A preliminary account of the fly fauna in Jabal Shada al-A'la Nature Reserve, Saudi Arabia, with new records and biogeographical remarks (Diptera, Insecta).

The first list of insects of Al-Baha Province, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) was published in 2013 and contained a total of 582 species; an addendum to this list was published in 2015 adding 142 species and bringing the total number recorded from the province to 724 insect species representing 17 orders. The previous two studies excluded Jabal Shada al-A'la Nature Reserve (SANR), so the present study in SANR, as belonging to Al-Baha Province, are complementary to the previous two. The present study presents a preliminary list of Diptera (Insecta) in SANR, with remarks on their zoogeography, and is the first of a series of planned ecological and systematic studies on different insect orders as one of the outputs of a project proposed to study the entire insect fauna of SANR. A total number of 119 Diptera species belonging to 87 genera, 31 tribes, 42 subfamilies, and representing 30 families has been recorded from SANR in the present study. Some species have been identified only to the genus level and listed herein only because this is the first time to record their genera in KSA. Fourteen of the species are recorded for the first time for KSA, namely: Forcipomyia sahariensis Kieffer, 1923 [Ceratopogonidae]; Chaetosciara sp. [Sciaridae]; Neolophonotus sp.1; Neolophonotus sp.2; Promachus sinaiticus Efflatoun, 1934; Saropogon longicornis (Macquart, 1838); Saropogon sp. [Asilidae]; Spogostylum tripunctatum (Pallas in Wiedemann, 1818) [Bombyliidae]; Phycus sp. [Therevidae]; Hemeromyia sp.; Meoneura palaestinensis Hennig, 1937 [Carnidae]; Desmometopa inaurata Lamb, 1914 [Milichiidae]; Stomoxys niger Macquart, 1851 [Muscidae]; and Sarcophaga palestinensis (Lehrer, 1998) [Sarcophagidae]. Zoogeographic affinities of recorded fly species suggest a closer affiliation to the Afrotropical region (46%) than to the Palearctic region (23.5%) or the Oriental region (2.5%). This supports the previous studies' conclusions and emphasizes the fact that parts of the Arabian Peninsula, including Al-Baha Province, ought to be a part of the Afrotropical Region rather than of the Palaearctic Region or the Eremic Zone.

Introduction

Al-Baha Province (Fig. 1) is situated in the south-western part of the Kingdom of Saudi-Arabia (KSA) between the Holy Makkah and Asir provinces. It is the smallest province in KSA (approximately 10,362 km2), situated at 41–42 °E and 19–20 °N. It is characterized by natural tree cover (El-Juhany and Aref 2013) and agricultural plateaus. Huge and steep rocky mountains divide the province into two main sectors, a mountainous area known as ‘Al-Sarat’ or ‘Al-Sarah’ with an elevation of 1500–2450 m above sea level at the east forming a part of Al-Sarawat Mountains range, and a lowland coastal plain in the west, known as ‘Tihama’. The second sector, Tihama, is divided into two districts, Al-Mekhwa and Qelwa (Alahmed et al. 2010, El-Hawagry et al. 2013, 2015). Jabal Shada al-A’la Nature Reserve (SANR) lies between latitudes 19.8149N–19.8763N and longitudes 41.2855E–41.3501E (Fig. 1). It is an isolated granite mountain massif made up of jagged spires and pinnacles, located in Al-Mekhwa district, 20 km to the south-west of Al-Mekhwa city, the capital of the district. It is a dissonant of the Sarawat Escarpment in the foothills of Tihama, measuring 68.62 square kilometers. Its location and its altitudinal range from 490 to 2,222 meters above sea level ensures high rainfall, a wide range of micro-climates, and a high level of biological diversity (SWA 2016).

Figure 1.

Map of Saudi Arabia showing Al-Baha Province and Jabal Shada al-A‘la Nature Reserve.

In the lowland coastal plain, Tihama, the climate is hot in summer, warm in spring and mild in winter, with less than 100 mm of annual rainfall. In the mountainous area, Al-Sarah, the weather is generally cooler due to high altitude, in addition to the formation of clouds and fog accompanied by thunderstorms in winter, with a rainfall average of 405 mm annually (Ibrahim and Abdoon 2005; El-Hawagry and Al Dhafer 2015). The climate in SANR is intermediate between the climates in these two sectors, with a rainfall average of approximately 200 mm annually (Fig. 2).

Figure 2.

Monthly average temperatures and rainfall in 50 years (1950–2000). In Jabal Shada al-A‘la Nature Reserve (Worldclim database: http://www.worldclim.org/).

SANR, as an isolated mountain massif, supports an exceptionally rich flora; with approximately 500 plant species recorded, including 63 key plant taxa including endemics and Afrotropical relicts, it is the site of highest botanical diversity known in Saudi Arabia. The exceptional floral diversity of SANR, together with the presence of griffon vultures and endemic birds of the southwestern mountains and carnivores such as, the Arabian red fox [ Thomas, 1902], Arabian caracal [ (Matschie, 1912)], striped hyaena [ (Pocock, PageBreak1934)], Arabian wolf [ Pocock, 1934], sand cat [ Hemmer, Grubb & Groves, 1976], and reportedly the Arabian leopard [ Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1833], makes this small protected area a unique PageBreaktreasure of biological diversity. Small communities on the mountain grow a distinctive variety of coffee and other crops in terraced fields (El-Hawagry et al. 2013; SWA 2016; UAEinteract 2016).

