A new record for the darkling beetle fauna of Israel: Akis subtricostata Redtenbacher, 1850 (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)

Abstract

The distribution range of Akis subtricostata covers Iran, Iraq, Syria (Löbl et al. 2008; Eleyjian 2010) and Turkey (Keskin & Yağmur 2008). Löbl et al. (2008) does not list this species for Jordan; however, it has already been recorded from a few localities in this area. Katbeh-Bader (1996) mentioned it from Dhulayl and Waitzbauer et al. (2004) referred to the area of Petra and Wadi Arava (which is treated here as 'Arava Valley). The senior author collected three specimens of Akis subtricostata (Fig. 1) in the southern area of the 'Arava Valley, Israel on the 12th of September 2014. This is the first record of this species in Israel. Further examination of the Akis specimens deposited in the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History Tel Aviv University, Israel (TAU), revealed three more specimens, all collected in 1968 by J. Klapperich (Bonn) during his 1956–1969 trip to Jordan. Bytinski-Salz (1969: 186) noted on Klapperich’s collecting effort that “the material has been distributed to specialists, but nothing has been published so far”. These three specimens are now the earliest known record from Jordan. It seems that these specimens were sent from Europe back to Israel without being taxonomically treated, and so Akis subtricostata remained unknown from Jordan until the publication of Katbeh-Bader (1996), which was based on a single specimen from Dhulayl. In Israel, the beetles were collected around midnight with a flashlight. They were seen wandering actively on semi stabilized sand dunes near Samar.

Cite as: Rittner, O. & Mienis, H.K. 2015. A new record for the darkling beetle fauna of Israel: Akis subtricostata Redtenbacher, 1850 (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). Israel Journal of Entomology 44–45: 61–62.

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.31200

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:404E0ED8-78C2-42F3-AE94-FAF 4E893D900