The Meloidae (Coleoptera) of the United Arab Emirates with an updating of the Arabian checklist

This is the first contribution on the blister beetles (Meloidae) of the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), but new records from all countries of the Arabian Peninsula are also included, with the addition of some species never recorded before from this region, thus updating the previous checklist. Two species from U.A.E. are described: Hycleus pirata n. sp. (distributed also in Oman) and Hycleus dunalis n.sp., both belonging to different groups of species characterized by an unmodified mesosternum. Mylabris (Mylabris) desertica n.sp., Hycleus pintoi n.sp., and Hycleus fraudulentus n. sp. from Saudi Arabia, are also described. The following species previously referred to different mylabrine genera are here included in the genus Hycleus as new combinations: H. arabicus (Pallas, 1781), H. borchmannianus (Kaszab, 1983), H. gratiosus (Marseul, 1870), H. ligatus (Marseul, 1870), H. pseudobrunnipes (Kaszab, 1983), H. scabratus (Klug, 1845), H. scapularis (Klug, 1845). Coryna pitcheri Kaszab, 1983 is doubtfully referred to Hycleus. The new synonymies Deridea notata minor Kaszab, 1960 = Deridea notata Thomas, 1897, Mylabris bimaculata Klug, 1845 = Hycleus sexmaculatus (Olivier, 1811), and Zonabris rugosissima Pic, 1909 = Hycleus aestuans (Klug, 1845), are proposed. New information on the relationships of several species, particularly of the genera Lydomorphus and Hycleus, are also provided.