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

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.