:10.3897/zookeys.653.10252

Research Article

The beetle fauna (Insecta, Coleoptera) of the Rawdhat Khorim National Park, Central Saudi Arabia

Mahmoud S. Abdel-Dayem^‡, Hassan H. Fad^§, Ashraf M. El-Torkey^|, Ali A. Elgharbawy^‡¶, Yousif N. Aldryhim^‡, Boris C. Kondratieff^#, Amin N. Al Ansi^‡, Hathal M. Aldhafer^‡

‡ King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

§ Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt

| Plant Protection Research Institute, Giza, Egypt

¶ Al Azhar University, Nasr City, Egypt

# Colorado State University, Fort Collins, United States of America

† Deceased author

Corresponding author: Mahmoud S. Abdel-Dayem ( mseleem@ksu.edu.sa )

Academic editor: Christopher Majka

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Citation: Abdel-Dayem MS, Fad HH, El-Torkey AM, Elgharbawy AA, Aldryhim YN, Kondratieff BC, Al Ansi AN, Aldhafer HM (2017) The beetle fauna (Insecta, Coleoptera) of the Rawdhat Khorim National Park, Central Saudi Arabia. ZooKeys 653: 1-78. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.653.10252

ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:8ECC0674-017A-4858-8BE8-DDD05C0D7CF6

Abstract

This study was conducted as a part of a comprehensive baseline survey of insect biodiversity of Rawdhat Khorim National Park (RKNP), Central Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). During this study a total of 262 Coleoptera species belong to 182 genera in 35 families were identified, of which 247 are named at a species level. Fifteen species (6.0%) are apparently endemic to KSA. Thirty-eight species are new to the known beetle fauna of KSA, including 25 species reported from the Arabian Peninsula for the first time. The families Tenebrionidae (45 species), Scarabaeidae (34 species), and Carabidae (27 species) were the most species rich families. About 37% of the beetle abundance was represented by species of Scarabaeidae, especially Aphodius ictericus ghardimaouensis Balthasar. Karumia inaequalis Pic (Dascillidae) was also an abundant species. Approximately 43.5% of beetle species collected during this study are considered very rare taxa in RKNP. The RKNP beetle fauna shows more affinity to Sahro-Arabian (36.4%), Afrotropical-Sahro-Arabian (17.4%) and Palaearctic-Sahro-Arabian (10.5%). Twenty-three species (9.3%) are considered cosmopolitan or subcosmopolitan. The data on month of collection, method of collection, and abundance status within RKNP, together with the distribution within KSA and the general distribution (zoogeography) of each species are presented.

Keywords

Arabian fauna, distribution, endemic species, new records, zoogeography

Introduction

Beetles (Coleoptera) are considered the most taxonomically diverse insect group that comprises major components of ecosystems in terms of biomass, species richness and ecological roles (Stack 2015). About 400,000 species have been described (Hammond 1992), comprising about 25% of the Earth’s total animal diversity (Rosenzweig 1995; Hunt et al. 2007). Beetles play important roles in pollination, herbivory, granivory, predator-prey interactions, decomposition and nutrient cycling, and soil disturbances (Huffaker and Gutierrez 1999).

The foundation of our knowledge of the beetles of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) was presented by various authors in the series “Fauna of Saudi Arabia,” currently published as part of the “Fauna of Arabia” (Wittmer and Buttiker 1979- to date). Additionally, sixteen years ago, Al-Ahmadi and Salem (1999) listed 1,343 beetle species from KSA. Additional data on the beetles in KSA are available in the Catalogue of Palaearctic Coleoptera (Löbl and Smetana 2003–2007).

Rawdhats, naturally occurring moist basins, are one of the major components that considered as biological cores in the hyper-arid ecosystems of Central KSA (Tag El-Din et al. 1994; Al-Farraj et al. 1997; Alfarhan 2001; Al-Qarawi 2011). The flora and fauna of these unique habitats are under constant threat due to increased anthropogenic activities (Al-Nafie 2007; Al-Qarawi 2011). However, relatively little is known about their insect fauna (e.g., Al Dhafer and Platia 2013, Al Dhafer et al. 2016; Sharaf et al. 2013; Alqarni et al. 2015; Abdel-Dayem et al. 2015, 2016) that contribute to the faunal biodiversity of KSA.

Rawdhat Khorim National Park (RKNP) in Riyadh Province is important element in the conservation network of KSA and its landscape is characterized by relative diverse pristine native plant communities. (Tag El-Din et al. 1994; Al-Farraj et al. 1997; Alfarhan 2001; Al-Qarawi 2011). Recent studies of the insects occurring in RKNP have revealed several new taxa, Coleoptera: Dicronychus latifahae (Elateridae) (Al Dhafer and Platia 2013); Reichardtiolus aldhaferi (Histeridae) (Lackner 2014); Boromorphus saudicus (Tenebrionidae) (Schawaller et al. 2013); and Hymenoptera: Tetramorium saudicum (Formicidae) (Sharaf et al. 2013).

The objective of the current study was to provide a comprehensive list of the beetles from one of the more unique habitats in the world, specifically RKNP contributing to the knowledge of the beetle fauna of KSA and the Arabian Peninsula in general.

Materials and methods

Study area

The Rawdhat Khorim National Park is situated in the northeastern Riyadh Province of Central KSA (Fig. 1a). This is part of the Najd Plateau, a sedimentary rectangular plateau of Saudi Arabia. It covers an area of 24 km² and located about 95 km northeast of the capital of Riyadh (25°23’N, 47°17’E, 560 m.a.s.l.). It is a densely vegetated alluvial basin (Vesey-Fizberald 1957) (Figure 1b) supporting a characteristic floral community in the hyper-arid desert of central Saudi Arabia (Al-Farraj et al. 1997; Alfarhan 2001). This area has low rainfall, but drainage from surrounding foothills of the adjacent highlands provides additional moisture forming temporary water pools and high plant diversity occurs during spring (Al-Farraj et al. 1997).