The purpose of this paper is to present a preliminary list of () in SANR, Al-Baha Province, KSA, with remarks on their zoogeography. This is not the final list of that occur at SANR with the study serving as a basis for further investigations as many additional collected species are still unidentified and further studies are planned to be carried out at SANR. Also, this is the first of a series of planned ecological and systematic studies on different insect orders as one of the outputs of a project proposed to study the entire insect fauna of SANR.

El-Hawagry et al. (2013, 2015) studied the insect fauna of Al-Baha Province excluding SANR, so the present study and other future studies in SANR are complementary to the previous two studies. Studies on the fauna of SANR are of particular interest as this area lies in a part of the Arabian Peninsula which is thought by many authors to touch three of the main zoogeographical regions: the Palaearctic, the Afrotropical, and the Oriental (Hölzel 1998).

The Afrotropical Region is supposed to encompass all of Africa south of the Sahara, with the island of Madagascar and the nearby smaller islands. Many authors add parts of the Arabian Peninsula to the Afrotropical Region as well, but there seems to be no agreement as to how much (El-Hawagry et al. 2015). This may be deduced from the fact that the south-western and southern parts of the Arabian Peninsula including Al-Baha Province are strongly influenced by a subtropical to tropical climate with spring and summer rains (Abdullah and Al-Masroui 1998), and are thus dominated by a xeromesic tropical flora of palaeotropical origin, that in fact represents the impoverished northern part of an African flora (Ghazanfar and Fisher 1998; Hegazy et al. 1998). Examples of plant species with this conspicuous distribution pattern, linking south-west Arabia with the other side of the Red Sea, and commonly represented in SANR are: (Forssk.) Vahl, (L.) B.L.Burtt and (Vahl) R.Br. (); Forssk. (), (Burm.f.) Juss. ex Schult., (L.) A. L. Juss. ex Schultes and spp. (); (Forssk.) Roem. & Schlt. and (Forssk.) Vahl (); Schweinf. and Decne. (); Vahl (); Willd., sp., (DC.), (DC.), (L.), L. and DC. (); Schweinf. ex Baker (); succulent spp. (); (Forssk.), Schweinf and Forssk. (); Lam. (); L. and Schweinf. ex Cufod. (); (Miq.) (); spp. (); L., L., (L.) P. Beauv. ex Roemer & Schultes and (Gmel.) Henr. (); L. (); Fresen and (Forssk.) (); (Forssk.) Vahl (); in addition to semi-evergreen PageBreaksclerophyllous woodlands of the Afromontane vegetation (Ghazanfar and Fisher 1998; Zohary 1973; Thomas 2016).

Sclater (1858) and Wallace (1876) proposed the classical zoogeographical regions and placed the northern border of the Afrotropics along the Tropic of Cancer, i.e. the northern limit of the Afrotropical Region was placed in Taif area, some 200 km north of Al-Baha Province (Hölzel 1998). Crosskey (1980) considered the northern boundaries of Yemen as the regional boundary between the Afrotropical and Palaearctic parts in the Arabian Peninsula. Extensive sampling of Insects in the Arabian Peninsula by many authors in Yemen, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and south-western mountains of KSA, have raised some interesting questions about the true extent of the Afrotropical Region in this important transitional zone. Authors indicate that Wallace’s (1876) concept of the extent of the Afrotropical Arabian Peninsula is more accurate than Crosskey’s (1980) limited concept of Yemen alone (Kirk-Spriggs and McGregor 2009, El-Hawagry et al. 2015). However, Uvarov (1938), Greathead (1980) and Larsen (1984) agreed that the south-western part of KSA including the study area should be united with the central Arabian deserts which are either considered as a part of the Palaearctic or by some authors as an autonomous Eremic Zone (also called the Saharo-Sindian faunal region).

Material and methods

Flies were collected from different localities in SANR over two successive years, 2014 and 2015 by the authors. Twelve collecting trips were made, six in 2014 in February, April, June, August, October and December, and six in 2015 in January, March, May, July, September and November. Collections were made in 6 different localities representing different altitudinal levels and habitats in SANR (Figs 13–18, Table 1). The collecting methods included sweep and aerial nets (randomly), bait traps (irregularly), light traps (6 traps, one in each locality, for one night in each trip), Malaise traps (6 traps, one in each locality, for one day in each trip), pitfall traps (90 traps, 15 in each locality, for three days in each trip), and vacuuming (one time in each locality, for 15 minutes in each trip). In addition, a few specimens were incidentally collected by hand.

Figures 13–18.

13 Collecting locality no. 1 14 Collecting locality no. 2 15 Collecting locality no. 3 16 Collecting locality no. 4 17 Collecting locality no. 5 18 Collecting locality no. 6.

Table 1.

An overview of the collecting localities with their coordinates and common vegetation.

