Afrotarus scotti Basilewsky 1948
Creators: name: Rasool, Iftekhar
name: Felix, Ron F. F. L.
name: Abdel-Dayem, Mahmoud S.
name: Aldhafer, Hathal M.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Carabidae
Afrotarus
Afrotarus scotti

description: Afrotarus scotti (Basilewsky, 1948)
Cymindis scotti Basilewsky, 1948: 128
Type locality. Yemen
Type depository. BMNH Type material. 1 ♂ labelled “[Orange label] Paratype ” / “[White label] R. M. Exp. to S.W. Arabia. II Scott and E.B. Britton. B.M. 1938-246” / “[White label yellow underlined] YEMEN Jebel Sumara, ca. 9,200 ft. 2.i.1938 ” / “[White label handwritten] Afrotarus scotti Basilw, P. Basilewsky det., 1956” / “[White label handwritten] Cymindis (Eremocymindis) scotti Basil. det. Emetz 1977” / “[White label] COLL. MUS. CONGO Col P. Basilewsky” [MRCA].
Recognition. Medium sized beetles (Fig. 23) with TBL 8 mm. Color: head and pronotum rufo-testaceous, elytra castaneous medially, testaceous marginally, and with large testaceous humeral mark. Head. elongate (Fig. 11), HL 1.44 mm and HW 1. 3 mm, smooth, eyes small, barely prominent; temples long; antennae long, slender, three antennomeres bypassing the base of pronotum; median tooth of mentum broad, rounded apically. Pronotum. almost as long as wide (Fig 11) PL 1.38 mm and PW 1.4 mm; not punctate, lateral margins elevated, hind angles with pair of setae, angles slightly sinuate and weakly pointed. Elytra. subovoid, intervals markedly flattened, marginal grooves deep, lateral margins elevated, microsculpture of intervals distinct. Aedeagus without hook (Basilewsky 1962; Ball & Hilchie 1983). Shape of aedeagus (Fig. 17).
Geographical distribution. This species was only recorded from Yemen.
Variation among species. The manifestation of altitude probably not only limits the species richness or abundance, but tends to change the colour pattern too. Basilewsky (1962) documented the relation between altitudinal range and variation within Afrotarus species especially pattern elytra and colour of species. It was found that the specimens of A. kilimanus (Kolbe 1898), collected from different elevations, ranging from 1500 m to 4000 m, have different color: species tend to be darker with increasing altitudes. At altitude less than 3000 m, elytrae of A. leleupi and A. meruanus are more or less dark brown with humeral spots at intervals 5, 6 and 7 and macula at intervals 3 near apex; while between 3000–4000 m or higher, elytra turns blackish without any macula (Basilewsky 1962). However not in all species colour variation is noticed in relation to altitude. It was found that Afrotarus soudaensis sp. n. collected from two elevation have variable colour and pattern. The specimens recorded at 2404 m are light reddish to brownish in colour and sometimes with pale macula at apex, while those specimens collected at altitude more than 2800 m are more dark red without any macula. This species had reduced wings or micropterous with limited dispersal ability.
description: Published as part of Rasool, Iftekhar, Felix, Ron F. F. L., Abdel-Dayem, Mahmoud S. & Aldhafer, Hathal M., 2017, A review of subtribe Cymindidina Laporte, 1834 (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Lebiini) in Southwestern Saudi Arabia, with descriptions of two new species, pp. 157-171 in Zootaxa 4236 (1) on pages 163-164, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4236.1.9, http://zenodo.org/record/322004