Figure 1.

a Map showing the provinces and geographic location of Rawdhat Khorim National Park within the Central Region of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia b Photo of Rawdhat Khorim National Park (Produced by ArcMap 10.4).

Climate

The climate of RKNP is characterized by a hot summer and a mild winter with an average relative humidity of 33%. The average annual temperature is 26°C, June to August is the hottest period of the year (35-37.4 °C) and December to February is the coldest (14.6-15.7 °C). The average annual precipitation is 122 mm, the highest amount of precipitation occurs during March and April (30 and 27 mm, respectively), while no rainfall occurs during June to September (Sharaf et al. 2013).

Flora

The flora of RKNP includes a total of 153 plant species belonging to 32 families (Alfarhan 2001). The vegetation is complex consisting of perennial and annual herbs, shrubs and trees (Al-Farraj et al. 1997). Matricaria aurea (Loefl.) Sch.-Bip. (Compositae)), Plantago boissieri Hausskn. & Bornm., P. ciliata Desf. (Plantaginaceae), and Phalaris minor Retz. (Poaceae) are the dominant annual herbs (Al-Farraj et al. 1997; Alfarhan 2001). Acacia ehrenbergiana Heyne, A. gerrardii Benth. (Fabaceae), Calotropis procera (Aiton) W.T. Aiton (Apocynaceae), Lycium shawii Roem. & Schult. (Solanaceae), Rhazya stricta Decne. (Apocynaceae) and Ziziphus nummularia (Burm. f) Wight & Arn. (Rhamnaceae) are the dominated shrub and trees (Al-Farraj et al. 1997). Plant growth is higher during spring than in other seasons (Al-Farraj et al. 1997).

Beetle collection

The species listed here are based on the survey that was conducted biweekly from October, 2011 to September, 2013 in the RKNP. The material was collected using a variety of collecting methods including pitfall trapping (PT), UV-light trapping (LT), Malaise trapping (MT), net sweeping (SW), beating vegetation (BV), vacuuming (VC), and hand-picking (HP). All collected beetles were sorted, identified and deposited in the King Saud University Museum of Arthropods (KSMA), College of Food and Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, KSA.

Species format and arrangement

Species identification is based on specialists “see Acknowledgments” and numerous publications not included here. Beetles were not being identified to the species level were included in the study if specimens were morphologically different from other (congeneric) species. The identified species are arranged systematically to subfamily level and alphabetically thereafter. The classification and nomenclature of subfamilies and higher levels follows Bouchard et al. (2011). The valid name followed by the author and date of publication for species were given and these were not cited in the reference section and they can be found in the Catalogue of Palaearctic Coleoptera (Löbl and Smetana 2003–2007). The world distribution for each species is indicated as two capital letters for each country (according ISO 3166: http://www.iso.org/iso/country_codes). The world distribution is based mainly on Catalogue of Palaearctic Coleoptera (Löbl and Smetana 2003–2007), Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF: http://www.gbif.org), and Beetles and Rock Art in Libya (http://jcringenbach.free.fr). The general distribution (zoogeography) of each species is also indicated as a letter code (see “Abbreviations”) corresponding to main zoogeographic regions of the world proposed by Holt et al. (2013) (Fig. 2). The KSA distribution of each species is indicated (abbreviated as two letters for the Saudi provinces) (Fig. 1a). The KSA distributional records are based mainly on published records in the series “Fauna of Saudi Arabia”, being published as part of the “Fauna of Arabia (Wittmer and Buttiker 1979-to date) and other available papers on Saudi beetles. The absence of a geographic entry after a species name indicates that the species was recorded from Arabia or KSA but no locality was specified. For each species the following information is given: local abundance (all values of collected specimens were log transformed and then they classified into five categories using equal interval classification: very rare: <5 individuals, rare: 5-17, frequent: 18-70, common: 71-300, and abundant: > 300); collecting method (see abbreviation in “Beetle collection” above); and months of collection (Roman numerals) within RKNP.

Figure 2.

The general distributions frequency of the beetle fauna of Rawdhat Khorim National Park, Central Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Abbreviations for the zoogeographical regions

AFR Afrotropical

AUS Australian

COS Cosmopolitan

MAD Madagascan

NAR Nearctic

NTR Neotropical

OCN Oceanic

ORR Oriental

PAL Palaearctic

SAR Saharo_Arabian

SCO Subcosmopolitan

SJP Sino_Japanese

Results and discussion

This study represents the first inventory of beetles in RKNP, within arid region of central KSA. In total, 15,658 specimens were collected and identified to 262 species belonging to 182 genera included in 83 subfamilies and 35 families. Forty percent of known faunal diversity is accounted for by three beetle families, Tenebrionidae (45 spp.), Scarabaeidae (34 spp.) and Carabidae (27 spp.) (Table 1). The families with the greatest abundant were Scarabaeidae (36.6%) followed by Tenebrionidae (16.7%) (Table 1). Thirty-eight species have not been previously reported from KSA are listed, including 25 new records for the Arabian Peninsula. Ten families were represented by single species in the RKNP.

Table 1.

