Tabanus leleani Austen, 1920

Al-Talafha, Hazem A. & Amr, Zuhair S., 2024, Tabanidae Fauna (Order: Diptera) of the Arab Countries in the Middle East, Ecologica Montenegrina 71, pp. 53-85 : 75

Tabanus leleani Austen, 1920

This species is common throughout the world, recorded from Europe, the Near and Middle East, Oriental region, Siberia and North Africa from Morocco through Tunisia ( Müller 2012c). Recorded from Iraq, Jordan, Palestine, and Syria ( Theodor 1965; Al-Talafha et al. 2005; Al-Dhafer et al. 2009). This species was found in mountainous areas with altitudes up to 2200 to 2500 m ( Chvála et al. 1972).

The occurrence of leleani in Saudi Arabia needs more investigation. However, Al-Dhafer et al. (2009) listed Tabanus leleani turkestanicus Olsufjev from Saudia. This subspecies has paler coloration than leleani Austen ( Chvála et al. 1972) . More data is needed to confirm the ssp. turkestanicus . Tabanus leleani shows high variability in the shape of upper callus through the world ( Chvála et al. 1972).