Lebia (Lebia) nilotica Chaudoir, 1871

Rasool, Iftekhar, Abdel-Dayem, Mahmoud S., Felix, Ron F. F. L. & Aldhafer, Hathal M., 2018, A review of the Subtribe Lebiina Bonelli (Lebiini, Carabidae, Coleoptera) from Southwest of Saudi Arabia, Zootaxa 4379 (1), pp. 87-102 : 95-96

Lebia (Lebia) nilotica Chaudoir, 1871

Lebia nilotica Chaudoir, 1871: 220

Type locality: Egypt

Type depository: Holotype in MNHN

Material examined: Total 638 specimens: Al Baha: 2 ♂ and 3 ♀, “ KSA , Al Baha, Al Makhwa, Shada Al Aala , N19°52.598' E41°18.672' Alt. 892 m, 26.I.2015, (LT). , 1 ♀, “N19°51.762' E41°18.089' Alt. 1225 m, 27.I.2015, (LT)., 1 ♀, “ N19°51.066' E41°18.037' Alt. 1325 m, 27.I.2015, (LT), H. Al Dhafer, M. S. Abdel-Dayem, H. H. Fadl, A. El Turkey , A. Elgharbawy & I. Rasool ”. 2 ♂ 4 ♀, “ N19°52.598' E41°18.672' Alt. 892 m, 14.II.2014, (LT), El Elgharbawy & I. Rasool ” . 13 ♂ 5 ♀, “ 15.II.2014, (LT), I. Rasool”. 2 ♂ 3 ♀, 15.II.2014, (LT), M.S. Abdel- Dayem”. 2 ♀, 15.II.2014, (LT), M.S. Abdel-Dayem & I. Rasool”. 1 ♂, “ 15.II.2014 (LT), H. Al Dhafer, M.S. Abdel- Dayem, H. H. Fadl, El Elgharbawy & I. Rasool”. 3 ♀, “N19°51.762' E41°18.089' Alt. 1225 m, 15.II.2014, (LT)., 1 ♀, “N19°51.066' E41°18.037' Alt. 1325 m, (MT)., 1 ♂ 3 ♀, “N19°50.710' E41°18.267' Alt. 1474 m, 15.II.2014, (LT)., 1 ♂ 5 ♀, “ N19°51.066' E41°18.037' Alt. 1325 m, 15.II.2014, (LT), H. Al Dhafer, M.S. Abdel-Dayem, H. H. Fadl, A. El Turkey , A. El Elgharbawy & I. Rasool ”. 16 ♂ 20 ♀, “ N19°52.598' E41°18.672' Alt. 892 m, 16.II.2014, (LT), M.S. Abdel-Dayem & I. Rasool ” . 3 ♂ 6 ♀, “N19°51.762' E41°18.089' Alt. 1225 m, 21.IV.2014, (LT)., 4 ♂ 4 ♀, “N19°50.411' E41°18.686' Alt. 1611 m, 21.IV.2014, (LT)., 2 ♂, “N19°50.575' E41°18.691' Alt. 1666 m, 21.IV.2014, (LT)., 1 ♂ 1 ♀, “N19°52.598' E41°18.672' Alt. 892 m, 21.IV.2014, (HP)., 1 ♂ 2 ♀, “N19°51.066' E41°18.037' Alt. 1325 m, 21.IV.2014, (LT)., 2 ♂ 3 ♀, “N19°50.710' E41°18.267' Alt. 1474 m, 21.IV.2014, (LT)., 3 ♂ 2 ♀, “N19°52.598' E41°18.672' Alt. 892 m, 23.IV.2014, (LT)., 1 ♂ 1 ♀, “N19°52.598' E41°18.672' Alt. 892 m, 20.IV.2014, (LT). 1 ♂ 2 ♀, “ N19°50.575' E41°18.691' Alt. 1666 m, 03.VI.2014, (LT), H. Al Dhafer, M.S. Abdel- Dayem, H.H. Fadl, A. El Turkey , A. Elgharbawy & I. Rasool ”. 1 ♂, “ N19°50.411' E41°18.686' Alt. 1611 m, 03.VI.2014, (SW), H. Al Dhafer ” . 1 ♂, “N19°50.411' E41°18.686' Alt. 1611 m, 03.VI.2014, (LT)., 1 ♂ 1 ♀, N19°51.066' E41°18.037' Alt. 1325 m, 03.VI.2014, (LT)., 2 ♀, “N19°51.066' E41°18.037' Alt. 1325 m, 23.VIII.2014, (LT)”. 1 ♀, “ N19°50.710' E41°18.267' Alt. 1474 m, 23.VIII.2014, (LT), H. Al Dhafer, M.S. Abdel- Dayem, H.H. Fadl, A. El Turkey , A. Elgharbawy & I. Rasool ”. 94 ♂ and 120 ♀ “ N 19°50.575' E 41°18.691' Alt. 1666 m, 02.IX.2015, (LT) . 17 ♂ 20 ♀ “N 19°51.066' E41°18.037' Alt. 1325 m, 02.IX.2015, (LT)., 9 ♂ 9 ♀ “N 19°51.762' E 41°18.089' Alt. 1225 m, 02.IX.2015, (LT)., 20 ♂ 18 ♀ “N 19°50.710' E 41°18.267' Alt. 1474 m, 02.IX.2015, (LT)., 25 ♂ 28 ♀ “N 19°50.411' E41°18.686' Alt. 1611 m, 02.IX.2015, (LT). 37 ♂ 59 ♀ “ N 19°50.329' E41°18.604' Alt. 1563 m, 02.IX.2015, (LT), H. Al Dhafer, M.S. Abdel-Dayem, H.H. Fadl, A. El Turkey , A. Elgharbawy & Soliman , A ”. 1 ♀, N19°50.329' E41°18.604' Alt. 1563 m, 17.X.2014, (LT). , 1 ♀, “ N19°50.411' E41°18.686' Alt. 1611 m, 17.X.2014, (LT), H. Al Dhafer, M.S. Abdel-Dayem, H.H. Fadl, A. El Turkey , A. Elgharbawy & I. Rasool ”. 1 ♂ 3 ♀, “ N19°52.598' E41°18.672' Alt. 892 m, 17.X.2014, (LT), I. Rasool & M. Al Harbi ” . 1 ♀, “N19°52.598' E41°18.672' Alt. 892 m, 18.X.2014, (LT), I. Rasool& A. Al Ansi”. 1 ♂ “N 19°50.411' E 41°18.686' Alt. 1611 m, 14.XI.2015, (LT)., 1 ♀ “N 19°51.762' E 41°18.089' Alt. 1225 m, 14.XI.2015, (LT). 1 ♀ “N 19°50.710' E 41°18.267' Alt. 1474 m, 14.XI.2015, (LT)., 2 ♂ 3 ♀ “N 19°51.066' E 41°18.037' Alt. 1325 m, 14.XI.2015, (LT). 3 ♂ 5 ♀ “N 19°52.717' E 41°18.712' Alt. 825 m, 15.XI.2015, (LT)., 3 ♂ 2 ♀ “ N 19°52.598' E41°18.672' Alt. 892 m, 13.XI.2015, (one light), H. Al Dhafer, M.S. Abdel-Dayem, H.H. Fadl, A. El Turkey , A. Elgharbawy & Soliman , A ”. 1 ♀, “ N19°52.598' E41°18.672' Alt. 892 m, 9.XII.2014, (LT). , 1 ♀, 10.XII.2014, (LT)., 1 ♀, 11.XII.2014, (LT), H. Al Dhafer, M.S. Abdel-Dayem, H.H. Fadl, A. El Turkey , A. Elgharbawy & I.