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The taxonomical and faunistic analysis of the beetle fauna in Rawdhat Khorim National Park, Central Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Family	Subfamily	Genera	Species	New record	Relative abundance
Anthicidae	2	5	7	1	0.27
Bolboceratidae	1	1	1	0	0.01
Bostrichidae	2	3	3	1	1.30
Brentidae	2	2	2	0	1.10
Buprestidae	5	7	10	0	1.30
Carabidae	8	22	27	8	5.36
Cerambycidae	2	2	2	0	0.11
Chrysomelidae	5	8	8	1	3.95
Cleridae	2	4	4	0	0.51
Coccinellidae	1	8	15	0	3.44
Cryptophagidae	2	2	2	1	0.14
Curculionidae	4	15	20	0	1.99
Dascillidae	1	1	1	0	8.02
Dermestidae	4	6	15	5	1.58
Dytiscidae	2	3	3	0	0.56
Elateridae	2	8	13	2	9.30
Glaresidae	0	1	2	0	0.02
Heteroceridae	1	1	2	2	0.08
Histeridae	3	8	14	0	0.54
Hybosoridae	1	1	1	0	3.48
Hydrophilidae	1	1	1	1	0.04
Laemophloeidae	1	1	1	1	0.01
Leiodidae	1	1	1	1	0.01
Meloidae	2	2	4	0	0.17
Melyridae	2	3	4	1	1.23
Mycetophagidae	1	1	1	0	0.02
Nitidulidae	3	3	3	0	0.70
Oedemeridae	1	1	1	0	0.03
Phalacridae	1	1	1	0	0.17
Ptinidae	2	2	3	2	0.06
Scarabaeidae	7	18	34	3	36.62
Scraptiidae	1	1	2	0	0.47
Staphylinidae	5	7	8	4	0.66
Tenebrionidae	4	31	45	4	16.71
Thanerocleridae	1	1	1	0	0.03
Total 35	83	182	262	38

Eleven species (4.2%) are classified as abundant species, from which Aphodius ictericus ghardimaouensis (Scarabaeidae) (1,238 specimens) and Karumia inaequalis(Dascillidae) (1,262 specimens) were the highest abundant species. Thirty-six (13.7%) and 46 (17.6%) species are concidered as common and frequent, respectively. While, 64.5% of the species considered as rare (55 spp.) or very rare (114 spp.).

The RKNP beetle fauna demonstrated variable zoogeographical affinities (Figure 2), 15 species (6.1%) are endemic to KSA. The remainder of the species showed high affinities to SAR (36.4%), AFR_SAR (17.4%), and PAL_SAR (10.5%).

This work has confirmed the occurrence of four species in KSA previously reported as occurring in “Arabia”: Pseudoathyreus flavohirtus (Bolboceratidae) (Paulian, 1980); Saprinus figuratus (Histeridae) (Penati & Vienna, 2006); Sphenoptera gahani (Buprestidae) (Kerremans 1913); and Syntomus lateralis (Carabidae) (Schatzmayr 1936). The holotypes of three species originated from RKNP: Boromorphus saudicus Schawaller, Al Dhafer & Fadl, 2013; Dicronychus latifahae Al Dhafer & Platia, 2013 and Reichardtiolus aldhaferi Lackner, 2014.

In particular, Adelostoma subtile arabicum and A. subtile sabulosum, described from KSA by Kaszab (1981), but the characters for the differentiation of the two subspecies and the nominate A. subtile subtile Reitter that proposed by Kaszab (1981) are not useful for separation, and accordingly, this taxon is treated here as A. subtile.

It is expected that the results of this study of the beetle fauna of RKNP will be used for future studies related to long-term monitoring of the beetle fauna for evaluating impacts of increased use by the growing population of nearby Riyadh and impact of climate change (Bale et al. 2002).

List of species

Suborder: Adephaga

Carabidae

Subfamily: Cicindelinae

Myriochila melancholica (Fabricius, 1798)

World distribution

Africa: AO, BF, BJ, BW, CD, CF, CG, CI, CM, CV, ER, ET, GH, GM, GN, GQ, GW, KE, MG, MS, MW, MZ, NA, NG, SD, SL, SN, SO, TD, TO, TZ, ZA, ZM, ZW. Asia: AE, AF, AZ, BH, CN, CY, EG (Sinai), IL, IN, IQ, IR, JO, KG, KW, KZ, LB, NP, OM, PK, QA, SA, SY, TJ, TM, TR, UZ, YE. Europe: AL, AM, ES, FR, GE, GR, IT, MT, NO (Svalbard), PT. North Africa: DZ, EG, ES (Canary Island), LY, MA, TN.

General distribution

AFR_MAD_ORR_PAL_SAR_SJP.

Local distribution

AS, NJ (Britton 1948; Cassola and Schneider 1997)

Collecting month and method

A very rare species. The adults were collected by LT during V-VI.

Subfamily: Carabinae

Calosoma imbricatum Klug, 1832

World distribution

Africa: DJ, SD, TD (Britton 1948). Asia: AE, QA, SA, YE. North Africa: EG. Widespread all over Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and south Asia (Felix 2009).

General distribution

AFR_ORR_SAR.

Local distribution

AS, MK (Britton 1948), BA (El-Hawagry et al. 2013), EP, JZ, RI (Heinertz 1979).

Collecting month and method

A very rare species collected only by LT through III-IV.

Calosoma olivieri Dejean, 1831

World distribution

Asia: AE (Felix 2009), AZ, IQ, IR, JO, PK, SA, SY, TM, UZ. Europe: MT, PT (Azores). North Africa: DZ, EG, ES (Canary Island), LY, MA, TN.

General distribution

PAL_SAR.

Local distribution

MK (Britton 1948), RI (Heinertz 1979).

Collecting month and method

Very rare species. The beetles were collected by HP, and by PT under canopy of R. stricta in II.

Subfamily: Scaritinae

Distichus planus (Bonelli, 1813)

World distribution

Collecting month and method

Very rare species. The adults were collected by HP and PT during V.

Subfamily: Siagoninae

Siagona europaea Dejean, 1826

World distribution

Asia: AF, CY, EG (Sinai), IL, IN, IQ, IR, JO, KZ, LB, PK, SA, SY, TJ, TM, TR, UZ, YE. Europe: AL, AM, AZ, BG, ES, GE, GR, HR, IT, MK, PT, RU.