Locality no.	Coordinates (in decimal degrees)			The most common plants in the locality
	Elevation (M)	Latitude (N)	Longitude (E)	Species	Family
1	1666	19.8429	41.3115	Barleria bispinosa (Forssk.)	Acanthaceae
				Carissa edulis L.	Apocynaceae
				Conyza stricta Willd.	Compositae
				Psiadia punctulata (DC.)	,,
				Rhamnus dispermus (L.)	,,
				Aristida adscensionis L.	Poaceae
				Acacia etbaica Schweinf	Fabaceae
				Indigofera spinosa Forssk.	,,
				Hibiscus micranthus L.	Malvaceae
				Hibscus deflersii Schweinf. ex Cufod.	,,
2	1611	19.8402	41.3114	Barleria bispinosa (Forssk.)	Acanthaceae
				Hypoestes forskaolii (Vahl) Aerva javanica (Burm.f.)	,, Amaranthaceae
				Capparis cartilaginea Decne.	Burseraceae
				Echinops sp.	Compositae
				Pulicaria undulata (DC.)	,,
				Tagetes minuta L.	,,
				Vernonia schimperi DC.	,,
				Cenchrus ciliaris L.	Poaceae
				Eragrostis tenella (L.)	,,
				Pennisetum divisum (Gmel.)	,,
				Indigofera spinosa Forssk.	Fabaceae
				Ficus ingens (Miq.)	Moraceae
				Commicarpus spp.	Nyctaginaceae
				Solanum incanum L.	Solanaceae
3	1563	19.8388	41.3101	Barleria bispinosa (Forssk.)	Acanthaceae
				Aerva javanica (Burm.f.)	Amaranthaceae
				Aerva lanata (L.)	,,
				Asparagus africanus Lam.	Liliaceae
				Commiphora quadricinta Schweinf.	Burseraceae
				Commelina forskaolii Vahl	Commelinaceae
				Tagetes minuta L.	Compositae
				Aristida adscensionis L.	Poaceae
				Cenchrus ciliaris L.	,,
				Eragrostis tenella (L.)	,,
				Indigofera spinosa Forssk.	Fabaceae
				Solanum incanum L.	Solanaceae
				Grewia tembensis Fresen	Tiliaceae
				Grewia tenax (Forssk.)	,,
				Cissus rotundifolius (Forssk.)	Vitaceae
4	1474	19.8452	41.3044	Aerva javanica (Burm.f.)	Amaranthaceae
				Adenium obesum (Forssk.)	Apocynaceae
				Tagetes minuta L.	Compositae
				Cenchrus ciliaris L.	Poaceae
				Acacia asak (Forssk.)	Fabaceae
				Acacia etbaica Schweinf	,,
				Indigofera spinosa Forssk.	,,
				Solanum incanum L.	Solanaceae
5	1325	19.8511	41.3006	Barleria bispinosa (Forssk.)	Acanthaceae
				Blepharis ciliaris (L.)	,,
				Aerva javanica (Burm.f.)	Amaranthaceae
				Aerva lanata (L.)	,,
				Acacia asak (Forssk.)	Fabaceae
				Acacia etbaica Schweinf	,,
				Indigofera spinosa Forssk.	,,
				Solanum incanum L.	Solanaceae
6	1225	19.8627	41.3015	Barleria bispinosa (Forssk.)	Acanthaceae
				Blepharis ciliaris (L.)	,,
				Aloe officinalis Forssk.	Aloeaceae
				Psiadia punctulata (DC.)	Compositae
				Sansevieria ehrenbergii Schweinf.	Dracaenaceae
				Cenchrus ciliaris L.	Poaceae
				Acacia asak (Forssk.)	Fabaceae
				Solanum incanum L.	Solanaceae

All taxa are identified and arranged in alphabetical order. Dates of collection for each species are included for the purpose of mapping the activity periods of species in the study area. Each collection date is followed, between parentheses, by the method of collection used, and the latter is followed by the locality number from which the specimens are collected.

Zoogeographical affiliations of species reported in the study area were estimated using world catalogues and counted to calculate the percentage of Afrotropical, Palaearctic or Oriental elements.

Images of newly recorded species were made using a Leica MZ 125 stereo-binocular microscope (Leica Microsystems Ltd, St. Gallen, Switzerland) fitted with a digital camera (Q-imaging Micro Publisher 5.0 RTV; Zerene Systems LLC, Richland, WA, USA) at PageBreakPageBreakthe Plant Protection Department, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University. Photo automontage was performed by Zerene stacker program version 1.04 (Innovative Solutions, Bucharest, Romania).

Many studies and keys have been consulted in order to identify, classify and estimate the zoogeographical affiliation of collected specimens and such studies are indicated after each taxon in the list, in addition to the following: Abdullah and Merdan (1995), Amoudi (1993), Dawah and Abdullah (2006), El-Hawagry (2015), El-Hawagry and Gilbert (2014), El-Hawagry et al. (2000), Evenhuis and Greathead (2015), Greathead (1980, 1988), Londt (2008), McAlpine (1981), Pape (1996), Pape and Thompson (2016), Soós and Papp (1984–1993), Unwin (1991).

Unidentified specimens (or photos of specimens)were sent to experts for identification, as indicated after each of these taxa in the list.

Flies of suborder were examined and preserved in alcohol, while other flies were glued to pinned stiff paper points, and all are deposited at the King Saud University Museum of Arthropods, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (KSMA).

Abbreviations used:

AF

Afrotropical

BT

Bait trap

HP

Hand-collecting

KSMA

King Saud University Museum of Arthropods, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

LT

Light trap

MT

Malaise trap

NE

Nearctic

OR

Oriental

PA

Palaearctic

PT

Pitfall trap

SANR

Jabal Shada al-A’la Nature Reserve

SW

Sweeping and areal nets

VC

Vacuuming

Results

A total of 119 fly species belonging to 87 genera, 31 tribes, 42 subfamilies, and representing 30 families was recorded from SANR through the present study. Some species have been identified only to genus and listed herein as the genera were not previously recorded from KSA.

