The beetle fauna (Insecta, Coleoptera) of the Rawdhat Khorim National Park, Central Saudi Arabia.
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, especiallyAphodius ictericus ghardimaouensisBalthasar.Karumia inaequalisPic (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.
King Saud University Museum of Arthropods (KSMA), Plant Protection Department, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460 Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
Mahmoud S
MS
Abdel-Dayem
Entomology Department, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
Hassan H
HH
Fad
Plant Protection Research Institute, Agriculture Research Center, Giza, Egypt.
Ashraf M
AM
El-Torkey
King Saud University Museum of Arthropods (KSMA), Plant Protection Department, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460 Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia; Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Al Azhar University, Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt.
Ali A
AA
Elgharbawy
King Saud University Museum of Arthropods (KSMA), Plant Protection Department, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460 Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
Yousif N
YN
Aldryhim
Department of Bioagricultural Sciences and Pest Management, Colorado State University, Campus Delivery 1177, Fort Collins, Colorado, U.S.A. 80523.
Boris C
BC
Kondratieff
King Saud University Museum of Arthropods (KSMA), Plant Protection Department, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460 Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
Amin N Al
AN
Ansi
King Saud University Museum of Arthropods (KSMA), Plant Protection Department, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460 Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
Hathal M
HM
Aldhafer
Arabian fauna; distribution; endemic species; new records; zoogeography