General distribution

ORR_PAL_SAR.

Local distribution

MK (Britton 1948), RI (Al Dhafer et al. 2016).

Collecting month and method

A rare species. The beetles were collected by HP, LT and PT through IV-V, VII and XII.

Subfamily: Melaeninae

Cymbionotum pictulum (Bates, 1874)

World distribution

Africa: SD. Asia: Af, IQ, IR, KZ, SA, TM, TR. E: RU.

General distribution

AFR_PAL_SAR.

Local distribution

MK (Britton 1948; Ball and Shpeley 2005), RI (Al Dhafer et al. 2016).

Collecting month and method

Frequent species that was collected by HP and LT during II-V and XII. HP.

Cymbionotum semelederi (Chaudoir, 1864)

World distribution

Africa: MR, NE, SD, SO, TD. Asia: AE (Felix 2009), AF, AZ, CY, IQ, IR, JO, KW, KZ, PK, SA, SY, TM, TR, UZ, YE. Europe: AM, GE, RU. North Africa: DZ, EG, MA, TN.

General distribution

AFR_PAL_SAR.

Local distribution

EP, RI (Basilewsky 1979), MK (Britton 1948).

Collecting month and method

Frequent species. It was collected by LT and PT during II-V and XII.

Subfamily: Trechinae

Bembidion wittmeri (Basilewsky, 1979)

World distribution

Asia: SA.

General distribution

END.

Local distribution

RI (Basilewsky 1979).

Collecting month and method

Common species. Its specimens were collected by HP, LT and PT through I-V and XII.

Tachyura lucasi (Jacquelin du Val, 1852)

World distribution

Africa: CD, CF, CM, ET, GQ, NG, ZA. Asia: CY, IL, IR, LB, SY, TR. Europe: ES, IT, PT. North Africa: DZ, EG, MA, TN. New to Arabian Peninsula.

General distribution

AFR_MAD_PAL_SAR.

Collecting month and method

A rare species. The beetles were collected by LT through IV-V and VII.

Subfamily: Brachininae

Brachinus crepitans (Linné, 1758)

World distribution

Asia: AZ, CY, IQ, IR, KG, KZ, SY, TJ, TM, TR, UZ. Europe: AL, AM, AT, BA, BE, BG, BY, CH, CZ, DE, DK, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GE, GR, HR, HU, IE, IT, LT, LU, LV, MD, NL, NO, PL, PT, RO, RS, RU, SE, SI, SK, UA. New to Arabian Peninsula.

General distribution

PAL_SAR.

Collecting month and method

Rare species. It was collected by HP during IV and XII; and by LT during V.

Brachinus nobilis Dejean, 1831

Asia: AE (Felix 2009), AF, IQ, IR, JO, PK, SA, SY. North Africa: DZ, MA, TN.

General distribution

SAR.

Local distribution

RI (Hieke 1993).

Collecting month and method

Very rare species. The adult was very rare and collected by Lt in XI.

Anthia duodecimguttata Bonelli, 1813

World distribution

Asia: AE (Felix 2009), IQ, IR, JO, KW, OM, QA, SA, YE. North Africa: EG.

General distribution

SAR.

Local distribution

AS, JZ, MK, RI (Britton 1948; Beccari 1971; Heinertz 1979).

Collecting month and method

Very rare species. The adult beetles were collected by HP and LT at sandy area during IV.

Calodromius mayeti (Bedel, 1907)

World distribution

Collecting month and method

Very rare species. It was collected by LT in IV and VI.

Microlestes discoidalis (Fairmaire, 1892)

World distribution

Collecting month and method

Very rare species that was collected by LT in III.

Poecilus wollastoni (Wollaston, 1854)

World distribution

Asia: IQ, KW, SA, YE. North Africa: DZ, EG, ES (Canary Islands), LY, MA, PT (Madeira Archipelago), TN.

General distribution

SAR.

Local distribution

It was recorded from Arabia without exact locality by Emden (1954) and a recent occurrence in KSA has been confirmed by Al Dhafer et al. (2016).

Collecting month and method

Frequent species, which was collected by HP, LT and PT during I-II, IV-VI and XI-XII.

Stenolophus marginatus Dejean, 1829

World distribution

Collecting month and method

Common species that was collected by HP, LT and PT in I-XII.

Dytiscidae

Subfamily: Dytiscinae

Eretes sticticus (Linné, 1767)

World distribution

Africa: BW, KE, MG, NA, SD, ZA, ZW. Asia: AE, AZ, BT, CN, CY, EG (Sinai), IN, IQ, IR, JA, á, KW, NP, OM, PK, SA, SY, TM, TR, TW, YE. Europe: AM, BA, BG, ES, FR, GE, GR, HR, HU, IT, PT, RU, SI, UA, RS. North Africa: DZ, EG, ES (Canary Islands), LY, MA, PT (Madeira Archipelago), TN. North America: MX, PR, US. South America: EC, PE, VE.

General distribution

COS.

Local distribution

AS, EP, MD, RI (Brancucci 19791984).

Collecting month and method

A frequent species. The adult beetles were collected by LT in IV-VI.

Subfamily: Hydroporinae

Hydroglyphus signatellus (Klug, 1834)

World distribution

Africa: ET, KE, SD, SN. Asia: AE (Hájek and Brancucci 2011), AZ, CY, EG (Sinai), IL, IQ, IR, JO, KW, KZ, PK, SA, SY, TJ, TM, TR, UZ, YE. Europe: AM, BA, ES, GE, GR, HR, IT, RS, RU. North Africa: DZ, EG, LY, MA, TN.

General distribution

AFR_PAL_SAR.

Local distribution

EP, RI (Brancucci 19791984).

