Mark Kalashian

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• Doctor of Philosophy
• Head of Department at National Academy of Sciences of Armenia

A new species, Dyspessa gayane sp. n., recently collected in southern Armenia, is described in the present article. A detailed comparison of the new species with other relatives from the Dyspessa tristis A. Bang-Haas, 1912 species group is provided.

Sphenoptera (Deudora) polaceki sp. nov. from the Eastern Mediterranean (Bulgaria, Turkey and Greece) is described and compared with closely related species. Sphenoptera (Deudora) tamerlani Obenberger, 1929 is recorded for the first time from Tajikistan

In 2022–2023, a survey of drying coniferous plantations in 5 regions of the Republic of Armenia was conducted. Investigations were carried out in plantations of Scots pine Pinus sylvestris L. and Crimean pine Pinus nigra subsp. pallasiana (Lamb.) Holmboe. A total of 125 wood samples were collected and analyzed. For the first time in the territory o...

Wetlands of Armenia have occupied a significant area in the past; however, during the last century, they declined critically. The swamps and marshes of the country are represented by two general types: the brackish marshes and the reedbeds of Ararat Plain, and the grassy marshes located on the mountain plateaus. The wetlands consist of a rich biolo...

History of usage of the name Lethrotrypes Jacobson, 1892 is discussed. New synonyms are established: Lethrotrypes Jacobson, 1892 = Parathorectes López-Colón et Bahillo De la Puebla, 2022, syn. n., Trypocopris (Lethrotrypes) inermis (Ménétriés, 1832) = Parathorectes pueblai López-Colón et Bahillo De la Puebla, 2022, syn. n.

Since 2020, our scientific group is conducting surveys in drying coniferous plantations of Armenia. During the work, the biodiversity of insect pests was revealed and a number of alien species were discovered. At the same time, the facts of further expansion of invasive species in the country were observed.

In the current paper, we provide a complete list of 32 Nepticulidae species discovered in Armenia, along with photographic samples of detected leaf mines. For the first time, we include photographic documentation of the male genitalia structures of the Armenian Glaucolepis melanoptera (van Nieukerken & Puplesis) and the previously little-known, for...

The question of the type species of taxon of the generic rank Eulasia Truqui, 1848 is considered. Chapin [1938] designated Amphicoma papaveris Sturm, 1843 as type species for the taxon, but later Medvedev [1960] accepted Scarabaeus arctos Pallas, 1781, as type species, and this designation, being invalid, became commonly used. Baraud [1990] describ...

The paper presents a checklist of the bark and ambrosia beetles (Curculionidae: Platypodinae and Scolytinae) of Armenia. The fauna is comprised of one Platypodinae and Scolytinae 73 species, among which four species, Lymantor coryli (Perris, 1855), Ips typographus (Linnaeus, 1758), Orthotomicus erosus (Wollaston, 1857) and Scolytus eichhoffi Reitte...

The taxonomy of the genus Cteipolia Staudinger, 1896 is discussed, the revised check-list of the genus subdivided into species-groups is provided. Two new species are described: Cteipolia aloyani Saldaitis, Dûda, Volynkin & Benedek, sp. n. (SW Armenia) and Cteipolia belyalovi Volynkin, Titov, Saldaitis & Benedek, sp. n. (SE Kazakhstan: Altyn-Emel R...

Eight aphid species - Aphis hederae Kaltenbach, 1843, A. mirifica (Börner, 1950), A. origani Passerini, 1860, A. umbrella (Börner, 1950), Chaitophorus horii Takahashi, 1939, Hyadaphis coriandri (Das, 1918), Uroleucon jaceae (Linnaeus, 1758) and U. inulicola (Hille Ris Lambers, 1939) are recorded for the first time from Armenia. Additionally, Aphis...

Eight aphid species - Aphis hederae Kaltenbach, 1843, A. mirifica (Börner, 1950), A. origani Passerini, 1860, A. umbrella (Börner, 1950), Chaitophorus horii Takahashi, 1939, Hyadaphis coriandri (Das, 1918), Uroleucon jaceae (Linnaeus, 1758) and U. inulicola (Hille Ris Lambers, 1939) are recorded for the first time from Armenia. Additionally, Aphis...

