Description of a new species Euphanias sergreevae sp. nov. (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Oxytelinae) from Western Siberia, Russia.

The new species Euphanias sergreevae sp. nov. from the shores of a saline lake in Western Siberia, Russia is described in this paper. The paper examines the type material of two closely related species Euphanias pusanovi Blinstein, 1976 and Euphanias pliginskii Bernhauer, 1912. The species are illustrated with color photographs of the habitus and aedeagus, scanning electron micrographs, and line drawings of the terminalia. A complete distribution map for all members of the genus is given and distribution patterns are discussed.

Assessment of the DNA barcode libraries for the study of the poorly-known rove beetle (Staphylinidae) fauna of West Siberia.

Staphylinidae, or rove beetles, are one of the mega-diverse and abundant families of the ground-living terrestrial arthropods that is taxonomically poorly known even in the regions adjacent to Europe where the fauna has been investigated for the longest time. Since DNA barcoding is a tool to accelerate biodiversity research, here we explored if the currently-available COI barcode libraries are representative enough for the study of rove beetles of West Siberia. This is a vast region adjacent to Europe with poorly-known fauna of rove beetles and from where not a single DNA barcode has hitherto been produced for Staphylinidae. First, we investigated the faunal similarity between the rove beetle faunas of the climatically compatible West Siberia in Asia, Fennoscandia in Europe and Canada and Alaska in North America. Second, we investigated barcodes available for Staphylinidae from the latter two regions in BOLD and GenBank, the world's largest DNA barcode libraries. We conclude that the rather different rove beetle faunas of Fennoscandia, on the one hand and Canada and Alaska on the other hand, are well covered in both barcode libraries that complement each other. We also find that even without any barcodes originating from specimens collected in West Siberia, this coverage is helpful for the study of rove beetles there due to the significant number of widespread species shared between West Siberia and Fennoscandia and due to the even larger number of shared genera amongst all three investigated regions. For the first time, we compiled a literature-based checklist for 726 species of the West Siberian Staphylinidae supplemented by their occurrence dataset submitted to GBIF. Our script written for mining unique (i.e. not redundant) barcodes for a given geographic area across global libraries is made available here and can be adopted for any other regions.

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.

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. Quediusfusus Cai & Zhou, 2015, Quediushumosus Solodovnikov, 2005, and Quediuslundbergi Palm, 1973 are recorded from the territory of Russia for the first time. Based on an analysis of literature and available material, records of Quediuscincticollis Kraatz, 1857, Quediushumeralis Stephens, 1832, Quediusmaurorufus (Gravenhorst 1806), Quediusnemoralis Baudi de Selve, 1848, Quediusnigrocaeruleus Fauvel, 1876, and Quediuspicipes (Mannerheim, 1830) from Russia are considered doubtful. The distribution of Quediusbrachypterus Coiffait, 1967, described from the 'Caucasus', remains ambiguous and its presence in Russia is unlikely. The identity of Quediusfulvipennis Hochhuth, 1851 from 'Dahuria' remains unknown, pending examination of the type material. For Quediuscitelli 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.

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?

Quedius (Microsaurus) repentinus sp. n., a new hypogean montane talus-associated species from Altai is described and considered sister to the morphologically and bionomically similar Q. (M.) roma Solodovnikov et Hansen, 2016 from Sikhote-Alin. Both species seem more closely related to the Q. (M.) przewalskii species group from the mountains of China than to the Q. (M.) mutilatus species group from Tien-Shan. The identity of Q. (M.) przewalskii Reitter, 1887, a core of the respective species group, is clarified by re-examination of the holotype. The broad gap between the distributions of Quedius repentinus and Q. roma is either a noteworthy biogeographic fact pending explanation, or an artefact resulting from poor sampling pending additional records and new species discovery. Inadequate knowledge of the actual diversity and the distributions of the montane hypogean Quedius of the Russian Asia are illustrated by another new hypogean species from Altai. That species, so far known from a single female only, is here reported but not formally described.