The Coleoptera Nitidulidae and Kateretidae from Anatolian, Caucasian and Middle East regions

Biogeographia - vol. XXI - 2000 (Pubb/icato il 30 giugno 2000) Biogeografia de||’AnatoIia The Coleoptera Nitidulidae and Kateretidae from Anatolian, Caucasian and Middle East regionsl PAOLO AUDISIO *, JOSEF JEI§INEK**, ANDREA MARIOTTI *, ALESSIO DE BIASE* *Dzj)¢zrtz'mento di Biblogia Animzzle e de[[’Uomo (Zoologia), Universitiz di Roma qLa Szzpienzzz q, Vizzle zz'eI[’Unz'z/ersitiz, 32 — L00] 8 5 Roma (Italy) “Deprzrtmem of Entomology, Nzztiomzl Museum, Kunnztice 1, CZ — 14800 Pm/Jzz 4, (Czec/7 Repu/alic) Key words: Coleoptera, Nitidulidae, Kateretidae, Anatolia, Caucasus, Middle East, geographical distribution, zoogeography. SUMMARY The known to date geographic distribution of the Coleoptera Nitidulidae and Kateretidae from Anatolian, Caucasian and Middle East areas are summarized and briefly discussed. The updated fauna of the whole region includes 232 species (205 Nitidulidae, 27 Kateretidae), with nearly 24% endemic of the whole study area. The percentage of endemic raxa seems to vary dramatically in the different genera, mainly Following their own ecological requirements. In Fact, several species (around 32%) of the more or less specialized phytophagous genera (such as Melzget/m and Urap/Jam: in the Nitidulidae, or Bra:/tylqwtus and Amzmzzrtu: in the Katereridae) are endemic or subendemic to the Anatolian, Caucasian and Middle East areas, while most of the other non—phytophagous (i.e., zoo- or phyto-saprophagous) species (such as Nitidzzlzz, Omaritzz, Epzmzm, Czupap/Jilw in the Nitidulidae) are usually widespread Palaearctic, Asiatic-European, Siberian—European, or European taxa. One species, Meliget/Jar are!/aiAud.isio and Jelinek n.sp., member oftheM. ratumlica/lit—species group, from northern Turkey, is described as new to Science; presence of at least three other new Anatolian and Caucasian species within the difficult M. corzzcinus species—complex is noticed, as well as occurrence in SE Turkey (Amanus Mts.) of a new, quite unexpected, Xerlartrangylur species, closely related to the rare W—MeditermneanX latent/is Chevrolat. Melzgetht: expkzmztus Reitter, previously known to occur in Middle Asia only, is first recorded for the Western Palaearctic Region (Western Syria); Prizz zenabizz Jelinek, recently described from SE Turkey and Israel, is first recorded for Europe (Western Greece); Meliget/7:35 minutus C. Brisout de Barneville is first recorded for the Eastern Mediterranean (Greece, Crete Island). New data on geographical distribution and host—plant relationships are given for several other discussed species. Percent of the different represented chorotypes in the whole study area within the two considered families, are finally calculated and briefly discussed in a zoogeographic perspective. INTRODUCTION The Western Palaearctic Nitidulidae and Kateretidaez have been recently dealt with and extensively discussed by Audisio (1993c). The present paper is mainly 1 Zoological researches in the Near East by the Universities of Rome: 193. This study was supported by grants from MURST 1999 (University of “Roma Tre”) “Variazione geografica e diversita a livello di specie, faune e zoocenosi: cause storiche ed ecologiche”. 2 In the present paper we use the family name Kateretidae Erichson, in Agassiz, [1846] over the recently used Brachypteridae Erichson, [1845] (Lawrence and Newton, 1995). according to ICZN (I999), opinion I916.