The hyperdiverse wood‐inhabiting fungi play a crucial role in the global carbon cycle, but often are threatened by deadwood removal, particularly in temperate forests dominated by European beech (Fagus sylvatica) and Oriental beech (Fagus orientalis). To study the impact of abiotic drivers, deadwood factors, forest management and biogeographical pa...

The new aphid species Metopeurum caucasicum sp. nov. living on Achillea millefolium and five species of Tanacetum, namely T. abrotanifolium, T. balsamita, T. balsamitoides, T. canescens and T. vulgare (Asteraceae) in Armenia and Georgia, is described based on the apterous viviparous females. Diagnosis to other species of the genus is given. Some di...

The new aphid species Metopeurum caucasicum sp. nov. living on Achillea millefolium and five species of Tanacetum, namely T. abrotanifolium, T. balsamita, T. balsamitoides, T. canescens and T. vulgare (Asteraceae) in Armenia and Georgia, is described based on the apterous viviparous females. Diagnosis to other species of the genus is given. Some di...

Lynceus brachyurus was first discovered in the highland wetland of Armenia. This finding not only contributes to our understanding of the geographic distribution of Lynceus brachyurus but also sheds light on the ecological preferences and adaptability of this species to diverse habitats.

The article presents the first overview of animal invasions in Armenia with a national comprehensive combined list of documented invasive alien animal species. This list includes 40 species from various taxa of invertebrates and vertebrates, including nematodes, annelids, crustaceans, insects, mollusks, fish and mammals. For each species, we presen...

A new subgenus Clypeostetha subgen. n. is established for the jewel beetle Sphenoptera epistomalis Obenberger, 1927 from Northwestern and Western Kazakhstan and northwestern Uzbekistan (the first record for the country). Principal diagnostic characters of the new subgenus, an illustrated redescription of S. epistomalis, and data on its distribution...

The root maggot flies are important pests of cultivated and non-cultivated plant species. This study on the invertebrate fauna of Nagorno-Karabakh was focused on the new leaf miners belonging to the Anthomyiidae. Pegomya bicolor (Wiedemann, 1817) and P. betae (Curtis, 1847) are documented for the first time in Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia; P. bicolor...

A taxonomic review of the Nepticulidae of Armenia is provided for the first time. Currently, the previously little-known fauna of the pygmy moths of Armenia consists of eight genera and 31 species, including seven new species described and illustrated in the current paper as follows: Stigmella armi Stonis, Dobrynina & Remeikis, sp. nov.; Stigmella...

A new subgenus Clypeostetha subgen. n. is erected for the jewel beetle Sphenoptera epistomalis Obenberger, 1927 from North-Western and Western Kazakhs tan and northwestern Uzbekistan (first country record). Principal diagnostic characters of the new subgenus and illustrated re-description of S. epistomalis together with data on its distribution and...

A new subgenus Clypeostetha subgen. n. is erected for the jewel beetle Sphenoptera epistomalis Obenberger, 1927 from North-Western and Western Kazakhs tan and northwestern Uzbekistan ( rst country record). Principal diagnostic characters of the new subgenus and illustrated re-description of S. epistomalis together with data on its distribution and...

A new species of jewel beetle, Endelus (s.str.) barriesi n. sp. (Coleoptera: Bup restidae), belonging to E. (s.str.) marseuli Deyrolle, 1864 species-group, is described from sulawesi Island, Indonesia. Lectotypes are designated for E. marseuli Deyrolle, 1864, E. scintillans Deyrolle, 1864 and E. modiglianii Kerremans, 1896. An updated key of specie...

This paper presents a checklist of aphids of Armenia. Nowadays, 203 species of aphids belonging to 83 genera, 10 subfamilies, two families and two superfamilies are known, of which nine species are recognized in Armenia for the first time: Aphis cephalariae Barjadze, A. chloris Koch, A. solanella Theobald, A. urticata Gmelin, A. wellensteini (Börne...

Armenia is situated on the border of large biogeographical divisions – provinces and sub-provinces and its fauna was historically formed under the influence of different surrounding faunas – European, Mediterranean and Irano-Turanian. Due to this biogeographical position as well as due to diversity of landscapes, variations in altitude and mountain...

Alien invasive species are considered the most important threat to biodiversity and ecosystem services in many countries of the world. At the same time, they have a very significant impact on the standard of living of the population (IPBES 2018). Very often, they are the main reason for the extinction of local species (Bellard et al. 2015) and caus...

