The First Data on the Diving Beetles from the Coastal Tundra of the Yugorsky Peninsula, Polar Russia

Abstract

Diving beetles were collected in July 2018 in the most typical water bodies and other habitats in the vicinity of Amderma (the Kara Sea coast, northern Yugorsky Peninsula). The revealed fauna of Dytiscidae comprised 15 species from 7 genera, the most diverse of which were Agabus and Hydroporus. The record of Dytiscus lapponicus was the northernmost for the species, while the records of Hydroporus cf. fuscipennis and Agabus pallens were the northernmost for the Palaearctic parts of their ranges. Original photographs illustrate peculiar specimens of D. lapponicus with dark head, pronotum, and scutellum. Most of the recorded species have vast Holarctic arctic-boreal or arcticboreo-montane distributions. The species composition of Dytiscidae was quite similar to that in the northernmost mainland regions (Pakhancheskaya Bay, Kara Tundra, and Pamal) and Vaigach and Dolgy islands, and less similar to that of the southern tundra regions (Kanin Peninsula, Bolvanskaya Bay, Antipayuta village area, and Gyda Peninsula). Among the habitats studied, thermokarst lakes had the most diverse assemblage of diving beetles, with up to 14 species and the highest recorded density of 1150 ind./100 trap-days. In contrast, only 2 or 3 species were recorded on salt marshes, and their density was significantly lower, 1.8–3.6 ind./100 trap-days.