Rasool ”. 1 ♀, “ Wadi Turba , N20°14.369' E41°15.234' Alt . 1757 m, 9.III.2012, (LT), M.S. Abdel-Dayem ”. Asir: 1 ♂, “ Abha, Rayda, N18°11.749' E42°23.345' Alt . 1614 m, 30.I.2015, (LT)., 1 ♂, “N18°13.347' E42°24.133' Alt. 2717 m, 26.IV.2014, (LT), H. Al Dhafer, M.S. Abdel-Dayem, H. H. Fadl, A. El Turkey , A. Elgharbawy & I. Rasool ”. 2 ♂ 7 ♀, “ Al Hubail , Wadi Reem , N18°06.981' E42°13.939' Alt . 451 m, 20.X.2014, (LT), I. Rasool & M. Al Harbi ”. Jazan: 2 ♂, “ Fayfa, Al Absia, N17°15.831' E43°60.498' Alt . 1770 m, 20.III.2014, (LT)., 1 ♂, “N17°20.223' E43°07.539', 23.III.2014, (LT), S. A. El-Sonbati [ KSMA]”. 2 ♂, “ KSA , Al Baha, Al Makhwa, Shada Al Aala , N19°52.598' E41°18.672' Alt . 892 m, 26.I.2015, (LT). 2 ♀, “N19°50.411' E41°18.686' Alt. 1611 m, 21.IV.2014, (LT), H. Al Dhafer, M. S. Abdel-Dayem, H. H. Fadl, A. El Turkey & A. Elgharbawy [ RMNH]”.

