New records and range extensions of Carabidae of Ontario’s boreal forest

Abstract

Abstract The distribution and diversity of fauna of remote regions, including much of the boreal forest, are incompletely known. We took part in extensive biodiversity surveys in the Far North of Ontario (north of 51° N), Canada from 2009 to 2015. In the family Carabidae Latreille (Coleoptera), we report new records and range extensions for 600 specimens representing 99 species. We documented the first record for Canada of one species, the first records for Ontario of 11 species, and range extensions (> 100 km from the known range) for 70 species. The range extensions were largely in a northwards direction, with a median distance of 650 km and a positive skew in the distribution of these distances. These new records fill an important gap in knowledge of the distribution of this family.