Collecting month and method

Very rare species that was collected by LT during V.

Hygrotus inscriptus (Sharp, 1882)

World distribution

Asia: AE, IQ, IR, KW, SA, SY, TM, UZ. North Africa: EG. The distribution is updated from Hájek and Brancucci (2011).

General distribution

SAR.

Local distribution

EP (Brancucci 1984).

Collecting month and method

Frequent species that was collected by LT in VI.

Suborder: Polyphaga

Hydrophilidae

Subfamily: Hydrophilinae

Hydrochara flavipalpis (Boheman, 1851)

World distribution

Asia: OM, YE. New to KSA.

General distribution

SAR.

Collecting month and method

A rare species, which was collected by HP during V and XII.

Histeridae

Subfamily: Abraeinae

Teretrius pulex Fairmaire, 1877

World distribution

Africa: MR, NE, SN. Asia: AE (Kanaar 2007), OM, SA, SY. North Africa: DZ, EG, TN.

General distribution

AFR_SAR.

Local distribution

EP (Mazur 1994; Penati and Vienna 2006).

Collecting month and method

Very rare species that was collected by BV on branches of Z. nummularia during V.

Subfamily: Sapriniae

Pholioxenus sp.1

Collecting month and method

A rare species. The specimens were collected by PT under canopy of A. ehrenbergiana, A. gerrardii and R. stricta during IV-V and X.

EP, MK, RI (Penati and Vienna 2006).

Collecting month and method

Very rare species that was collected by LT during I-II.

Saprinus sp.

Collecting month and method

A rare species. The adults were collected by LT during V-VI and X.

Xenonychus tridens (Jacquelin Duval, 1853)

World distribution

Africa: CV, MR, NG, TD. Asia: AE (Kanaar 2007), CY, IL, OM, SA, SY, TR.

Europe: ES, FR, GR, IT, PT. North Africa: DZ, EG, ES (Canary Islands), LY, MA, TN.

General distribution

AFR_PAL_SAR.

Local distribution

EP, MK (Mazur 1994; Penati and Vienna 2006), RI (Al Dhafer et al. 2016).

Collecting month and method

Very rare species that was recorded by PT under canopy of A. ehrenbergiana during IV.

Xenophilothis choumovitchi (Thérond & Hollande, 1965)

World distribution

Asia: AE (Kanaar 2007), OM, SA. North Africa: DZ.

General distribution

SAR.

Local distribution

EP, RI (Penati and Vienna 2006).

Collecting month and method

Very rare species, which was collected by LT in V.

Zorius sp.

Collecting month and method

A rare species. The adults were collected by PT under canopies of A. gerrardii, C. procera, L. shawii and R. stricta during III-IV.

Subfamily: Histerinae

Collecting month and method

Very rare species that was collected by LT in IV-V and VII.

Enoptostomus arabicus Besuchet & Cuccodoro, 2011

World distribution

Asia: AE (Besuchet and Cuccodoro 2011). New to KSA.

General distribution

SAR.

Collecting month and method

Very rare species, which was collected by LT during VII.

Subfamily: Tachyporinae

Sepedophilus sp.

Collecting month and method

Very rare species. It was collected by PT under canopy of Z. nummularia in III.

Subfamily: Aleocharinae

Atheta atramentaria (Gyllenhal, 1810)

Collecting month and method

Very rare species that was collected by LT through VI.

Glaresidae

Glaresis arabica (Paulian, 1980)

World distribution

Asia: OM, SA.

General distribution

SAR.

Local distribution

EP, RI (Paulian 1980).

Collecting month and method

Very rare species that was collected by LT during V.

Glaresis sp.

Collecting month and method

Very rare species that was collected by LT in IV.

Bolboceratidae

Subfamily: Bolboceratinae

Pseudoathyreus flavohirtus (Wlaker, 1871)

World distribution

Asia: Arabia

General distribution

SAR.

Local distribution

Paulian (1980) recorded this species from Arabia without exact locality.

Collecting month and method

Very rare species that was collected by LT in IV.

Hybosoridae

Subfamily: Hybosorinae

Hybosorus illigeri Reiche, 1853

World distribution

Africa: KM, MG, UG. Asia: AF, AZ, CN, CY, EG (Sinai), IL, IN, IQ, IR, JO, PK, SA, SY, TJ, TM, TR, UZ, YE, VN. Europe: AM, BG, ES, FR, GE, GR, HR, IT, MK, PT, RO, RS, RU, UA. North Africa: DZ, EG, LY, MA, TN. North America: CU, HT, MX, NI, US. South America: VE.

General distribution

SCO.

A frequent species. The adults of this species were collected by PT under canopy of A. ehrenbergiana, and by HP and LT during I-II, IV-VII and IX.

A common species. The adult beetles were collected by PT under canopies of A. ehrenbergiana, A. gerrardii, C. procera and R. stricta; and by HP and LT through III-V and XII.

AS, BA, JZ, MK, RI (Pittino 1984; El-Hawagry et al. 2013; Abdel-Dayem et al. 2016).

Collecting month and method

Common species. The adult beetles were collected by PT under canopies of C. procera, L. shawii, R. stricta and Z. nummularia; and by HP and LT through III-V and VII-XI.

Local distribution

AS, BA, HA, JZ, MK, RI (Ahrens 2000).

Collecting month and method

A common species. The specimens were collected by PT under canopies of A. ehrenbergiana, A. gerrardii and R. stricta; and by LT during I, IV-V and X-XII.

Subfamily Rutelinae

Clipadoretus habibi Král, 2015

World distribution

Asia: AE (Král and Batelka 2015). New to KSA.

General distribution

SAR.

Local distribution

RI (Beccari 1971).

Collecting month and method

A rare species that was recorded by LT in V-VII and IX.

Clipadoretus sp.