Most of the recorded fly species are characteristic of the Afrotropical region. Table (2) indicates the zoogeographic affinities of recorded species suggesting a closer affiliation to the Afrotropical region (46%) than to the Palearctic region (23.5%) or the Oriental region (2.5%).

List of species recorded at SANR to date

Order

Suborder

Family

Walker, 1848

15 February 2014 (MT1), 5 May 2015 (SW1).

Identification: Haenni (1985).

Known distribution: AF.

Family

Subfamily

Tribe

(Austen, 1912)

23 August 2014 (LT2, LT5).

Identification: Alahmed et al. (2010), Boorman (1989).

Known distribution: AF.

Subfamily

Kieffer, 1923

23 August 2014 (LT1).

Identification: Lewanczyk et al. (2009).

Known distribution: AF. First record from KSA.

Family

Subfamily

Cambouliu, 1902

23 August 2014 (LT2), 15 February 2014 (LT3).

Identification: Glick (1992).

Known distribution: PA.

Subfamily

(Pallas, 1771)

15 February 2014 (LT1, PT4).

Identification: Alikhan et al. (2014).

Known distribution: PA.

Linnaeus, 1758

23 August 2014 (PT4).

Identification: Thielman and Hunter (2007).

Known distribution: Cosmopolitan.

Family

sp. Fig. 7

Figures 3–7.

3 Efflatoun 4 sp.1 5 (Macquart) 6 sp.2 7 sp.

15 February 2014 (MT1), 23 August 2014 (LT2).

Remark: This seems to be the first record of from KSA..

Identification: Steffan (1981) and Mohrig et al. (2012).

Known distribution: Undetermined.

Suborder

Infraorder

Superfamily

Family

Subfamily

Tribe

sp1. Fig. 4

14-15 February 2014 (MT1, MT3), 21 April 2014 (LT3), 27 January 2015 (MT2, MT3, MT5), 5 May 2015 (SW1), 27 July 2015 (LT2).

Remark: This seems to be the first record of this genus from KSA.

Identification: Dr. Jason G.H. Londt, from photos (personal communication).

Known distribution: Undetermined.

sp2. Fig. 6

15 February 2014 (MT3), 15 November 2015 (MT3).

Remark: This seems to be the first record of this genus from KSA.

Identification: Dr. Jason G.H. Londt, from photos (personal communication).

Known distribution: Undetermined.

Subfamily

Efflatoun, 1934 Fig. 3

20 April 2014 (LT6), 3 June 2014 (LT2, MT4), 3-5 June 2014 (SW2), 15 November 2015 (MT6).

Identification: Efflatoun (1934, 1937).

Known distribution: PA. First record of the species from the KSA.

Subfamily

Tribe

(Macquart, 1838) Fig. 5

3 June 2014 (MT3).

Identification: Efflatoun (1934, 1937).

Known distribution: PA. First record from KSA.

sp.

15 November 2015 (MT6).

Remark: This seems to be the first record of this genus from KSA.

Identification: Efflatoun (1934, 1937).

Known distribution: Undetermined.

Subfamily

(Wulp, 1899)

3 June 2014 (MT5), 5 May 2015 (MT5).

Identification: Dr Torsten Dikow, from photos (personal communication).

Known distribution: PA.

Family

Subfamily

Tribe

Wiedemann, 1830

5 June 2014 (SW6), 28 July 2015 (SW3).

Identification: Magdi El-Hawagry using Greathead (1980, 1988).

Known distribution: AF.

Greathead, 1967

15 February 2014 (MT1), 23 August 2014 (LT2).

Identification: Magdi El-Hawagry using Greathead (1980, 1988).

Known distribution: AF.

Greathead, 1980

21 April 2014 (LT2), 3 May 2015 (LT5), 14 November 2015 (LT6).

Identification: Magdi El-Hawagry using Greathead (1980, 1988).

Known distribution: PA.

Subfamily

Tribe

Klug, 1832

22 April 2015 (LT).

Identification: Magdi El-Hawagry using Greathead (1980, 1988).

Known distribution: AF, PA.

(Sack, 1909)

4 June 2014 (SW6).

Identification: Magdi El-Hawagry using Greathead (1980, 1988).

Known distribution: OR, PA.

(Meigen, 1820)

29 July 2015 (PT5).

Identification: Magdi El-Hawagry using Greathead (1980, 1988).

Known distribution: PA.

(Pallas in Wiedemann, 1818)

4-5 June 2014 (SW2), 2 September 2015 (LT6).

Identification: Magdi El-Hawagry using Greathead (1980, 1988).

Known distribution: PA. First record from KSA.

Tribe

(Hesse, 1956)

17 October 2014 (MT5).

Identification: Magdi El-Hawagry using Greathead (1980, 1988).

Known distribution: AF.

Greathead, 1980 Fig. 9

Figures 8–12.

8 Wiedemann 9 Greathead 10 Lamb 11 Macquart 12 a (Lehrer), habitus b same, male genitalia.

3 June 2014 (SW1).

Identification: Magdi El-Hawagry using Greathead (1980, 1988).

Known distribution: AF.

Greathead, 1988

29 July 2015 (PT5).

Identification: Magdi El-Hawagry using Greathead (1980, 1988).

Known distribution: AF.

(Röder, 1887)

3 November 2014 (HP6).

Identification: Magdi El-Hawagry using Greathead (1980, 1988).

Known distribution: PA.

