Taxonomia y distribucion de Meloe (Eurymeloe) saharensis Chobaut 1898 (Coleoptera, Meloidae), con nuevas synonymias y primeros registros para Europa y Macaronesia

Taxonomic study of nine specimens (including type material of M. saharensis, M. otini Peyerimhoff, 1949 and M. vignai Bologna, 1990), allows us to conclude that previously reported specific differences between M. saharensis, M. otini and M. marianii Kaszab, 1983, particularly the appearance of the metanotum, fall within the variability of a single species. The study of a broader set of characters, including male genitalia, does not contribute to the separation of taxa except for M. vignai. Consequently, we propose the formal synonymy of M. marianii (syn. nov.) and M. otini (syn. nov.) with M. saharensis, and therefore this species complex is reduced to two taxa: M. saharensis and M. vignai. Specimens examined allow us to assign a broad geographic range to M. saharensis, which extends from Israel and Saudi Arabia to the Canary Islands (Tenerife), with presence in southeastern Spain and most of the northern African countries (Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco). Despite its antiquity, dating back more than 80 years, the record of M. saharensis in Murcia represents the first known data about its presence in Europe.