Forty-four percent of the territory of Armenia is a high mountainous area. The degree of land use is strongly unproportional. The zones under intensive development make 18.2% of the territory of Armenia with concentration of 87.7% of total population. On these areas, the population density exceeds several times the ecological threshold index (200 p...

Tree-related microhabitats (TreMs) provide a quantitative indicator of habitat heterogeneity in forests, including beech (Fagus) forests. However, systematic analyses of the factors driving TreM diversity and composition in Fagus sylvatica and F. orientalis forests are lacking. In this study, the TreMs of beech forests on 203 plots of 22 forest sit...

Two new species of the genus Endelus (Coleoptera: Buprestidae: Aphanisticini), E. (Endelus) carolianus sp. nov. from Australia and E. (E.) jakli sp. nov. from the Solomon Islands, are described, illus¬trated, and their diagnostic characters are given. Endelus carolianus sp. nov. is the third representative of the genus in Australia. The genus Endel...

species: G. (H.) caucasicus Kraatz, 1882 (type species), G. (H.) armeniacus Ghrejyan, Kalashian & Sabatinelli, new species from Armenia, G. (H.) urartu Sabatinelli, Ghrejyan & Kalashian, new species from East Turkey and Iran and G. (H.) schweigeri Ghrejyan, Kalashian & Sabatinelli, new species from Iran and Iraq, here described and illustrated. A k...

A new species of the genus Glaphyrus (subgenus Eoglaphyrus) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea: Glaphyridae) from Tajikistan, with notes on G. (E.) turke stanicus Новый вид рода Glaphyrus (подрод Eoglaphyrus) (Сoleoptera: Scarabaeoidea: Glaphyridae) из Таджикистана с заметками о G. (E.) turkestanicus Abstract. Glaphyrus mardjanyanae sp. nov. from the Gorno...

The longhorn beetle, Hesperophanes pilosus Bodungen, 1908, (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae) is recorded as new for the Iranian fauna. The adult specimens were obtained by rearing its larvae and pupa in the root crown of Halocnemum strobilaceum (Pall.) Bieb. (Amaranthaceae), which were collected around of Soldoz wetland in West Azarbaijan province. Hesper...

The data on the first findings of the southern green stink bug Nezara viridula (Linnaeus, 1758) in Armenia are presented. The species was found in three localities in the north-eastern part of the country, characterized by subtropical climatic conditions. The species is thought to have spread naturally from neighbouring regions of Georgia or Azerba...

New data on the distribution, taxonomy, and nomenclature of fi ve tenebrionid species of the genus Microdera from the Caucasus and/or the south of the European part of Russia are presented. A new species, M. urartu sp. n., is described from Armenia and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan; this species is similar to the Central Asian M....

Two long-term trips to Mauritania made it possible to carry out an inventory of the local fauna of Buprestidae using several methods in particular the technique of collect and observations from woody materials. The results obtained lead to the presentation of a first inventory for this country of 80 species of Buprestidae represented by 16 genera,...

New data on the distribution, taxonomy and nomenclature of five Caucasian and/or southern European Russian tenebrionid species of the genus Microdera are presented. A new species, M. urartu sp. n., is described from Armenia and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan; this species is similar to the Central Asian M. globulicollis Ménétriés...

The data on the first findings of the southern green stink bug Nezara viridula (Linnaeus, 1758) in Armenia are presented. The species was found in three localities in the north-eastern part of the country, characterized by subtropical climatic conditions. The species is thought to have spread naturally from neighboring regions of Georgia or Azerbai...

A new subspecies of the genus Anchoscelis Guenée, 1839, Anchoscelis fuscomixta noravanka ssp. n. is described from south-west Armenia. The new subspecies belongs to the nominate subgenus of Anchoscelis and is similar, besides Anchoscelis fuscomixta (Gyulai & L. Ronkay, 2006), to Anchoscelis pauli (Staudinger, 1892), Anchoscelis kindermanni (Fischer...

Data on the first registrations of invasive insect species – marmorated stink bug Halyomorpha halys (Stål, 1855) in Central (Yerevan city) and Northern Armenia (Lori region) are presented. It is presumed that the species penetrated to the north of the country as a result of independent expansion from Georgia, and to its central part due to unintent...

