The ground beetle tribe Cyclosomini s.l. in Israel

The members of the carabid beetle tribe Cyclosomini s. l. in Israel and adjacent regions (Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt) are studied in terms of taxonomy, ecology (including the traits power of dispersal, especially hind wing development, and phenology), and distribution patterns. Material from museum collections and the authors’ field trips is analysed. The delineation of the tribe Cyclosomini s. l. is discussed and the genus Graphipterus Latreille, 1802 is excluded, but the corsyrine ground beetles are included. An illustrated key is presented for the identification of the species known from the Levantine countries (twelve species from the genera Anaulacus W. S. MacLeay, 1825, Somoplatus Dejean, 1829, Discoptera Seme nov, 1889, Tetragonoderus Dejean, 1829, Atlantomasoreus Mateu, 1984 and Masoreus Dejean, 1821; seven species from Israel). A new species from the northern Negev is described: Atlantomasoreus groneri spec. nov. This species can be differentiated from the two African species of this genus by short antennae, a well-developed gonosubcoxite which is also found in the genus Masoreus, the shape of the pronotum and characters of the aedeagus, especially the large copulatory pieces and the shape of the median lobe. Due to the characters of A. groneri spec. nov. we assume that the genera Masoreus and Atlantomasoreus form a monophyletic lineage. The genus Atlantomasoreus shows a disjunct distribution range and is an element of the periSaharian zone. Israel has a national responsibility for the conservation of the new species A. groneri spec. nov. which lives in shifting sand dunes, an increasingly endangered habitat.