Myxomycetes of Russia: a history of research and a checklist of species

Abstract

The main objective of this paper is to provide an overview of the history and the level of research on biodiversity of myxomycetes in Russia. The first doubtless mention of myxomycetes in Russia dates back to the 18th century. Since then, numerous studies on myxomycete diversity in different regions of Russia have been published. Yu.K. Novozhilov summarized all accumulated data by publishing a list of 304 species in 2005. However, new data on species diversity, biogeography, and ecology of myxomycetes have been published in recent years. Recent research aims to fill this gap. This paper includes 321 sources, including studies published after 2005 and several works absent in previous reports. A full list of 455 myxomycete species found in Russia includes references to all literature sources. The analyzed database consists of more than 14 600 records in the "publication-region-species" format. Additionally, our research includes a detailed historical overview of the myxomycete studies in Russia. We hope that our information system, also available online at https://russia.myxomycetes.org/, will create a solid foundation for future studies of myxomycete biodiversity in Russia, particularly in the understudied regions.