Water beetles of northeastern Algeria: new records for the country and faunistic updates (Coleoptera, aquatic Adephaga, Dryopidae, Hydrophiloidea, Hydraenidae)

TL;DR

This study updates the list of water beetles in northeastern Algeria, identifying 42 species, including five new records and confirming previously overlooked species.

Contribution

The paper provides new records and faunistic updates for Algerian water beetles, correcting prior misidentifications and highlighting biodiversity hotspots.

Findings

Five species are newly recorded for Algeria, including Helophorus cf. paraminutus and Amphis senegalensis.

Hydrochus grandicollis and Coelostoma hispanicum are confirmed for Algeria after being omitted from major catalogues.

A male of Haliplus ruficeps is documented for the first time in over a century.

Abstract

Water beetles collected from Lake Tonga (North-East of Algeria), one of the best preserved and biodiverse coastal habitats in North Africa, have been studied and identifications of species reassessed, since most previous determinations published in Mahmoudi et al. (2023) were found to be incorrect. In this paper a revised species list is provided, with a small batch of previously unidentified material collected from a second biotope, Garaat Djamel, located 60 km west of Lake Tonga. A total of 42 species were identified, belonging to the families Gyrinidae, Haliplidae, Noteridae, Hygrobiidae, Dytiscidae, Dryopidae, Helophoridae, Hydrochidae, Hydrophilidae, and Hydraenidae, hosting approximately 13% of the Algerian aquatic beetle fauna, with the vast majority of this diversity concentrated in Lake Tonga, underscoring its status as a key hotspot of aquatic beetle biodiversity in the region. Five of the identified species are new records for Algeria: Helophoruscf.paraminutus Angus, 1986, Amphiopssenegalensis (Laporte, 1840), Enochrusnatalensis (Gemminger & Harold, 1868), Crephelochares ?livornicus (Kuwert, 1890) and Ochthebiusfallaciosus Ganglbauer, 1901. Hydrochusgrandicollis Kiesenwetter, 1870, and Coelostomahispanicum (Küster, 1848), recently recorded from Algeria, but omitted from major catalogues, are here confirmed for the country. Furthermore, the discovery of a male of the poorly known Haliplusruficeps Chevrolat, 1806 represents the first documented record of this species in more than a century. Photographs of the habitus and male genitalia of H.ruficeps and of the newly recorded species are provided. At present, Algeria supports 301 species of aquatic Coleoptera across 84 genera and 17 families. A comprehensive and updated checklist is also given, with a discussion on several doubtful or unconfirmed records.

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