Sphenoptera (Chrysoblemma) khnzoriani Kalashian, 1996, rare species of jewel-beetles (Coleoptera, Buprestidae) included into the Red Book of the Republic of Armenia is reported from Iran for the first time. Previously unknown female of the species is described in comparison with male holotype. The new find requires a revision of the species status...

Aeluropus spp. dominated habitats (Е6.251 – Fayvush, Alexanyan, 2016) are peculiar ecosystems formerly widely distributed in Ararat valley in Armenia, as well as in Turkish part of the valley and in Nakhichevan AR of Azerbaijan. These are typical hygro-halophilous habitats characterized by rather rich and peculiar flora and fauna with dominance of...

The rare antlion Dendroleon pantherinus (Fab-ricius, 1787) is recorded from Armenia for the first time; it was found in forest regions of North Eastern Armenia. Considering the rarity of this species, both throughout its range and in Armenia, it is proposed to include it in the next edition of the Red Book of the country.

Based on materials recently collected in Iran and Armenia, jewel-beetle Sphenoptera (Chrysoblemma) orichalcea (Pallas, 1781) is reported for the first time for Iranian fauna, and occurrence of the species in Armenia is also reconfirmed. Some diagnostic characters, ecological and biological notes along with photographs are provided.

Protaetia (Netocia) gayaneae sp. n. is described from Armenia and compared with closely related P. (N.) araratica (Reitter, 1891). Lectotype of Melanosa araratica Reitter, 1895 and neo­type of Cetonia excavata Faldermann, 1836 are designated.The history of usage of the names Cetonia excavata Faldermann, 1836 and C. excavata Gory & Percheron, 1833 i...

Based on materials recently collected in Iran and Armenia, jewel-beetle Sphenoptera (Chrysoblemma) orichalcea (Pallas, 1781) is reported for the first time for Iranian fauna, and occurrence of the species in Armenia is also reconfirmed. Some diagnostic characters, ecological and biological notes along with photographs are provided.

The faunistic review of Tenebrionidae (excluding Alleculinae) from Armenia is presented. The work is based on longterm collections of one of the authors and materials from museum collections, deposited in Yerevan (the most of material), St Petersburg and Budapest. In total, 123 species of Tenebrionidae, excluding Alleculinae are reliably known from...

Data on the first registration of conifer seed bug Leptoglossus occidentalis in Armenia are presented. Penetration of the species from Georgia due to self-dependent expansion or unintentional delivery is presumed.

In the article are presented geographic distribution of “Hankavan hydrological” state sanctuary (Armenia), arboreal and shrub composition and conservation issues. In the area, in particular, in mountain-forest belt, 32 species belonging to 23 genera and 10 families of angiosperms are registered, including 15 species of trees and 17 species of shrub...

Endelus lobanovi sp. n. from Norht-East India (Meghalaya State) is described and illustrated. This new species is characterized by the small moderately elongate body (length 3.1–3.9 mm), the bicolorous dorsal surface with the black head and the pronotum and the dark blue elytra, by well pronounced transversal keel near posterior third of the pronot...

Data on the first registration of conifer seed bug Leptoglossus occidentalis in Armenia are presented. Penetration of the species from Georgia due to self-dependent expansion or unintentional delivery is presumed.

Endelus (Hexagonodelus) subgen. nov. is described and reviewed. Endelus (H.) caelestis sp. nov. from Sulawesi, Indonesia, is described and illustrated. Besides the new species, the new subgenus also includes E. difformis Deyrolle, 1864, E. brutus Deyrolle, 1864, and E. imperator Obenberger, 1937, all from Greater Sunda Islands, E. brutus also from...

Data on the first registration of conifer seed bug Leptoglossus occidentalis in Armenia are presented. Penetration of the species from Georgia due to self-dependent expansion or unintentional delivery is presumed.

Cantonius (Procantonius) austrisinicus sp. n. from Southern China (Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Guangdon province) is described. Lectotypes of Cantonius obesus Obenberger 1940 and Aphanisticus cephalicus Kerremans, 1892 (Cantoniellus cephalicus (Kerremans, 1892)) are designated. A key to the species of the subgenus Procantonius Kalashian, 2...

Data on Armenian spider species are summarized. A catalogue of spiders collected during 1988–1998 and deposited in the Institute of Zoology collection, Yerevan, Armenia is given. The review revealed 20 species belonging to nine families. Fourteen species are recorded for Armenia for the first time. Thus, the number of spider species known from Arme...

