Faunistic inventory and zoogeographical analysis of the ground beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) of Garf Raydah Nature Reserve, Southwestern of Saudi Arabia, and description of a new species of Paussinae

Abstract

Study of ground beetles of the Garf Raydah Nature Reserve, located in the Asir Mountains of southwestern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) resulted in one species, Paussus abditus Nagel, sp. n. described as new to science. Thirteen species (21.3%) are reported as new country records and fifteen species (24.6%) are new records for Asir Province. Adult beetles were collected from 2013 to 2017. The determination of this material yielded a total of 61 species in 40 genera and 17 tribes belonging to nine subfamilies of Carabidae. The species richness represented approximately 36.1% of carabid species previously reported from KSA. The most species rich tribes were the Lebiini (20 species), the Harpalini (10 species), and the Bembidiini (6 species). The life form analysis of adults indicated 18 life form types that are grouped into three categories, Zoophagous (77.1%), Mixophytophagous (18.0%), and Myrmecophilous (4.9%). Zoogeographical analyses indicated that the Afrotropical (19.3%) and the Saharo-Arabian (19.3%) species dominate the carabid fauna of this region of KSA. Coryza cf. maculata (Nietner, 1856) is considered the only Oriental representative. Only one cosmopolitan species, Perigona nigriceps (Dejean, 1831), was collected. Eleven endemics were identified; six species are considered KSA endemics and five are Arabian Peninsula endemics.

The Carabidae (Coleoptera) of Shada Al-A’Ala Nature Reserve, Southwestern Saudi Arabia, with description of a new species of Paussinae

“…Asir (Abdel-Dayem et al 2018), Baha (El-Hawagry et al 2013), Eastern Province (Heinertz 1979), Jizan and Makkah (Britton 1948), Riyadh (Heinertz 1979; Abdel-Dayem et al 2017).…”

“…Asir (Abdel-Dayem et al 2018), Jizan and Najran (Britton 1948), Riyadh (Abdel-Dayem et al 2017). New record for Baha Province.…”

“…AE, AO, BF, BI, CD, CF, CM, CV, ER, ET, KE, ML, MR, MW, MZ, NA, NE, SA (Abdel-Dayem et al 2018), SN, SO, TD, TZ, UG, YE, ZA, ZW. AFR species.…”

“…The invertebrate fauna of these protected areas has attracted relatively little attention as compared to those of vertebrates (Abuzinada et al 2005), although international conventions signed by SA as a member of the Convention on Biological Diversity since 2001 (CBD 2011). Recent insect biodiversity survey and monitoring research projects in several protected areas in SA have been conducted by King Saud University Museum of Arthropods, Riyadh; resulting in several faunistic and ecological works being published (Aldhafer et al 2012, 2016; Sharaf et al 2013; Abdel-Dayem et al 2016, 2017, 2018; El-Hawagry et al 2016, 2017, 2018). One of these recent projects was focused on the insect biodiversity of Shada Al-A’Ala Nature Reserve (SANR) in Baha Province in southwestern SA.…”

“…Additionally, carabid beetles play significant role as bioindicators in habitat management, landscape ecology, conservation, pollution, climatic changes and soil characteristics (Rainio and Niemelä 2003; Avgın and Luff 2010; Koivula 2011; Kotze et al 2011). There are currently 33,920 valid species (Lorenz 2005), 183 of which have been reported from SA (Abdel-Dayem et al 2018). Unexpectedly, the number of previously published carabid species records from Baha Province are low (30 species) (Mateu 1986; Balkenohl 1994; El-Hawagry et al 2013; Moore and Robertson 2014; Häckel and Azadbakhsh 2016; Rasool et al 2017, 2018a, b).…”