New faunistic records of Curculionoidea (Coleoptera: Cucujiformia) from Oman

This communication reports on records of fourteen species and three morphospecies from Oman. Squamapion sp., Nanophyes sp., Schoenherr, 1838, Hoplopodapion tibesticola (Alonso-Zarazaga, 1983), Aegyptobaris arctithorax (Pic, 1899), Eumycterus albosquamulatus Boheman, 1838, Proeces filum (Marshall, 1933), Rhamphus micros Colonnelli, 2009, Sharpia sabulicola Colonnelli, 2009, Smicronyx (Smicronyx) rufipennis Tournier, 1874, Amblyrhinus cylindricollis Magnano, 2009, Myllocerus undecimpustulatus Faust, 1891, Cosmogaster cordofanus (Fåhraeus, 1842), Hypolixus nubilosus (Boheman, 1836), Microlarinus irregularis Colonnelli, 2009 are from northen Oman and Araecerus sp., Cylindroides bifasciatus (Quedenfeldt, 1887), Orfilaia arabica (Muizon, 1954) from Dhofar in southern Oman.

Curculionoidea is a large group of phytophagous Coleoptera. Members of this superfamily are known as "snout beetles" or "weevils". They are usually characterized by long and slender snout, geniculate antennae generally inserted on the snout and generally compact antennal club. The Curculionoidea fauna of Oman is poorly known with few studies in the literature. For example, Rheinheimer (2003) described Systates omanicus (=Nematocerus omanicus) and Magnano et al. (2009) reported 4 only species.
Despite the poor knowledge of Omanian weevils, several studies have been carried out in areas in the Arabian Peninsula surrounding Oman. Some data on Curculionoidea fauna from Saudi Arabia, Yemen, UAE and a few from Oman have been published previously in Voss (1971); Colonnelli (1985); Wanat (1990); Caldara (1993); Rheinheimer (2003); Harten (2005); Meregalli & Colonnelli (2006); Meregalli (2008) and Magnano et al. (2009). The objective of this paper is to present additional records of Curculionoidea from Oman based on specimens collected in the country since 2018 and deposited in the private collection of the lead author. The lead author will deposit the specimens in the Oman Natural History Museum after death. The specimens were collected by using a sweeping net, an aspirator or by handpicking. The specimens were killed with ethyl acetate. The specimens were collected legally under the Permit n° 6210/10/87 issued by the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Affairs. Species are listed alphabetically in the list below. Records are presented following the standardized format of town, locality name, geographic coordinates, date of collection (day, month, year), number of specimens and collecting method.

Curculionidae
Notes: We collected this specimen from wild vegetation in a wadi habitat near date palm gardens.
Notes: Proeces filum breeding inside dead petioles of oil palm Elaeis guineensis (Arecaceae) and it is strongly considered to have been introduced into the UAE in conjunction with the cultivation of that plant ). We found this species on a sticky trap accidently hung on date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) fronds for dubas bug monitoring. Unfortunately, collection details were not fully documented at the time. This is the second report of this introduced species in Arabian Peninsula. We believe it is reproducing on date palm due to the similarity of the two plant host family.
Distribution: UAE ). New record for Oman. Notes: This species is previously known only from UAE, collected by beating branches of Acacia tortilis (Fabaceae). Larvae biology shows Rhamphus species are leafminers, and their small size is most probably an adaptative response to the selective pressure in extremely dry climates ). This specimen was collected by light trap from Oman Botanical Garden. There are several species of Acacia grow in the garden, but the Acacia tortilis is the most abundant.
Notes: All members of Smicronyx of the nominotypical subgenus whose biology is known live on Cuscutaceae, and just a few of them live on Gentianaceae, as most probably develops on Cuscuta planiflora in UAE ). We collected this specimen from date palm gardens, which the Cuscuta planiflora is common.