Monograph of the Staphylinidae of Crete (Greece). Part I. Diversity and endemism (Insecta: Coleoptera)
Authors: Assing Volker 
Published: December 2020

With a geological history of long isolation, fragmentation, partial submersion, and subsequent rising, characterized by a remarkable diversity in topology, geology, and habitats, and the fifth-largest island of the Mediterranean, Crete has provided an ideal setting for speciation and developing a unique and diverse Staphylinidae fauna. Although beginning already in the middle of the 19th century, the exploration of this fauna gained momentum only recently. Based on a critical revision of literature data, on material collected during several recent field trips, and on additional previously unpublished records, a checklist of the Staphylinidae of Crete is compiled, including as many as 397 named species, with 115 of them reported from the island for the first time and with 48 new species described in the second part of the monograph. Additional unidentified and unnamed species, as well as species doubtfully or erroneously recorded from Crete are listed separately. The systematic, zoogeographic, and ecological composition of the Staphylinidae fauna is characterized with a special focus on the endemics. The latter are represented by 111 named and at least ten unnamed species, account for nearly one-third of the fauna, and mainly belong to the subfamilies Aleocharinae, Scydmaeninae, Pselaphinae, Paederinae, Leptotyphlinae, Staphylininae, and Omaliinae. More than half of them are even locally endemic. The genera with the greatest number of endemic species are Cephennium Müller & Kunze, 1822 of the Scydmaeninae (twelve named species) and Geostiba Thomson, 1858 of the Aleocharinae (nine named species). More than two-thirds of the endemic species are epigeic inhabitants of forests, bush and shrub habitats, grassland, and wetlands, approximately one-fourth is confined to deeper soil strata or endogean, and 8 % are myrmephilous. Slightly more than half (59 species; 53 %) of the endemics are most likely the result of in-situ radiation (18 lineages), the remainder of vicariance with mainland species. A comparison with other Mediterranean islands revealed that (a) total diversity of the Cretan fauna is significantly greater than that of other East Mediterranean islands except Corfu, but much lower than that of Corsica, Sardinia, and Sicily, (b) regarding the number of endemic species Crete ranks third behind Corsica and Sardinia, and (c) the rate of endemism is greater in Crete than in any other Mediterranean island. Explanations for the observed differences in the diversity and composition of the faunas of the islands are discussed. Stichoglossa graeca Bernhauer, 1905, a species of which previously only the lectotype was known, is redescribed and illustrated. Six synonymies are proposed and one name is revalidated: Phloeocharis longipennis Fauvel, 1875 = P. hummleri Bernhauer, 1915, syn. nov.; Phytosus balticus Kraatz, 1859 = P. holtzi Bernhauer, 1935, syn. nov.; Atheta nigra (Kraatz, 1856) = A. biroi Scheerpeltz, 1964, syn. nov.; Domene stilicina (Erichson, 1840) = D. lohseiana Bordoni, 1977, syn. nov.; Oedichirus rubronotatus Pic, 1903, revalidated = O. reitteri Bernhauer, 1908, syn. nov.; Pseudolathra quadricollis (Fauvel, 1875) = P. cretensis Bordoni, 1986, syn. nov. A lectotype is designated for Stichoglossa graeca Bernhauer, 1905. Two species are reported from Greece for the first time.