Check List 18(5): 1053-1120, doi: 10.15560/18.5.1053

A preliminary checklist of saproxylic beetles (Coleoptera) in the Hyrcanian forests of Iran, with distributional data

Mohammad Ebrahim Farashiani^‡§, Hassan Barimani Varandi^|, Frazane Kazerani^‡, Hamid Yarmand^‡, Mohammadreza Babaee^|, Simon Thorn^¶, Frank Lange^#, Razieh Rafiei-Jahed^¤, Jörg Müller^¶«, Sudabe Amini^‡

‡ Research Institute of Forest and Rangeland, Tehran, Iran§ Center of International Scientific Studies & Collaboration Ministry of Science Research and Technology, Tehran, Iran| Mazandaran Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Centre, Sari, Iran¶ University of Würzburg, Rauhenebrach, Germany# Unaffiliated, Niedernhausen, Germany¤ Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Gorgan, Iran« Bavarian Forest National Park, Grafenau, Germany

Corresponding author: Mohammad Ebrahim Farashiani ( farashiani@gmail.com )

Corresponding author: Sudabe Amini ( sudabe.amini@ut.ac.ir )

Academic editor: Hao Xu

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Citation: Farashiani ME, Varandi HB, Kazerani F, Yarmand H, Babaee M, Thorn S, Lange F, Rafiei-Jahed R, Müller J, Amini S (2022) A preliminary checklist of saproxylic beetles (Coleoptera) in the Hyrcanian forests of Iran, with distributional data. Check List 18(5): 1053-1120. https://doi.org/10.15560/18.5.1053

Abstract

Saproxylic beetles play a vital role in conservation as indicators of the status of unmanaged forests. In light of the concern regarding the adverse impact of anthropogenic pressure on biodiversity, an essential step in forest conserva-tion strategy is the identification of saproxylic beetles. The Hyrcanian forests are a unique remnant of natural broadleaf temperate forests, with an evolutionary history that can be traced to the Tertiary and a high diversity tree species. Here we present the first checklist of saproxylic beetles in the Hyrcanian forests, including 398 species of saproxylic beetles, belonging to 207 genera and 46 families, identified by us. Based on our results and literature data, at least 670 saproxylic beetles occur in the Hyrcanian forests. The bias in our results towards some families supports the view that the detection of additional species can be expected, particularly from the forests with a greater diversity of tree species.

Keywords

Biodiversity, decay wood, forest, saproxylic organism, survey