Collecting month and method

Moderately common species that was collected by LT during V.

Phaeadoretus syriacus (C. É. Blanchard, 1851)

General distribution

SAR.

Local distribution

RI (Cobos 1963).

Collecting month and method

Very rare species, which was collected by BV on branches of Z. nummularia during VI.

Xantheremia pantherina (Bílý, 1979)

World distribution

Asia: IL, IQ, SA. North Africa: EG.

General distribution

SAR.

Local distribution

EP, RI (Bílý 19821985).

Collecting month and method

A rare species. The specimens were collected by BV on branches of L. shawii, HP and by SW of R. stricta during V, VII and VIII.

Subfamily: Chrysochroinae

Sphenoptera gahani Kerremans, 1913

World distribution

Asia: Arabia (Kerremans 1913)

General distribution

END.

Local distribution

This species is described by Kerremans (1913) from Arabia, without any further information about the type locality.

Collecting month and method

Very rare species that was collected only by BV on branches of A. gerrardii during X.

Sphenoptera magna Gory & Laporte, 1839

World distribution

Asia: IL, IQ, IR, JO, SA, SY, TR.

General distribution

PAL_SAR.

Local distribution

EP, QS (Bílý 1980).

Collecting month and method

Very rare species that was collected by HP during V.

Subfamily: Buprestinae

Anthaxia kneuckeri Obenberger, 1920

World distribution

Asia: EG (Sinai), IL, JO, OM, SA.

General distribution

SAR.

Local distribution

AS, MK, RI (Bílý 1980), BA (El-Hawagry et al. 2013).

Collecting month and method

Common species. The adults were collected by BV and VC on branches of A. ehrenbergiana and A. gerrardii, and by HP, LT and PT during IV-XI.

Anthaxia marginifera metallenscens Bílý, 1999

World distribution

Asia: IL, SA.

General distribution

SAR.

Local distribution

RI (Bílý 1979).

Collecting month and method

Very rare species that was collected by BV on branches of A. ehrenbergiana during IV.

Subfamily: Agrilinae

Collecting month and method

Very rare species that was collected by PT under canopies of A. gerrardii and C. procera during I-II.

Lacon modestus (Boisduval, 1835)

World distribution

Africa: SN. Asia: AE (Platia 2007), ID, IL, IQ, IR, JP, LA, OM, PK, QA, SA, TW, VN, YE (Socotra). Australia: AU, FJ, MP, NC. North America: GT, US. South America: GF.

General distribution

COS.

Local distribution

EP, MK, RI (Chassain 1983).

Collecting month and method

28.XII.2011

Collecting method

Very rare species, which was collected by HP in XII.

Lanelater buettikeri Chassain, 1983

World distribution

Asia: AE (Platia 2007), OM, SA, YE.

General distribution

SAR.

Local distribution

JZ, MK, NJ, RI (Chassain 1983, Platia and Schimmel 1997).

Collecting month and method

Frequent species. The beetles were collected by LT during VIII-X.

Rare species. It was collected by LT through III and V-VI.

Dermestidae

Subfamily: Dermestinae

Dermestes ater DeGeer, 1774

World distribution

Asia: AE, AF, AZ, CH, CN, CY, EG (Sinai), IL, IN, IQ, IR, JO, JP, KG, KP, KR, KZ, LB, MN, NP, OM, PK, RU, SA, SY, TJ, TM, TR, UZ, YE. Europe: AD, AL, AM, AT, BA, BE, BG, BY, CH, CZ, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, GE, GR, HR, HU, IE, IS, IT, LT, LU, LV, MK, MT, NL, NO, PL, PT, RO, RS, RU, SE, SI, SK, UA. North Africa: DZ, EG, ES (Canary Islands), LY, MA, PT (Madeira Archipelago), TN.

General distribution

COS (Háva 2013).

Local distribution

EP, RI (Mroczkowski 1979).

Collecting month and method

Very rare species. It was collected by LT during III.

Dermestes maculatus De Geer, 1774

Asia: SY. North Africa: DZ, EG, LY, MA. New to Arabian Peninsula.

General distribution

SAR.

Collecting month and method

Very rare species. It was collected by PT under the canopies of A. gerrardii, C. procera and L. shawii during IV-VI.

Thorictus foreli Wasmann, 1894

Asia: AE, AF, CN, IN, IQ, IR, KG, KZ, MN, PK, SA, TJ, TM, TR, UZ. Europe: BG, CZ, ES, FR, GR, IT, RO, RU. North Africa: DZ, EG, MA, TN. The distribution is updated from Háva (2013).

General distribution

PAL_ORR_SAR_SJP.

Local distribution

EP, MK (Mroczkowski 1979), RI (Al Dhafer et al. 2016).

Collecting month and method

Very rare species. It is collected by PT under canopy of C. procera during V.

Attagenus posticalis Fairmaire, 1879

World distribution

A frequent species. The specimens were collected by BV, VC, SW and PT on branches/under canopies of A. ehrenbergiana, A. gerrardii, C. procera, R. stricta and Z. nummularia; and by LT through IV-X.

Bostrichidae

Subfamily: Bostrichinae

Enneadesmus forficula (Fairmaire, 1883)

World distribution

Africa: ER, ET, SO. Asia: AE (Geistharde 2010), IL, IR, JO, OM, PK, SA, YE. North Africa: DZ, EG, LY, MA, TN.

General distribution

AFR_SAR.

Local distribution

MK, RI (Damoiseau 1979).

Collecting month and method

Common species that was collected by BV and LT during all months except II and VII.

Sinoxylon senegalense Karsch, 1881

World distribution

Africa: SN. Asia: AE (Geistharde 2010), SA, YE. North Africa: DZ, EG, LY, MA.

General distribution

AFR_SAR.

Local distribution

RI (Damoiseau 1979).