Recognition. Small species ( Figs. 24, 25 ), TBL 4.90–6.50 mm. Colour: Dorsum of head including mouthparts, pronotum, ventrum of thorax, legs and abdomen testaceous to rufo–testaceous, head sometimes darker than pronotum, antennae brunneous, sometimes antennomeres I–III testaceous; elytra pale testaceous with an anchor-shaped brunneous pattern in apical half prolonged posteriorly along suture to about apical fifth of elytra, widened at basal fifth occupying 3–4 inner intervals (in some specimens this basal macula absent), widened laterally left marginal boarder pale testaceous, elongate humeral macula and entire apex pale testaceous. Microsculpture: Pronotum with suppressed sculpture and micropunctures; labrum, elytra and abdominal sterna with isodiametric mesh pattern except sterna IV and V; clypeus with irregular punctuation; sternum III with transverse microlines at middle. Head: Elongate ( Fig. 35 ), HL 1.12–1.38 mm and HW 1.00– 1.20 mm, narrower than pronotum, densely punctate, frons with few wrinkles near eyes; eyes fairly large and well prominent, tempora short; clypeus transverse with convex anterior margin, labrum longer than clypeus; mentum without epilobes. Pronotum: Transverse ( Fig. 35 ), PL 0.90–1.00 mm and PW 1.28–1.50 mm, widened behind the anterior angles, anterior margin almost straight, lateral margin anteriorly rounded, slightly sinuate in front of posterior angles, posterior angles almost right, base strongly incised towards posterior angles and straight at middle; disc very finely punctate, slightly wrinkled. Elytra: Widened posteriorly, EL 3.37–3.85 mm and EW 2.50–2.75 mm, lateral margin obliquely convex, apical margin obliquely truncate, not serrate, striae complete, deep and finely punctate, intervals with fine and scattered pubescence, hardly visible. Tarsomere IV moderately incised, male with one preapical notch on inner side of mesotibiae. Abdomen: All sterna with yellow pubescence, apical margin of last sternum rounded, hexa-setose in female, and tetra-setose in males. Aedeagus: elongate ( Fig. 42 ), AL 1.28 mm, in lateral view dorsal margin strongly curved and ventral margin gently curved, equal in width before middle, apical lamina elongate, strongly narrowed.

Affinity. According to general appearance, body shape, size, pattern of elytra and colour, Lebia nilotica is very similar to L. (Metalebia) natalensis ( Chaudoir, 1871) more than any other species. But it can be distinguished from the latter by its light brown head, shiner and smoother pronotum with suppressed microsculptures, shallow wrinkles and very fine punctuation, and shorter and less oblique tempora. While in L. natalensis , the head is dark brown, tempora more oblique, pronotum duller with strong wrinkles and microsculptures ( Fig. 27 ).

Ecological note. This species was collected from lowland areas to high land mountains within the 451–2717 m range of altitude. It is collected in habitat with mixed types of vegetation covered with stones and gravels. The adult beetles were collected during January to April, June, August, October and December using UV–light, sweeping net and malaise trap.

Geographical distribution. Lebia nilotica was described by Chaudoir (1871) from Egypt, also found in Iraq and Saudi Arabia ( Fig. 44 ) ( Kabak, 2003; Lorenz, 2017). It exemplifies NAS Chorotype with Palearctic affinity

Comments. Chaudoir (1871) described Lebia nilotica from Egypt and L. senegalensis from Senegal. Chaudoir's original descriptions of these species were brief and based on one specimen for the former species and three for the latter. The limited morphological features and drawings of elytra he reported are insufficient to differentiate these two species. Holotype of L. nilotica was examined in RMNH. According to Chaudoir (1871), L. nilotica is much smaller in size (4.5 mm), pronotum is slightly less rounded, and black square spot is narrower and distant from base of elytra. While in type specimen of L. senegalensis , size is 6.5 mm, pronotum is slightly more rounded and black square spot is wider and reaching base of elytra. Comparison based on more than 600 specimens of L. nilotica showed that these above characters overlap in these two species. Both species are also similar in having short tempora, and smooth pronotum with suppressed microsculpture. Although the holotype of L. nilotica is a male, its abdomen is missing which makes it impossible to examine the genitalia. Although we have a conviction that L. nilotica and L. senegalensis are synonyms, solid evidence for synonymizing between them still lacks. So the authors keep the current status of both species.

Figures

FIGURES 18–26. Habitus of Lebia: (18) L. auberti (Fairmaire, 1892), (19) L. melanacra (Chaudoir, 1878), (20) L. melanura (Dejean, 1831), (21, 22) L. raeesae sp. n. (23) Holotype. L. nilotica Chaudoir, 1871, (24, 25) L. nilotica Chaudoir, 1871, (26) Syntype.L.senegalensis Chaudoir, 1871

FIGURES30–37. Head and pronotum of Lebia: (30) L.auberti (Fairmaire,1892), (31) L.melanacra (Chaudoir,1878), (32) L. melanura (Dejean, 1831), (33) L. raeesae sp. n. (34) L. natalensis Chaudoir, 1871, (35) L. nilotica Chaudoir, 1871, (36) L. spec.(37) Matabele arabica Mateu, 1986.

FIGURES38–42. Aedeagusof Lebia: (38) L.auberti (Fairmaire,1892), (39)L.melanacra (Chaudoir, 1878), (40) L.melanura (Dejean, 1831), (41) L.raeesae sp. n. (42) L. nilotica Chaudoir,1871.

FIGURES 27–29. Habitus of Lebia and Matabele: (27) Syntype. L. natalensis Chaudoir, 1871 (28) L. spec. (29) M. arabica Mateu, 1986.

FIGURES 43–44. Distribution of Lebia spp. in South west of Saudi Arabia.