The tiger beetles (Coleoptera, Cicindelidae) of the southern Levant and adjacent territories: from cybertaxonomy to conservation biology

Abstract

The tiger beetles of the southern Levant (Egypt: Sinai, Israel, Jordan) and adjacent regions of the neighboring countries Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Egypt are reviewed in terms of species taxonomy, ecological and distributional traits and conservation biology. An illustrated dichotomous identification key from the species of this region is provided. Based on the classical identification key, we developed a digital identification application for smartphones and tablets. The species status of Calomera aulicoides (J.R. Sahlberg, 1913) is (re-) established (stat. rest.) as this taxon can be found sympatrically and parapatrically together with Calomera littoralis winkleri (Mandl, 1934). Morphological character states are discussed to identify Cicindela javetii Chaudoir, 1861 and C. herbacea Klug, 1832. Calomera aphrodisia (Baudi di Selve, 1864) is recorded for the first time from Israel. The presence of Calomera aulica (Dejean, 1831) and Grammognatha euphratica (Dejean, 1822) is confirmed by new records. At least five taxa are threatened or extinct in Israel. For one of these species, Israel has a national responsibility for the conservation as the main part of the distribution range is within this country.Availability: The application TIGER BEETLE ID for Android devices can be freely downloaded at https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.734.21989.suppl1. See also disclaimer of warranties.

From climate zone to microhabitat—environmental factors affecting the coastal distribution of tiger beetles (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae) in the south-eastern European biodiversity hotspot

“…1). High importance of such habitats for Cicindelidae was earlier noted also in many other areas in the Mediterranean region (Šekeroğlu & Aydõn, 2002; Arndt, Aydin & Aydin, 2005; Aydõn, 2011; Jaskuła, 2015; Rodríguez-Flores et al, 2016; Assmann et al, 2018). On the other hand, such types of habitat are known as threatened in great parts of Europe and all the Mediterranean region, mainly as a result of human activity (Davy, Bakker & Figueroa, 2009), including tourist activity and rapid development of tourist infrastructure (Arndt, Aydin & Aydin, 2005).…”

Water Is Needed to Exist: Habitat Preferences of Tiger Beetles (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae) in a Desert Country

“…In such a group of tiger beetles, Grammognatha euphratica and Cicindela campestris atlantis (both of which were noted in only one habitat type each: saltmarshes and river banks, respectively), as well as Calomera lunulata (two habitat types) were found. Our present results confirm high specialisation of Grammognatha euphratica to only the saltmarsh macrohabitat type, as was shown earlier in the literature [ 15 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 ]. On the other hand, Lophyra flexuosa, the most eurythopic species in our study, noted in three different macrohabitat types, is known as a tiger beetle species characterised by one of the longest periods of activity of adult beetles among all taxa classified in this insect group in the entire Maghreb region [ 42 , 48 ].…”

The ground beetle tribe Platynini Bonelli, 1810 (Coleoptera, Carabidae) in the southern Levant: dichotomous and interactive identification tools, ecological traits, and distribution

“…Abbreviations of collections (used also in Suppl. material 1): The basic approach to identify ecological and distributional traits and threats follows our previous work (Assmann et al 2018). Numbers in parentheses after hindwing classification refer to the number of dissected specimens (cf.…”

“…We prepared the photos with the microscope and camera mentioned in the previously cited publications (Assmann et al 2018) or with a Lumix GX 80 and a Leica Macro-Elmarit 45 mm. Stacking (up to ca.…”