A review of the Subtribe Lebiina Bonelli (Lebiini, Carabidae, Coleoptera) from Southwest of Saudi Arabia
Author
Rasool, Iftekhar
Author
Abdel-Dayem, Mahmoud S.
Author
Felix, Ron F. F. L.
Author
Aldhafer, Hathal M.
text
Zootaxa
2018
2018-02-13
4379
1
87
102
journal article
30756
10.11646/zootaxa.4379.1.5
2c7fe9b1-f5a7-4169-bcc0-d544c884e01f
1175-5326
1172356
E860555F-9CED-4A38-AAF8-B7AB5C1A7E71
Lebia
spec.
Material examined.
Total four specimens:
Asir
:
2 ♀
“
KSA
,
Asir
,
Abha
,
Rayda
,
N18°11.695'
E42°23.818'
Alt
.
1897 m
,
26.IV.2014
, (LT)., 2 ♀, “N18°11.679' E42°23.691' Alt.
1851 m
, (LT), H.
Al Dhafer
,
M.S. Abdel-Dayem
,
H.H. Fadl
,
A
.
El
Turkey
,
A
. Elgarbawy &
I. Rasool
”.
Recognition.
Medium sized species
7.09–7.50 mm
(
Fig. 28
). Because all specimens are females, it is impossible to study the morphology of the male tibia, notched, crenulate or otherwise, and assign it to a certain subgenus. These collected specimens were compared with
Lebia
(
L
.)
zanzibarica
Chaudoir, 1878
,
paratype
. that resembles this species rather much, for instance generally in colour and pattern. But there are differences: apart from slight differences in pattern (but specimens of species like
L. nilotica
, with comparable pattern, also vary a lot in pattern), the tempora are less perpendicular. Furthermore, in
L. zanzibarica
the frons and disc of the pronotum are much more coarsely punctured, while in
L.
spec. the frons is smooth and only sporadic punctured. Also the sculpture of the pronotum is different.
The fact that the collected specimens do not correspond with nearby Afro-Ethiopian species, studied in the collection of the Tropical Africa Museum, Tervuren,
Belgium
, suggests that these specimens belong to a new species. However, we cannot describe it yet, because of the lacking of males so far.
Ecological note.
This species was collected at elevation
1851–1897 m
in Rayda Nature Reserve. Adult beetles were attracted by UV–light in the steep slopes covered by different vegetation that dominated by cactus shrubs,
Opuntia
ficus-indica
and wild olive trees,
Olea europaea
(Wall. ex G. Don) Cifferi (Oleaceae)
.