Meliboeus halperini (Niehuis, 1997)

Niehuis, Manfred, 2020, A review of the jewel beetles of the genus Meliboeus in Israel (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), Israel Journal of Entomology 50 (2), pp. 159-176 : 168

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4718391
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:6852ABCD-34C0-4716-85AF-BC7DBFA7A7CD
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15813550
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03C29767-FF81-B743-FE65-FC85D4B9FA8C
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Meliboeus halperini (Niehuis, 1997)
status

Treatment

( Fig. 9)

I originally assigned this species in the genus Nalanda , which is currently considered a junior synonym of Meliboeus ( KubÁŇ 2006) . Still, the taxonomic position of M. halperini is doubtful, as its antennal club has six segments like in Melibaeopsis Kerremans, 1903 . Niehuis and Strauss (2018 a) recently described a very similar and possibly related species, Meliboeus dhaferi , from Saudi Arabia.

Material examined: Israel: Central Negev : 1♂ ' En ' Avedat, 30°49'N 34°46'E, 24.x.1988, J. Halperin (SMNHTAU); 1♂ ' En ' Mor, 29.vi.1994, A. Freidberg (SMNHTAU); 2 ex., Nahal Neqarot, 11 km SE Mizpe Ramon, 7.vii.1996, M. Volkovitsh & M. Dolgovskaya ( ZIN). Arava Valley: 1 ex., Samar, 29°50'N 35°05'E, 1.x. 1989, J. Halperin (SMNHTAU) GoogleMaps .

Distribution: Known only from southern Israel (Central Negev and Arava).

Host plants: Unknown. Halperin (Niehuis 1997) collected one type specimen on Nitraria retusa (Forssk.) Asch. ( Zygophyllaceae ) ( Halperin & Argaman 2000; Volkovitsh 2004). Volkovitsh (2004) got the species by sweeping shrubs.