The Peculiarities of the Shikhan Faunas and Communities of Phytophagous Beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomeloidea, Curculionoidea) near the Town of Sterlitamak, the Republic of Bashkortostan

Abstract

The species composition and the general characteristics of the fauna of phytophagous beetles (superfamilies Chrysomeloidea and Curculionoidea) on the Sterlitamak shikhans are considered based on original material. The shikhans Tratau, Kushtau, and Yuraktau are cone-shaped relict limestone mountains that are unique natural objects located near Sterlitamak in the Republic of Bashkortostan. The shikhans reveal an extremely high total species diversity of leaf beetles and weevils, comprising 327 species from 8 families, or no less than 25% of the entire faunas of these groups in the forest-steppe belt of the Volga Region and the Cis-Urals. Of the three shikhans, the fauna of Tratau with 283 species is the richest and the most specific. Among the zonal complexes, the group of phytophagous beetles of steppe ecosystems is the most diverse on the shikhans, comprising 297 species, or 90% of the species recorded. The arealogical and ecological analyses have shown that the shikhan faunas have a fairly original structure characterized by pronounced participation of both Western and Central Palaearctic species, many of which are located there at the meridional limits or within the insular parts of their ranges. The studied faunas have a large proportion of petrophilic steppe and desert-steppe forms and include many relict faunal elements of different origins. Most of the relicts are concentrated in petrophytic steppes, screes, and rock outcrops of the shikhans, some of them being trophically associated with relict and/or endemic plant species. Stephanocleonus ignobilis, Pseudocleonus dauricus, and Ceutorhynchus subpilosus are known in Bashkortostan only from the shikhans; it is suggested that these relict species should be included in the regional Red Data Book. In addition, two apparently flightless and probably new species of flea beetles from the genera Phyllotrera Chevr. and Longitarsus Berth. were found on Tratau. The forest ecosystems contain a sufficiently rich group of nemoral species associated with the European oak; these species occur in Bashkortostan at or near their eastern range limits. The data presented clearly show that the fauna and communities of phytophagous beetles of the Sterlitamak shikhans are highly original, reflecting the uniqueness of their natural complexes as a whole and providing a very important argument against industrial development of any of the shikhans.