Cantonius (Procantonius) austrisinicus sp. n. from Southern China (Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Guangdon province) is described. Lectotypes of Cantonius obesus Obenberger 1940 and Aphanisticus cephalicus Kerremans, 1892 (Cantoniellus cephalicus (Kerremans, 1892)) are designated. A key to the species of the subgenus Procantonius Kalashian, 2...

A new species of jewel beetles, Endelus (Endelus) chikatunovi n. sp. (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), from north laos (luang namtha Province) is described, illustrated and compared with closely related species.

Aphanisticus nepalensis sp. n., belonging to the Aphanisticus bedeli Abeille de Perrin, 1893 species-group established herein, is described from Nepal. In addition to the species mentioned above, the group also includes A. bulbatus Bílý, 1973, A. kalabi Kalashian, 2003, and A. horaki Kalashian, 2003. A key to the species of this group is provided.

Some complicated questions of the nomenclature in the genus Glaphyrus Latreille, 1802 are discussed. The genus Glaphyrus was described by Latreille in 1802 (not 1804 or 1807) with the type species Melolontha serratulae Fabricius, 1792 by monotypy. Designation of nominal species Melolontha cardui Fabricius, 1787 (= G. maurus (Linnaeus, 1758) as a ty...

Aphanisticus nepalensis sp. n., belonging to the Aphanisticus bedeli Abeille de Perrin, 1893 species-group established herein is described from Nepal. In addition to the species mentioned above, the group includes also A. bulbatus Bílý, 1973, A. kalabi Kalashian, 2003 and A. horaki Kalashian, 2003. A key to the species of this group is provided.

Dorcadion (Cribridorcadion) darakiensis sp. nov. from Kurdistan Province, Iran, is described, illustrated and compared with a similar species: D. serouensis Kadlec, 2006 from western Azerbaijan Province, Iran. Distributional data on three other species of the genus are provided and represent first records for Kurdistan Province.

New records of 19 species of myrmeleontoid lacewings (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae, Ascalaphidae, Nemopteridae) of Armenian fauna are presented. In comparison with adjacent Caucasian countries Armenian fauna of antlions, spoonwings and owlflies could be characterized as manifold, organized under the influence of Anatolian faunistic center. Distoleon...

Crustacea: Bran-chiopoda) Leptestheria dahalacensis (Ruppel, 1837) (Spinicaudata) и Branchipodopsis terpogo-syani Smirnov,1936 (Anostraca) в Армении. Оба вида ранее были известны лишь из Арарат-ской долины. Авторами представлено новое местообитание L.dahalacensis в Северной Ар-мении; для второго вида обнаружено новое местообитание в пределах Арарат...

This study tries to link the butterfly species diveristy along the altitudinal span of Tsaghkunyatc mountain in Armenia. Butterflies were collected from March to October 2015- 2017. A checklist of 129 species is given and their abundances/diversity was calculated for 10 altitudinal zones. This revealed that the relationship between the observed num...

The melolonthine species Cyphonoxia maljuzhenkoi Zaitzev, 1928 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae: Melolonthini) was described from three specimens collected by Dmitriy M. Maljuzhenko, a physician by profession, while he was working in the former Erivan Governorate from 1906 to at least 1914 (Anonymous 1914). Type series was cited by Zaitzev...

Aphanisticus hajeki sp. nov. (Coleoptera: Buprestidae: Agrilinae) from Kaliman-tan, Indonesia belonging to the Aphanisticus javaecola Obenberger, 1932 species-group, is described and illustrated. Neotype of Aphanisticus bohaci Obenberger, 1924, belonging to the same species-group, is designated. Key to the species of the Aphanisticus javaecola spec...

Data on the expansion of the range of an invasive beetle species, harlequin ladybird (Harmonia axyridis Pall.), in Armenia are presented. The species was first recorded in 2016 in the extreme northwest of Armenia; however, in 2018, the species was found in several localities of Central Armenia and in the basin of Lake Sevan and its mass outbreak wa...

Endelus (Endelus) kabakovisp. n. belonging to the newly established Endelus pyrrosiae Kurosawa, 1985 species group, and Endelus (Endelus) barbaraesp. n. of the Endelus (Endelus) collinus Obenberger, 1922 species group are described from Vietnam.