Tribe

Bezzi, 1924

27 January 2015 (MT5), 5 May 2015 (MT2, MT4), 15 November 2015 (MT4).

Identification: Magdi El-Hawagry using Greathead (1980, 1988).

Known distribution: AF.

(Klug, 1832)

5 May 2015 (MT4).

Identification: Magdi El-Hawagry using Greathead (1980, 1988).

Known distribution: AF.

Villa bivirgata Austen, 1937

3 June 2014 (SW4), 5 May 2015 (SW4).

Identification: Magdi El-Hawagry using Greathead (1980, 1988) and EL-Hawagry and Greathead (2006).

Known distribution: PA.

Villa paniscoides Bezzi, 1912

3 June 2014 (SW4), 27-28 July 2015 (SW1), 15 November 2015 (MT4).

Identification: Magdi El-Hawagry using Greathead (1980, 1988) and EL-Hawagry and Greathead (2006).

Known distribution: AF.

Tribe

sp.

4 June 2014 (SW4).

Identification: Magdi El-Hawagry using El-Hawagry and Evenhuis (2008).

Known distribution: Undetermined.

Zaitzev, 1962

5 June 2014 (SW2), 27 July 2015 (SW1).

Identification: Magdi El-Hawagry using Greathead (1980, 1988).

Known distribution: PA.

(Wiedemann, 1828)

5 June 2014 (SW4), 27 July 2015 (SW1).

Identification: Magdi El-Hawagry using Greathead (1980, 1988).

Known distribution: PA.

Bezzi, 1921

3-5 June 2014 (SW2, SW4), 5 May 2015 (MT3), 27 July 2015 (SW4).

Identification: Magdi El-Hawagry using Greathead (1980, 1988).

Known distribution: AF.

Family

sp.

1 June 2014 (LT5), 24 August 2014 (LT6).

Remark: This seems to be the first record of the genus from KSA.

Identification: Dr Martin Hauser (personal communication).

Known distribution: AF.

Superfamily

Family

Subfamily

Parent, 1929

27 July 2015 (SW).

Identification: Grichanov (2007).

Known distribution: AF.

Subfamily

sp.

23 August 2014 (LT4), 10 December 2014 (LT6), 26 January 2015 (PT4), 27 July 2015 (LT6).

Identification: Grichanov (2007).

Known distribution: Undetermined.

Becker, 1907

23 August 2014 (LT2).

Identification: Grichanov (2007).

Known distribution: PA.

Superfamily

Family

Loew, 1858

10 December 2014 (LT6).

Identification: Narchuk (2007).

Known distribution: AF.

Superfamily

Family

(Linnaeus, 1758)

15 November 2015 (LT6).

Identification: Amoudi and Leclercq (1992) and Leclercq (1982, 1986, 2000).

Known distribution: PA.

Infraorder

Section

Superfamily

Family

(Loew, 1866)

23 April 2014 (PT2, PT3), 5 June 2014 (PT4), 2 March 2015 (PT4), 29 July 2015 (PT5), 23 August 2015 (LT3).

Identification: Magdi El-Hawagry.

Known distribution: Cosmopolitan.

Section

Subsection

Family

sp. 23 August 2014 (LT1).

Remark: This seems to be the first record of the genus from KSA.

Identification: Sabrosky (1987).

Known distribution: Undetermined.

Hennig, 1937

23 August 2014 (LT1, PT2).

Identification: Papp (1978).

Known distribution: PA.

Family

Subfamily

Becker, 1910

24 August 2014 (MT6).

Identification: Deeming and Al-Dhafer (2012).

Known distribution: AF.

(Meigen, 1830)

27 January 2015 (LT1).

Identification: Deeming and Al-Dhafer (2012).

Known distribution: AF, PA.

Subfamily

Lamb, 1918

27 July 2015 (VC5).

Identification: Deeming and Al-Dhafer (2012).

Known distribution: AF.

Collin, 1949

4 June 2014(SW4), 24 August 2014 (LT6).

Identification: Deeming and Al-Dhafer (2012).

Known distribution: PA.

(Adams, 1905)

15 February 2014 (MT1), 8 December 2014 (VC1, VC4), 5 May 2015 (MT4).

Identification: Deeming and Al-Dhafer (2012).

Known distribution: AF.

(Lamb, 1918)

15 February 2014 (MT1, PT1), 17 October 2014 (LT1), 27 July 2015 (VC2).

Identification: Deeming and Al-Dhafer (2012) for genus, and Lamb (1918) for species.

Known distribution: AF.

Duda, 1935

5 May 2015 (MT6).

Identification: Identification: Deeming and Al-Dhafer (2012).

Known distribution: AF.

Becker, 1903

5 May 2015 (MT6).

Identification: Identification: Deeming and Al-Dhafer (2012).

Known distribution: AF.

Subfamily

(Lamb, 1937)

23 August 2014 (LT5, LT6, PT2, PT3, PT4, PT5, PT6), 17 October 2014 (LT5), 8 December 2014 (VC4), 2-3 March 2015 (PT4, PT5), 17 July 2015 (LT3, MT4), 15 November 2015 (LT6).

Identification: Identification: Deeming and Al-Dhafer (2012).

Known distribution: AF.

Family

Subfamily

Ebejer, 2008

15 February 2014 (MT4).

Identification: Ebejer (2008).

Known distribution: AF.

Family

Subfamily

Tribe

(Fabricius, 1794)

5 May 2015 (MT6).

Mei & Stuke J-H (2008) has been consulted to identify this species.

Identification: Mei and Stuke (2008).