Collecting month and method

Frequent species that was collected by BV and LT during all months except II, III and VIII.

Subfamily: Lyctinae

Acantholyctus cornifrons (Lesne, 1898)

World distribution

Africa: DJ, ER, MZ, NA, SN, SO. Asia: AE (Geistharde 2010). North Africa: DZ, EG, MA, TN. New to KSA.

Stagetus montanus Toskina, 1998

World distribution

Asia: OM, SA.

General distribution

SAR.

Local distribution

AS (Toskina 1998).

Collecting month and method

Very rare species. It was collected by LT in V.

Thanerocleridae

Subfamily: Thaneroclerinae

Thaneroclerus buquet (Lefebvre, 1835)

World distribution

Asia: CN, IN, JP, RU, SA, TW. Europe: BE, DE, HU, NL, PL. North Africa: EG.

Necrobia rufipes (De Geer, 1775)

World distribution

Asia: AE, AZ, CN, IN, IR, JP, MN, OM, RU, SA, TJ, TR. Europe: AM, AT, BE, BY, CH, CZ, DE, DK, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HR, HU, IE, IT, LI, LT, LV, NL, PT, RO, RU, SE, SI, SK. North Africa: DZ, EG, ES (Canary Islands), LY, MA, TN.

General distribution

COS (Gerstmeier 2010)

Local distribution

BA (El-Hawagry et al. 2013), EP, MK, RI (Menier 1986).

Collecting month and method

Frequent species, which was collected by VC on branches of L. shawii and by LT during IV-VIII and X.

Melyridae

Subfamily: Dasytinae

Danacea sp.

Collecting month and method

Frequent species. The specimens were collected by BV, SW and PT on branches/under canopies of A. ehrenbergiana, A. gerrardii, C. procera, L. shawii, R. stricta and Z. nummularia; and by HP and LT during II-V and XII.

Subfamily: Malachinae

Colotes javeti Du Val, 1852

World distribution

Europe: ES, FR, IT, PT. North Africa: DZ, EG, MA, TN. New to Arabian Peninsula.

General distribution

PAL_SAR.

Collecting month and method

A frequent species. The beetles were collected by BV, SW, VC and PT on branches/under canopies of A. ehrenbergiana, A. gerrardii, C. procera, L. shawii, R. stricta and Z. nummularia; and by HP during II-VI and IX.

Malachius sp.1

Collecting month and method

A common species. The adults were collected by BV, SW, VC and PT on branches/under canopies of A. ehrenbergiana, A. gerrardii, C. procera, L. shawii, R. stricta and Z. nummularia; and by HP and LT through V-IX.

Malachius sp.2

Collecting month and method

A rare species. It was collected by BV on branches of A. gerrardii and Z. nummularia, by PT under canopies of A. ehrenbergiana and C. procera; and by HP in III-IV and IX.

Cryptophagidae

Subfamily: Cryptophaginae

Cryptophagus acutangulus Gyllenhal, 1827

World distribution

Africa: sub-saharan Africa. Asia: AF, AZ, CN, EG (Sinai), IR, JP, KG, KP, KZ, PK, RU, SA, TJ, TM, UZ. Europe: AT, BA, BE, BY, CH, CZ, DE, DK, EE, FI, FR, GB, GE, GR, HU, IE, IS, IT, LT, LV, NL, NO, PL, RO, RS, RU, SE, SI, SK, UA. North Africa: EG, MA. North America: CA, MX, US.

General distribution

COS (Otero 2013).

Local distribution

EP (Johnson 1989), RI (Al Dhafer et al. 2016).

Collecting month and method

Frequent species. The adults were collected by BV on branches and PT under canopies of A. ehrenbergiana, A. gerrardii, C. procera, L. shawii, R. stricta and Z. nummularia; and by LT during I-III, V, VIII and XI-XII.

Subfamily: Atomariinae

Atomaria fuscata (Schönherr, 1808)

World distribution

Asia: AZ, CN, IL, JP, RU. Europe: AM, AT, BA, BE, BY, CH, CZ, DE, DK, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GE, GR, HR, HU, IE, IT, LI, LT, LV, NL, NO, PL, RO, RU, SE, SI, SK, UA. North America: CA. New to Arabian Peninsula.

General distribution

NAR_PAL_SAR_SJP.

Collecting month and method

Very rare species that was collected by LT in X.

Phalacridae

Subfamily: Phalacrinae

Subfamily: Mycetophaginae

Typhaea stercorea (Linnaeus, 1758)

World distribution

Africa: GM, MR, ZA. Asia: AE, AF, AZ, BT, CN, CY, EG (Sinai), IL, IQ, IR, JO, JP, KG, KR, KZ, MN, NP, PK, RU, SA, SY, TJ, TM, TR, UZ, YE. Europe: AD, AL, AM, AT, BA, BE, BG, BY, CH, CZ, DE, DK, EE, ES, FI, FO, FR, GB, GE, GR, HR, HU, IE, IS, IT, LI, LT, LU, LV, MD, MK, MT, NL, NO, PL, PT, RO, RS, RU, SE, SI, SK, UA. North Africa: DZ, EG, ES (Canary Islands), LY, MA, PT (Madeira Archipelago), TN. South America: CL.

General distribution

COS.

Local distribution

BA (El-Hawagry et al. 2013).

Collecting month and method

Very rare species. The adults were collected by LT during V.

Tenebrionidae

Subfamily: Lagriinae

Centorus csikii bagdadensis (Reitter, 1920)

World distribution

Asia: CY, IL, IQ, JO, SA, YE.

General distribution

SAR.

Local distribution

EP, RI (Kaszab 1979).

Collecting month and method

Common beetles that were collected by PT under the canopies A. ehrenbergiana, A. gerrardii and Z. nummularia; and by LT throughout the year except in XI.

