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

Abstract

This paper is the first inventory of the fauna of the rove beetle genusQuediusin the Russian Federation. It provides an annotated catalogue of 88 species ofQuediuscurrently 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.QuediusfususCai & Zhou, 2015,QuediushumosusSolodovnikov, 2005, andQuediuslundbergiPalm, 1973 are recorded from the territory of Russia for the first time. Based on an analysis of literature and available material, records ofQuediuscincticollisKraatz, 1857,QuediushumeralisStephens, 1832,Quediusmaurorufus(Gravenhorst 1806),QuediusnemoralisBaudi de Selve, 1848,QuediusnigrocaeruleusFauvel, 1876, andQuediuspicipes(Mannerheim, 1830) from Russia are considered doubtful. The distribution ofQuediusbrachypterusCoiffait, 1967, described from the ‘Caucasus’, remains ambiguous and its presence in Russia is unlikely. The identity ofQuediusfulvipennisHochhuth, 1851 from ‘Dahuria’ remains unknown, pending examination of the type material. ForQuediuscitelliKirschenblatt, 1933 a lectotype is designated. For that species andQ.sofiriKhachikov, 2015 illustrations of the aedeagi are provided for the first time. The paper stresses the currently poor state of knowledge of theQuediusdiversity in Russia and provides a platform for its improvement, which should begin with a large-scale sampling program, especially in Siberia and Far East.