Known distribution: PA.

Family

Dalman, 1817

5 May 2015 (LT2, SW1).

Identification: Dawah and Abdullah (2008).

Known distribution: AF.

(Rondani, 1873)

2 June 2014 (LT6), 3 June 2014 (LT3, LT4), 3 June 2014 (MT2), 27 January 2015 (LT4), 5 May 2015 (LT1, SW1), 15 November 2015 (LT6).

Identification: Dawah and Abdullah (2008).

Known distribution: AF.

Family

Subfamily

Tribe

Meigen, 1830

17-18 October 2014 (LT3, PT2), 8 December 2014 (PT2), 26-27 January 2015 (LT1, MT1, MT2, PT1, PT2), 2 March 2015 (PT1, PT2, PT4).

Identification: Magdi El-Hawagry.

Known distribution: Cosmopolitan.

Gupta, 1970

2 March 2014 (PT5), 23 August 2014 (LT2), 18 October 2014 (PT1, PT2, PT4, PT5).

Identification: Amoudi et al. (1991).

Known distribution: OR.

Family

Subfamily

Tribe

(Wiedemann 1824)

23 April 2014 (PT4, PT5), 17 October 2014 (LT4).

Identification: Dawah and Abdullah (2006), Becker (1903) and Wiedemann (1824).

Known distribution: AF.

Wiedemann, 1830 Fig. 8

28 February 2014 (PT3), 23 August 2014 (PT1, PT2, PT4, PT5), 10 December (2014 (LT6), 5 May 2015 (LT4, SW1).

Identification: Dawah and Abdullah (2006), Becker (1903) and Wiedemann (1830).

Known distribution: AF.

Tribe

(Becker, 1903)

15 February 2014 (LT2, MT2), 4 June 2014 (SW4), 29 July 2015 (PT4, PT5).

Identification: Dawah and Abdullah (2006), Becker (1903).

Known distribution: AF, PA.

Subfamily

Loew, 1862

29 July 2015 (MT6).

Identification: Dawah and Abdullah (2006), Becker (1903).

Known distribution: AF.

Family

Subfamily

Tribe

Macquart, 1851

15 February 2014 (SW6).

Identification: MacGowan and Friedberg (2009).

Known distribution: AF.

Family

Subfamily

Lamb, 1914 Fig. 10

27 January 2015 (LT2), 29 July 2015 (PT4).

Identification: Deeming (1998).

Known distribution: AF. First record from KSA.

Malloch, 1927

5 May 2015 (PT5), 29 July 2015 (PT6).

Identification: Identification: Deeming (1998).

Known distribution: AF.

Subfamily

sp.

15 February 2014 (LT2), 27 July 2015 (LT2).

Identification: Deeming (1998).

Known distribution: Undetermined.

Family

Macquart, 1843

15 November 2015 (LT6).

Identification: Dr Valery Korneyev, from photos (personal communication).

Known distribution: AF.

(Walker, 1849)

3 June 2014 (LT2), 14 November 2015 (LT2).

Identification: Dr Valery Korneyev, from photos (personal communication).

Known distribution: AF.

Family

(Haliday 1833)

15 February 2014 (PT2, PT3), 23 August 2014 (PT6), 18 October 2014 (LT3, PT1, PT2, PT3, PT4), 8-11 December 2014 (LT2, LT3, LT4, VC1, VC2).

Identification: Magdi El-Hawagry, compared with museum specimens.

Known distribution: PA.

Family

Subfamily

Tribe

(Saunders, 1842)

23 August 2014 (LT2), 5 May 2015 (SW1), 27 July 2015 (SW1).

Identification: Merz and Dawah (2005) and Efflatoun (1924).

Known distribution: OR.

Subfamily

Tribe

(Rossi, 1794)

23 August 2014 (LT2).

Identification: Merz and Dawah (2005) and Efflatoun (1924).

Known distribution: AF, OR, PA.

(Wiedemann, 1830)

15 February 2014 (MT4), 3 June 2014 (MT4), 8 December 2014 (LT5, VC1).

Identification: Merz and Dawah (2005) and Efflatoun (1924).

Known distribution: AF.

(Hendel, 1910)

23 August 2014 (LT2).

Identification: Hendel (1910).

Known distribution: PA.

(Fuesslin, 1775)

3 June 2014 (LT2).

Identification: Merz and Dawah (2005) and Efflatoun (1924).

Known distribution: PA.

Family

Subfamily

Tribe

(Preyssler, 1791)

15 February 2014 (MT1, LT1), 21 April 2014 (LT1), 6 June 2014 (LT1), 23 August 2014 (LT1), 17-18 October 2014 (LT3, PT3), 27 January 2015 (MT1, MT3), 5 May 2015 (LT1), 27 July 2015 (LT1, SW1), 15 November 2015 (LT6, MT4).

Identification: Al Dhafer and El-Hawagry (2016).

Known distribution: Cosmopolitan.

Subsection

Family

Subfamily

Tribe

(Linnaeus, 1758)

15 February 2014 (MT1), 27 January 2015 (MT3), 4-5 May 2015 (MT3, SW1), 15 November 2015 (LT5).

Identification: Michelsen (2008).

Known distribution: PA.

Tribe

(Meigen, 1826)

15 February 2014 (LT1, LT2, LT3, MT1), 23 August 2014 (LT2), 17 October 2014 (LT1, LT2), 27 January 2015 (LT2, LT3, MT2).

Identification: Meigen (1826).

