Myriochila (Monelica) dorsata, (BRULLE, 1834)

Jaskuła, Radomir & Wiesner, Jürgen, 2015, Discovery ofMyriochila (Monelica) Dorsata (Brullé, 1834) (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Cicindelinae) in Mali and Niger, with a Checklist of the Tiger Beetles Known to Occur in These Countries, The Coleopterists Bulletin 69 (4), pp. 734-735 : 734

DISCOVERY OF MYRIOCHILA (MONELICA) DORSATA (BRULLÉ, 1834) ( COLEOPTERA : CARABIDAE : CICINDELINAE ) IN MALI AND NIGER, WITH A CHECKLIST OF THE TIGER BEETLES KNOWN TO OCCUR IN THESE COUNTRIES

RADOMIR JASKUŁA Department of Invertebrate Zoology and Hydrobiology University of Lodz, Banacha 12/16 90-237 Łódź, POLAND [e-mail]

AND

JÜRGEN WIESNER Dresdener Ring 11 D-38444 Wolfsburg, GERMANY [e-mail]

The Republics of Mali and Niger are among the largest countries in Africa, covering 1,240,000 km 2 and 1,270,000 km 2, respectively. Located as neighboring countries in sub-Saharan Africa, they are similar in geography and climate. The central and northern parts of both countries are covered by desert plains and sand dunes of the Sahara Desert and have a very hot, dry climate. Only in their southern regions are savannas and permanent water reservoirs present (with the Niger River as the biggest river), and the climate is mainly tropical.

Despite the large territories of both countries, the tiger beetle faunas of Mali and Niger have not been a subject of intensive studies. The actual knowledge on diversity and distribution of this beetle group is based on single records provided in only a few publications by Wiesner (1992), Serrano and Cassola (1995), Cassola (1998), Werner (2000a, b), and Werner and Schüle (2006). Based on these papers, 15 species were recorded from Mali and 11 from Niger until now. None of the species is endemic to Mali or Niger. Moreover, most of them are widely distributed at least in central and northern Africa ( Wiesner 1992; Werner 2000a, b).

Recently, it was possible to study African tiger beetles deposited in the entomological collection of the Natural History Museum in Vienna, Austria. As a result of these studies, one species, Myriochila dorsata (Brullé, 1834) , was found for the first time from Mali and Niger. The material comes from the following localities ( Fig. 1 ): Mali: Tessalit district, Tessalit, 15.8.1990., leg. X. Vazquez. 1♀; Niger: Tillabery district, Niger Geb (between Tillabery and Ansongo in Mali), 18.7.1954., [no data on collector], 4♂♂ 1♀. This small tiger beetle species (10 – 12 mm) is usually found in semi-desert and savanna habitats, sometimes close to the banks of rivers (Werner 2000b; Jaskuła 2015). Previously, the species was known from the following countries: Algeria (southern part), Burkina Faso, Chad, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sudan (Werner 2000b; Putchkov and Matalin 2003; Cassola and Jaskuła 2008; Jaskuła 2015).

As a result of these findings, the number of tiger beetle species known to occur in Mali is increased to 16 and in Niger to 12 ( Table 1).

Figures

Fig. 1. Known localities (black dots) of Myriochila dorsata in Mali and Niger.