The Hydrophiloid beetles of Socotra Island (Coleoptera: Georissidae, Hydrophilidae) Author Fikáček, Martin Department of Entomology, National Museum, Kunratice 1, CZ- 148 00 Praha 4, Czech Republic; e-mail: mfikacek @ gmail. com & Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Viničná 7, CZ- 128 44 Praha 2, Czech Republic Author Delgado, Juan A. Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Murcia, 30100, Murcia, Spain; e-mail: jdelgado @ um. es Author Gentili, Elio Via San Gottardo 37, I- 21030 Varese-Rasa, Italy; e-mail: elio. gentili. 32 @ alice. it text Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 2012 2012-12-17 52 107 130 journal article 10.5281/zenodo.5334580 0374-1036 5334580 Sternolophus ( Sternolophus ) unicolor Laporte de Castelnau, 1840 Material examined. 1 ♀ ( CULS ): wadi Far , 1.iv.2001 , lgt. J. Farkač ; 1 J ( NMPC ): Firmin , x.2000 , lgt. V. Bejček & K. Šťastný ; 2 spec. ( CULS , NMPC ): Calanthia , 29.–30.iii.2001 , lgt. J. Farkač ; 2 JJ, 1 spec. ( CULS ): Ayhaft , 15.iii.2000 , lgt. J. Farkač ; 1 spec. ( NMPC ): wadi Ayhaft , 12°36.5′N 53°58.9′E , 200 m a.s.l. , 7.–8.xi.2010 , lgt. J. Hájek ; 1 spec. ( NMPC ): same locality and date, lgt. P. Hlaváč ; 3 spec. ( NMPC ): Firmihin plateau, 12°28′46″N 54°01′E , 400–500 m a.s.l. , 18.–19.vi.2010 , lgt. V. Hula & J. Niedobová ; 1 spec. ( IRSNB ): hills near Hadibu , 29.ii.2008 , G. 31.496, lgt. A. Saldaitis ; 8 spec. ( CULS , NMPC ): wadi Faar , 12.433°N 54.195°E , 69 m a.s.l. , 3.xii.2000 , lgt. V. Bejček & K. Šťastný . Distribution. African species widely distributed in Madagascar and east Africa. First record from Socotra Island . Note. WRANIK (2003) lists the Near East/Arabian species S. decens Zaitzev, 1909 for the Socotran fauna, but this record seems to be based on the misidentification. The taxonomy of the genus Sternolophus Solier, 1834 is still not properly resolved and no modern revision exists for the Old World species of the genus. The Socotran specimens clearly differ from S. decens by the diagnostic characters given in the identification key by ZAITZEV (1909) : they are generally wider than the Arabian specimens of S. decens and bear a longer and stouter metaventral spine. They agree well with the specimens of S. unicolor from Madagascar present in the collection of NMPC. Few Sternolophus specimens with a wider general body form from southern Yemen are present in the collection of NMPC, but they clearly differ from the Socotran specimens by a shortened and apically blunt metaventral spine and may be conspecific with the Yemeni specimens which BALFOUR- BROWNE (1951) identified as possibly belonging to S. solieri Laporte de Castelnau, 1840 .