Taxonomy of the poorly known <em>Quedius mutilatus</em> group of wingless montane species from Middle Asia (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Staphylinini)

The Quedius mutilatus group, a very poorly known presumably monophyletic complex of wingless, possibly hypogean species confined to the Tien-Shan Mountains, is characterized as such for the first time. Newly available material clarified the identity of Q. mutilatus Eppelsheim, 1888 and Q. kalabi Smetana, 1995, each hitherto known from a handful of non-conspecific and vaguely georeferenced specimens only. Additional material is reported for Q. equus Smetana, 2014 and one species, Quedius kungeicus sp. nov., is described. All available data on the taxonomy, distribution and bionomics for all these four species of the group are summarized

Hypogean presumably sister species Quedius repentinus sp. n. from Altai and Q. roma from Sikhote-Alin (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae): a disjunct distribution or poorly sampled Siberia?

Salnitska, Maria, Solodovnikov, Aleхey (2018): Hypogean presumably sister species Quedius repentinus sp. n. from Altai and Q. roma from Sikhote-Alin (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae): a disjunct distribution or poorly sampled Siberia? Zootaxa 4394 (1): 95-104, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4394.1.

Rove beetles of the genus Quedius (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae) of Russia: a key to species and annotated catalogue

This paper is the first inventory of the fauna of the rove beetle genus Quedius in the Russian Federation. It provides an annotated catalogue of 88 species of Quedius currently recorded from Russia, based on several collections and a critical evaluation of all earlier published records. All species are listed with a summary of their overall distribution and bionomics. Species distributions within Russia are given as lists of regions where they occur with references to the respective source collections or publications which any record is based on. For that, the territory of Russia is divided into 40 regions that mostly follow the administrative division of the country. The annotated catalogue is supplemented by a well-illustrated identification key to all species and a concise checklist in form of an easily visualized table. Quedius fusus Cai & Zhou, 2015, Quedius humosus Solodovnikov, 2005, and Quedius lundbergi Palm, 1973 are recorded from the territory of Russia for the first time. Based on an analysis of literature and available material, records of Quedius cincticollis Kraatz, 1857, Quedius humeralis Stephens, 1832, Quedius maurorufus (Gravenhorst 1806), Quedius nemoralis Baudi de Selve, 1848, Quedius nigrocaeruleus Fauvel, 1876, and Quedius picipes (Mannerheim, 1830) from Russia are considered doubtful. The distribution of Quedius brachypterus Coiffait, 1967, described from the ‘Caucasus’, remains ambiguous and its presence in Russia is unlikely. The identity of Quedius fulvipennis Hochhuth, 1851 from ‘Dahuria’ remains unknown, pending examination of the type material. For Quedius citelli Kirschenblatt, 1933 a lectotype is designated. For that species and Q. sofiri Khachikov, 2015 illustrations of the aedeagi are provided for the first time. The paper stresses the currently poor state of knowledge of the Quedius diversity in Russia and provides a platform for its improvement, which should begin with a large-scale sampling program, especially in Siberia and Far East

Rove beetles of the genus Quedius (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae) of Russia: a key to species and annotated catalogue

This paper is the first inventory of the fauna of the rove beetle genus Quedius in the Russian Federation. It provides an annotated catalogue of 88 species of Quedius currently recorded from Russia, based on several collections and a critical evaluation of all earlier published records. All species are listed with a summary of their overall distribution and bionomics. Species distributions within Russia are given as lists of regions where they occur with references to the respective source collections or publications which any record is based on. For that, the territory of Russia is divided into 40 regions that mostly follow the administrative division of the country. The annotated catalogue is supplemented by a well-illustrated identification key to all species and a concise checklist in form of an easily visualized table. Quedius fusus Cai & Zhou, 2015, Quedius humosus Solodovnikov, 2005, and Quedius lundbergi Palm, 1973 are recorded from the territory of Russia for the first time. Based on an analysis of literature and available material, records of Quedius cincticollis Kraatz, 1857, Quedius humeralis Stephens, 1832, Quedius maurorufus (Gravenhorst 1806), Quedius nemoralis Baudi de Selve, 1848, Quedius nigrocaeruleus Fauvel, 1876, and Quedius picipes (Mannerheim, 1830) from Russia are considered doubtful. The distribution of Quedius brachypterus Coiffait, 1967, described from the ‘Caucasus’, remains ambiguous and its presence in Russia is unlikely. The identity of Quedius fulvipennis Hochhuth, 1851 from ‘Dahuria’ remains unknown, pending examination of the type material. For Quedius citelli Kirschenblatt, 1933 a lectotype is designated. For that species and Q. sofiri Khachikov, 2015 illustrations of the aedeagi are provided for the first time. The paper stresses the currently poor state of knowledge of the Quedius diversity in Russia and provides a platform for its improvement, which should begin with a large-scale sampling program, especially in Siberia and Far East

Taxonomy of the poorly known Quedius mutilatus group of wingless montane species from Middle Asia (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Staphylinini)

