A review of theScopaeus gracilis species group (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Paederinae), with description of new species from Sardinia, southern Africa and Middle East

Abstract

The monophyletic Scopaeus gracilis species group, which is distributed in the West Palaearctic, southern Africa and Madagascar, is revised and its phylogenetic and biogeographical relations are discussed. It is made up of two monophyletic subgroups, which originate from the Mediterranean and Middle East, respectively. The S. gracilis subgroup is considered an example of multiple speciation in Mediterranean islands. According to the present concept, the S. gracilis species group comprises S. flavofasciatus Frisch (Cyprus), S. gracilis (Sperk) (West Palaearctic), S. longicornis Fauvel (Madagascar) and S. siculus Binaghi (Sicily, Calabria), which are redescribed, and five new species, which are here named and described: S. asirensis sp. n. (Saudi Arabia), S. meridioafricanus sp. n. (southern Africa), S. pakistanensis sp. n. (Pakistan, Iran), S. poggii sp. n. (Sardinia) and S. stramineus sp. n. (Iran). The relevant primary and secondary sexual characters of the species are figured, and their distribution is mapped. The dubious current taxonomic interpretation of S. gracilis (Sperk), which was described in the genus Xantholinus, is analysed, and the distribution of this species is revised in detail. Accordingly, records of S. gracilis from the lowlands north of the European mountain ranges, Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Central Asia, East Africa, Mesopotamia, Sudan and Libya proved to be wrong or have to be rejected from the biogeographical point of view. (© 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)