Endelus (Endelus) kabakovi sp. n., belonging to the newly established species-group Endelus pyrrosiae Kurosawa, 1985, and Endelus (Endelus) barbarae sp. n., belonging to the Endelus (Endelus) collinus Obenberger, 1922 species-group are described from Vietnam.

The paper is dedicated to the rare and endangered insect species proposed for inclusion into the coming edition of the Red Book of Animals of the Republic of Armenia. Brief data on 25 species are given. Proposals for development of the system of PAs of the country targeted to improvement of insect protection are given as well

Varandi HB, Kalashian M, Barari H, Rezaei Taleshi SA. 2018. The diversity of wood-boring beetles caught by different traps in northern forests of Iran. Trop Drylands 2: 65-74. Efficacy of trap types is an important factor for sampling, faunistic survey, evaluation of the population density, seasonal dynamic and monitoring of wood-boring beetles. In...

Data on further expansion of the range of the harlequin ladybird Harmonia axyridis in Armenia are presented. The species was first registered in 2016 in the outmost NW part of Armenia. Recently, in 2018, the species was found in several localities of Central Armenia and in Sevan Lake basin. Besides, the mass outbreak of Harmonia in the outmost NE o...

Endelus (Endelus) kabakovi sp. n., belonging to the newly established species-group Endelus pyrrosiae Kurosawa, 1985, and Endelus (Endelus) barbarae sp. n., belonging to the Endelus (Endelus) collinus Obenberger, 1922 species-group are described from Vietnam

Field collections and preliminary host‐specificity, survival, fecundity and impact testing of two potential biocontrol agents of rush skeletonweed, Chondrilla juncea L., were conducted between 2014 and 2017. Root cases with pupae of the Chondrilla crown moth, Oporopsamma wertheimsteini (Rebel, in Rothschild), were collected in the Gorovan Sands des...

Three butterfly species (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea), Kirinia roxelana (Cramer, [1777]) from Ararat province, Melanargia grumi (Standfuss, 1892) from Kotayk proince, and Zerynthia caucasica (Lederer, 1864) from Lori province are recorded for Armenia for the first time

The results of studies of the fauna of the some beetle families (Insecta, Coleoptera) of “Jermuk hydrological” State Sanctuary (Armenia) are presented. In the territory of the reserve 57 species of ground-beetles (Carabidae), 2 species of Geotrupidae, 2 species of Glaphyridae, 38 species of scarabs (Scarabaeidae), 12 species of jewel-beetles (Bupre...

A redescription of the male of Scaurus araxinus Richter, 1945 is given and the female is described for the first time. The species occurs in Azerbaijan (Nakhichevan Republic), Armenia (Tigranashen and Yeghegnadzor) and Eastern Turkey (first record in Iğdır province). It had been regarded as conspecific with S. syriacus Reitter, 1914 and S. punctico...

The results of studies of the fauna of the some beetle families (Insecta, Coleoptera) of “Hankavan hydrological” State Sanctuary (Armenia) are presented. In the territory of the reserve 55 species of ground-beetles (Carabidae), 2 species of Geotrupidae, 31 species of scarabs (Scarabaeidae), 9 species of jewel-beetles (Buprestidae), 16 species of da...

On the basis of study of collections deposited in Armenia data on species of the mimic beetles (Coleoptera, Histeridae) known from the country but not listed in the editions of the new Catalogue of Palaearctic Coleoptera are presented. The list includes 9 species new for Transcaucasia and 12 species new for the fauna of Armenia. Another 20 species...

Endelus (Papuadelus subgen. nov.) telnovi sp. nov. from West Papua (Indonesia), E. (s. str.) bellamyi sp. nov. from Palawan (The Philippines), and E. (s. str.) pseudobelial sp. nov. from Luzon (The Philippines) are described and illustrated; two latter species belong to E. (s. str.) bakeri Kerremans, 1914 species-group established in this paper. Le...

Information on the first finding (one specimen) in Armenia of an invasive species of beetle, harlequin ladybird Harmonia axyridis, is presented. Invasion from Georgia as a result of self-expansion or unintentional delivery is presumed.