Known distribution: Cosmopolitan.

Family

Subfamily

Jaennicke, 1867

15 February 2014 (MT4).

Identification: Setyaningrum and Al Dhafer (2014).

Known distribution: AF.

(Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830)

3 June 2014 (SW6).

Identification: Setyaningrum and Al Dhafer (2014).

Known distribution: Cosmopolitan.

Subfamily

(Wiedemann, 1819)

4 June 2014 (SW1), 2 September 2015 (LT6), 15 November (LT3).

Identification: Setyaningrum and Al Dhafer (2014).

Known distribution: AF.

(Wiedemann, 1830)

3 June 2014 (SW4).

Identification: Setyaningrum and Al Dhafer (2014).

Known distribution: AF.

Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830

15 February 2014 (MT3), 4 June 2014 (MT6), 10 December 2014 (LT6).Identification: Setyaningrum and Al Dhafer (2014).

Known distribution: AF.

Subfamily

(Meigen, 1826)

16 February 2014 (HP6), 21 February 2014 (LT3), 10 December 2014 (LT6).

Identification:

Known distribution: Cosmopolitan.

Subfamily

Rognes, 1987

17 October 2014 (LT6).

Identification: Setyaningrum and Al Dhafer (2014).

Known distribution: PA.

(Fabricius, 1794)

17 October 2014 (LT5).

Identification: Setyaningrum and Al Dhafer (2014).

Known distribution: PA.

Family

Subfamily

Tribe

Wiedemann, 1830

15 November 2015 (SW5).

Identification: Pont (1991).

Known distribution: AF.

(Loew, 1852)

15 February 2014 (MT1), 8 December 2014 (VC4).

Identification: Pont (1991).

Known distribution: AF.

Villeneuve, 1936

15 February 2014 (MT3), 23 August 2014 (LT2, LT3, LT5), 17 October 2014 (LT4, LT5, MT2, MT4), 5 May 2015 (MT2), 15 November 2015 (MT4), 2 September 2015 (LT6).

Identification: Pont (1991).

Known distribution: OR.

Subfamily

Tribe

Stein, 1903

15 February 2014 (MT4, PT4), 23 April 2014 (PT1), 23 August 2014 (LT2), 17 October 2014 (LT2, LT4, MT4), 18 October 2014 (PT5), 5 May 2015 (MT4), 15 November 2015 (MT4).

Identification: Pont (1991).

Known distribution: Cosmopolitan.

Meigen, 1826

5 May 2015 (MT6).

Identification: Pont (1991).

Known distribution: Cosmopolitan.

Tribe

Wiedemann, 1830

15 February 2014 (LT6).

Identification: Pont (1991).

Known distribution: AF.

Becker, 1903

23 August 2014 (LT2, LT3), 17 October 2014 (LT5), 5 May 2015 (LT1, MT2), 14-15 November 2015 (LT4, LT5).

Identification: Pont (1991).

Known distribution: PA.

Subfamily

Tribe

Wiedemann, 1830

5 May 2015 (MT6).

Identification: Pont (1991).

Known distribution: AF, OR, PA.

De Geer, 1776

23 August 2014 (LT2), 5 May 2015 (MT2).

Identification: Pont (1991).

Known distribution: Cosmopolitan.

Walker, 1849

14 November 2015 (LT4).

Identification: Pont (1991).

Known distribution: AF.

Linnaeus, 1758

15 February 2014 (MT5, PT6), 3 June 2014 (MT2, SW6), 23 August 2014 (LT2, LT3), 5 May 2015 (MT6), 2 September 2015 (LT5), 15 November 2015 (LT6).

Identification: Pont (1991).

Known distribution: Cosmopolitan.

(Loew, 1856)

3 June 2014 (MT6).

Identification: Pont (1991).

Known distribution: AF, PA.

Wiedemann, 1830

5 May 2015 (MT1), 15 November 2015 (LT5).

Identification: Pont (1991).

Known distribution: AF.

Tribe

Macquart, 1851 Fig. 11

15 February 2014 (MT4), 17 October 2014 (LT5).

Identification: Márcia et al. (2012).

Known distribution: AF. First record from KSA.

Subfamily

Tribe

(Rondani, 1873)

2 March 2015 (PT5).

Identification: Pont (1991).

Known distribution: AF.

Tribe

(Stein in Becker, 1903)

15 February 2014 (MT5, PT2), 21 April 2014 (LT2), 17 October 2014 (LT1, LT5, MT1, MT2, MT3, MT4), 27 January 2015 (MT2, MT3), 14-15 November 2015 (LT4, LT5, MT4).

Identification: Pont (1991).

Known distribution: AF.

(Stein, 1913)

21 April 2014 (LT5).

Identification: Pont (1991).

Known distribution: AF.

Family

Townsend, 1917

15-16 February 2014 (MT1, MT3), 17 October 2014 (LT5), 27 January 2015 (LT1, MT3), 4-5 May 2015 (SW4, MT2).

Identification: Setyaningrum and Al Dhafer (2014).

Known distribution: AF.

(Wiedemann, 1830)

15 February 2014 (MT5, PT5).

Identification: Setyaningrum and Al Dhafer (2014).

Known distribution: AF.

(Wiedemann, 1830)

15 February 2014 (MT5), 3 June 2014 (SW4), 17 October 2014 (LT2, LT3, LT5), 14-15 November 2015 (LT4, LT5, LT6).

Identification: Setyaningrum and Al Dhafer (2014).