Cornucistela serrata Campbell, 1980

World distribution

Collecting month and method

Frequent species. The adults were collected by LT during IV-VI, IX and XI.

Collecting month and method

Very rare species that was collected by LT during III.

Subfamily: Nemognathinae

Zonitoschema rubricolor Pic, 1924

World distribution

Africa: CD. Asia: AE (Batelka and Geisthardt 2009), IL, SA.

Africa: CG, CI, CV, ET, SD, SO, TD, TZ. Asia: AE, CY, EG (Sinai), IL, IQ, IR, LB, SA, TR, YE. Europe: GR. North Africa: DZ, EG, ES (Canary Islands), LY, MA, TN.

General distribution

AFR_PAL_SAR.

Local distribution

EP, JZ, MD, MK, NB, RI, TB (Uhmann 1998).

Collecting month and method

Very rare species that was collected by PT under canopy of R. stricta in IV.

Scraptiidae

Subfamily: Anaspidinae

Pentaria arabica Pankow, 1981

World distribution

Asia: SA.

General distribution

END.

Local distribution

AS (Pankow 1981).

Collecting month and method

A frequent species. It was collected by BV and PT on branches/under canopy of A. ehrenbergiana, and by LT and MT through IV-V, VII and X.

Pentaria sp.

Collecting month and method

Rare species. The specimens were collected by BV on branches of Z. nummularia in V, by PT under canopy of L. shawii in V, and by LT during V-VII and IX.

Cerambycidae

Subfamily: Prioninae

Polyarthron philbyi Villiers, 1968

World distribution

Asia: SA.

General distribution

END.

Local distribution

RI (Holzschuh 1993).

Collecting month and method

Very rare species. It was collected by HP during IX.

Subfamily: Lamiinae

Apomecyna lameerei (Pic, 1895)

World distribution

Africa: MR. Asia: AE, IL, IQ, IR, PK, SA. North Africa: EG.

Collecting month and method

Common species. The adult beetles were collected by BV, SW, VC and PT on branches/under the canopies of A. ehrenbergiana, A. gerrardii, C. procera, L. shawii. R. stricta and Z. nummularia; and by LT and MT throughout the year.

Psylliodes peyerimhoffi Heikertinger, 1916

Local distribution

MK (Medvedev 1996).

Collecting month and method

Very rare species. It was collected by LT during IV.

Brentidae

Subfamily: Apioninae

Aplemonus arabicus (Wagner, 1909)

World distribution

Africa: MW, ZA. Asia: AE (Magnano et al. 2009), IR, OM, QA (Magnano et al. 2009), SA (Al Dhafer et al. 2016). North Africa: EG.

General distribution

AFR_SAR.

Local distribution

RI (Al Dhafer et al. 2016)

Collecting month and method

Common species. The beetles of this species were collected by BV, SW and VC on branches of A. ehrenbergiana, A. gerrardii, L. shawii and Z. nummularia; by PT under canopies of C. procera; and by LT throughout the year.

Subfamily: Nanophyinae

Allomalia quadrivirgata (A. Costa, 1863)

World distribution

Asia: AZ, CY, IL, KZ, SA (Abdel-Dayem et al. 2015), SY, UZ. Europe: BG, ES, FR, GE, GR, HR, HU, IT, UA. North Africa: DZ, EG, LY, MA, TN.

Myllocerus sp.

Collecting month and method

A rare species. It was collected by PT under canopies of R. stricta and Z. nummularia during I-II; and by HP and LT in I, IV and XII.

Tanymecus musculus Fåhraeus, 1840

World distribution

Asia: IL, IQ, SA (Abdel-Dayem et al. 2015), SY. North Africa: EG.

General distribution

SAR.

Local distribution

RI (Abdel-Dayem et al. 2015).

Collecting month and method

Very rare species that was collected by LT in I, IV and XII.

Subfamily: Hyperinae

Brachypera isabellina (Boheman, 1834)

World distribution

Asia: AE (Magnano et al. 2009), IL, IQ, IR, JO, KW, QA, SA, SY, TR. Europe: IT (Sicilia). North Africa: DZ, EG, ES (Canary Islands), LY, MA, PT (Madeira Archipelago), TN.

General distribution

SAR.

Local distribution

Heyden (1913) just mentioned Arabia without any further detail about locality. Abdel-Dayem et al. (2015) have been confirmed the occurrence of the species in KSA: RI.

Collecting month and method

A rare species. The beetles were collected by PT under canopies of C. procera, R. stricta and Z. nummularia during II, VIII and XII.

Hypera brunnipennis (Boheman, 1834)

World distribution

Asia: IL, IR, LB, SA (Abdel-Dayem et al. 2015). North Africa: EG. North America: US.

General distribution

NAR_SAR.

Local distribution

RI (Abdel-Dayem et al. 2015).

Collecting month and method

Very rare species that was collected by LT during IV.

Very rare species that was collected by HP in II.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the following specialists for their help in identification or confirmation of the identification: David Král (Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Science, Department of Zoology, Czech Republic), Enzo Colonnelli, (Via delle Giunchiglie, 56 00172 Roma, Italy), Giuseppe Platia (Via Molino Vecchio, Gatteo (FC), Italy), Jan Bezděk (Mendel University, Department of Zoology, Zemědělská, Czech Republic); Lev Medvedev (Institute of Animal Morphology and Ecology, Leninsky Prospect, Moscow, Russia), Ron Felix (Naturalis Biodiversity Center Leiden, The Netherland), Tomas Lackner (Munich State Museum, Munich, Germany), and Wolfgang Schawaller (Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde, Stuttgart, Germany). The authors would like to extend their sincere appreciation to the Deanship of Scientific Research at King Saud University for its funding this research group NO (RGP-1437-009).

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