Eastern Spadefoot (Pelobates syriacus Boettger, 1889) is found in the Balkans, Turkey, Middle East, and the Caucasus (Werner, 1995; Uğurtaş, 2001; Tarkhnishvili et al., 2009). It is very rare species in all mentioned places and, in particular, in Armenia. Majority of its populations in the region are highly fragmented and subject to significant pop...

The preliminary results of study of mollusks of the rise fields of Mazandaran province (Iran) are presented. In 22 localities surveyed 14 species from 7 families of Gastropoda (6 families) and Bivalvia (1 family) are revealed. It is shown that in the fauna composition dominate representatives of the family Bithyniidae. Representatives of Physidae a...

The morphological and karyotype features of the fish of genus Cobitis found in Armenia (in Aghstev river) for the first time are adduced. According to morphological characteristics, the fish from Armenian is similar to Cobitis satunini Gladkov, 1935. For clarification of the taxonomic position of the fish investigation of additional material is nec...

Sphenoptera (Tropeopeltis) barclayi sp. n. from RSA, S. (T.) kubani sp. n. from Kenya, S. (T.) makarovi sp. n. from Somalia and S. (Archideudora) karagyanae sp. n. from Tanzania are described. The name S. sansibarica Harold, 1878, nom. resurr. is resurrected, and the replacement name S. haroldi Jakovlev, 1902, syn. n. is placed to synonyms. Lectoty...

The history of usage of the name Cetonia floricola fausti Kraatz, 1891 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae) is discussed. In recent publications, the name Protaetia (Potosia) fausti was applied to a taxon that is not conspecific with Kraatz’s holotype. We therefore reassign the name Cetonia fausti Kraatz, 1891 as a junior synonym of Protaetia spl...

The data on the first registration of harlequin ladybird Harmonia axyridis in Armenia are presented. Penetration of the species from Georgia due to self-dependent expansion or unintentional delivery is presumed.

The book is dedicated to the coverage of activities towards the formation of potential Areas of Special Conservation Interest (ASCI) of the Republic of Armenia – “Emerald” Network – the joint program between the Council of Europe/European Union within the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (Bern, 1979). The “Th...

Pentodon reitteri Jakovlev, 1904 sp. resurr. is resurrected from synonyms of Pentodon idiota (Herbst, 1789). Both species are well-distinguished by the structure of parameres and wings (shortened in Pentodon reitteri). At the present time the fauna of the Caucasus includes three brachypterous species of the genus Pentodon Hope, 1837: P. foveipennis...

Availability of some names proposed by E. Reitter in Protaetia (Potosia) cuprea Fabricius, 1775 species-group (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae) is discussed. It is shown that the names erected in Reitter, 1899: Potosia cuprea v. densesculpta Reitter, 1899, P. c. var. pseudacuminata Reitter, 1899, P. c. var. lederi Reitter, 1899, P. c. var. adi...

The article is dedicated to the problem of translation of popular science television programmes, which in the age of specialization and rapid growth of scientific knowledge is becoming increasingly important and demanded. In particular it is essential for those who learn Russian in a foreign environment. Author, not being a specialist in philology,...

The history of records of Holochelus (Miltotrogus) brenskei (Reitter, 1888) from Armenia is reviewed. Previous records are not verified by the actual collection material. New records of Holochelus brenskei are given for three localities in Tavush Province of Armenia.

Six new species of the pimeliine genus Ceratanisus Gebien, 1937 are described from Transcaucasia and Anatolia: C. talyshensis sp. nov. (Azerbaijan: Talysh), C. transcaucasicus sp. nov. (Azerbaijan: Nakhchivan; Armenia: Ararat Prov.), C. khnzoriani sp. nov. (Armenia: Megri), C. costipennis sp. nov. (Turkey: Ankara), C. keskini sp. nov. (Turkey: Mala...

The results of a faunistic survey of jewel beetles (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) in Kurdistan Province of Iran are presented. Totally 30 species belonging to two subfamilies (Buprestinae and Agrilinae) and 8 genera were collected and identified. Of these 1 species is new for Iranian fauna and 19 species are new for Kurdistan Province.

Irrigated meadow-brown soils of the Ararat valley of the Republic of Armenia have been studied. It has been shown that they are characterized by low humus content, quite rapidly decreasing with depth, and the fulvo-humate and humate types of humus, the significant content of strongly bounded humin acids and the low content of mobile forms, the comp...