Known distribution: AF.

Family

Subfamily

(Meigen, 1830)

15 February 2014 (MT5), 3 June 2014 (SW4), 27 January 2015 (MT4), 5 May 2015 (MT4, SW1), 27-29 July 2015 (PT5).

Identification: Thomas Pape (personal communication) and the first author.

Known distribution: NE, PA.

Subfamily

Villeneuve, 1910

28 July 2015 (PT6).

Identification: Thomas Pape (personal communication) and the first author.

Known distribution: AF.

Wiedemann, 1830

3 May 2015 (PT5).

Identification: Thomas Pape (personal communication) and the first author.

Known distribution: AF.

Subfamily

(Townsend, 1919)

23 August 2014 (LT5).

Identification: Thomas Pape (personal communication) and the first author.

Known distribution: PA.

(Macquart, 1839)

3 June 2014 (SW4).

Identification: Thomas Pape (personal communication) and the first author.

Known distribution: Cosmopolitan.

(Lehrer & Abou-Zied, 2008)

21 April 2014 (BT6).

Identification: Lehrer and Abou–Zied (2008).

Known distribution: AF.

(Wiedemann, 1824)

5 May 2015 (SW4).

Identification: Thomas Pape (personal communication) and the first author.

Known distribution: Cosmopolitan.

(Lehrer, 1995)

3 June 2014 (LT6).

Identification: Thomas Pape (personal communication) and the first author.

Known distribution: AF.

Thompson, 1869

15 February 2014 (MT1).

Identification: Thomas Pape (personal communication) and the first author.

Known distribution: Cosmopolitan.

(Lehrer, 1998) Fig. 12

21 February 2014 (LT1).

Identification: Thomas Pape (personal communication) and the first author.

Known distribution: PA.

Family

Subfamily

Tribe

(Meigen, 1824)

15-16 February 2014 (LT6, MT4, MT5, MT6, SW6), 17 October 2014 (LT4, LT5, LT6), 14-15 November 2015 (LT4, LT6).

Identification: Dawah (2011) and Tschorsnig and Herting (1994).

Known distribution: AF, PA.

Tribe

(Linnaeus, 1758)

3 June 2014 (SW2, SW4).

Identification: Dawah (2011) and Tschorsnig and Herting (1994).

Known distribution: NE, PA.

Tribe

(De Geer, 1776)

5 May 2015 (MT1).

Identification: Dawah (2011) and Tschorsnig and Herting (1994).

Known distribution: PA.

(Meigen, 1824)

15 February 2014 (MT1), 21 April 2014 (LT1), 3 June 2014 (SW4), 27-30 January 2015 (LT1, LT2, LT3), 27 July 2015 (LT5).

Identification: Dawah (2011) and Tschorsnig and Herting (1994).

Known distribution: OR, PA.

Subfamily

Tribe

(Olivier, 1812)

7 June 2014 (SW4).

Identification: Dawah (2011), El-Hawagry et al. (2015) and Tschorsnig and Herting (1994).

Known distribution: PA.

Subfamily

Tribe

(Fabricius, 1798)

10 December 2014 (LT6).

Identification: Dawah (2011) and Tschorsnig and Herting (1994).

Known distribution: AF.

Discussion

In terms of vegetation and speciation, the south-western part of KSA, including Al-Baha Province, is considered to be the most important part of the country and the Arabian Peninsula in general. Floristically and ecologically, this area is similar to the high altitude mountains of north-eastern and eastern parts of Africa, and like other areas in the south-western part of the Arabian Peninsula, contains montane woodlands and evergreen shrub lands, with strong Afromontane affinities (Bussmann and Beck 1995; Zohary 1973; Eig 1938).

Considering the insect fauna as a whole, El-Hawagry et al. (2013, 2015) attributed the extraordinary complex and the interesting insect fauna in Al-Baha Province to its geographical position at the junction of two of the world’s main zoogeographical regions, the Afrotropical and the Palaearctic.

Many present day biogeographers think that the biogeographical divisions within the eastern and the northeastern parts of Africa should be extended towards east within the Arabian Peninsula as well, covering the high altitude regions of the southern Al-Sarawat Mountains, namely “Afromontane Archipelago” (Zohary 1973; Eig 1938).

Bolton (1994), Eig (1938), El-Hawagry et al. (2013 and 2015) and Sharaf et al. (2012a, 2012b) concluded that the insect faunal composition in Al-Baha Province has an Afrotropical flavor as the Afrotropical elements were predominantly indicated, they tended to agree with those biogeographers who think that parts of the Arabian Peninsula, including Al-Baha Province, should be included in the Afrotropical region, but they couldn’t indicate the northern border of this region exactly. All these facts seem to be reflected somehow on the fly faunal composition in Jabal Shada al-A’la Nature Reserve (SANR) as shown in the present results which obviously emphasize the fact that Al-Baha Province, as lying in the south-western part of the Arabian Peninsula, should be included in the Afrotropical Region rather than in the Palaearctic Region or the Eremic Zone.

Funding

The authors would like to extend their sincere appreciation to the Deanship of Scientific Research at King Saud University for its funding this research group NO (RGP-1437-009).

Table 2.

Zoogeographic affinities of fly species of Jabal Shada al-A’la Nature Reserve (SANR).

Region	Affinities
	No. of species	%
Afrotropical	55	46
Palaearctic	28	23.5
Oriental	3	2.5
Cosmopolitan	14	12
Undetermined	19	16