The Quedius mutilatus group, a very poorly known presumably monophyletic complex of wingless, possibly hypogean species confined to the Tien-Shan Mountains, is characterized as such for the first time. Newly available material clarified the identity of Q. mutilatus Eppelsheim, 1888 and Q. kalabi Smetana, 1995, each hitherto known from a handful of non-conspecific and vaguely georeferenced specimens only. Additional material is reported for Q. equus Smetana, 2014 and bionomics for all these four species of the group are summarized

New species and records of Quedius rove beetles (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Staphylininae) from Middle Asia

This paper is devoted to the fauna of Quedius Stephens, 1829 of Middle Asia. It provides descriptions of two species new to science Quedius (Distichalius) gissaricus sp. nov. from Tajikistan and Q. (Raphirus) viator sp. nov. from Kyrgyzstan. Two more species are reported as potentially new to science, but not formally described: Q. (Microsaurus) sp. from the mutilatus group from Tarbagatay Mountains because it is known only from damaged specimens; Q. (Distichalius) sp. aff. gissaricus, known from a single male found sympatrically with Q. (D.) gissaricus sp. nov., remains undescribed because of the possibility of teratology. Earlier records of Q. umbrinus from Middle Asia are considered doubtful or assigned to Q. pseudoumbrinus. Taxonomic notes on the identity of that species as well as Q. cohaesus and Q. fulvicollis in Middle Asia are provided. Among new distribution records summarized for several species, Q. (Velleius) dilatatus, Q. (Microsaurus) tenellus and Q. (Raphirus) jenisseensis are recorded from the territory of Middle Asia for the first time

Revision of the Quedius fauna of Middle Asia (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Staphylininae)

Twenty eight species of the genus Quedius from Middle Asia comprising Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, are revised. Quedius altaicus Korge, 1962, Q. capitalis Eppelsheim, 1892, Q. fusicornis Luze, 1904, Q. solskyi Luze, 1904 and Q. cohaesus Eppelsheim, 1888 are redescribed. The following new synonymies are established: Q. solskyi Luze, 1904 = Q. asiaticus Bernhauer, 1918, syn. n.; Q. cohaesus Eppelsheim, 1888 = Q. turkmenicus Coiffait, 1969, syn. n., = Q. afghanicus Coiffait, 1977, syn. n.; Q. hauseri Bernhauer, 1918 = Q. peneckei Bernhauer, 1918, syn. n., = Q. ouzbekiscus Coiffait, 1969, syn. n.; Q. imitator Luze, 1904 = Q. tschinganensis Coiffait, 1969, syn. n.; Q. novus Eppelsheim, 1892 = Q. dzambulensis Coiffait, 1967, syn. n., Q. pseudonigriceps Reitter, 1909 = Q. kirklarensis Korge, 1971, syn. n. Lectotypes are designated for Q. asiaticus Bernhauer, 1918, Q. fusicornis Luze, 1904, Q. hauseri Bernhauer, 1918, Q. imitator Luze, 1904, Q. novus Eppelsheim, 1892 and Q. solskyi Luze, 1904. For all revised species, taxonomy, distribution and bionomics are summarized. Quedius fuliginosus (Gravenhorst, 1802), Q. sundukovi Smetana, 2003 and Q. pseudonigriceps Reitter, 1909 are recorded for Middle Asia for the first time. One species from the Q. coloratus-group, found to be new to science is not described due to shortage of material. Another possibly new species is tentatively identified as Q. fulvicollis Stephens, 1833 until the taxonomy of that widespread species is revised. An identification key to all species is provided

Sampling and curation of rove beetles (Insecta, Coleoptera, Staphylinidae) for comprehensive and DNA-grade collections to enhance biodiversity exploration in Northern Eurasia

Staphylinidae beetles form a major portion of terrestrial biodiversity globally and, in particular, in Northern Eurasia, a large area with a historically better known north temperate, subarctic and arctic biota. However, even here, rove beetles remain amongst the so-called “dark taxa” with a high fraction of taxonomically unknown lineage diversity. The propagation of DNA-based technologies in systematic entomology in recent decades has brought new opportunities for biodiversity exploration, true also for Staphylinidae. Simultaneously, new methods have revealed limitations of specimens sampled and curated by traditional practices, as existing legacy collections, whether institutional or private, unfortunately do not always qualify as a source of DNA-grade material. In addition, both legacy and newly-collected DNA-grade material of Staphylinidae remain highly biased towards Central Europe, a region with a traditionally well-developed scientific infrastructure and long-established culture for the maintenance of entomological collections. To increase the degree of biodiversity knowledge for our target organismal group across the globe, efficient sampling of DNA-grade material and, in particular, the development of comprehensive local collections in under-studied regions is highly desirable. To facilitate that, here we provide a practical guide for collecting and curation of Staphylinidae with a focus on capacity building for DNA-grade collections in Siberia and elsewhere in Northern Eurasia