Vol 103, No 10 (2024)

The present study is based on the oribatid mite material collected from the Villa Clara Province, Cuba. A list of 17 species, belonging to 11 genera and nine families, is presented; of them, one genus and three species are reported from Cuba for the first time. Two new species – Muliercula ornamenta Ermilov sp. n. (Scheloribatidae) and Galumna (Galumna) villaclaraensis Ermilov sp. n. (Galumnidae) – are described from soil litter with decaying leaves.

Most species of the genus Hololepta show flat bodies and atypical ovipositor structures, these latter being adapted to laying the eggs inside wood. Cladistic analyses based on 33 characters of the adult insect body and 15 characters of the ovipositor support the monophyly of the genus. The subgenus Hololepta has more apomorphic characters than does Leionota. This study did not reveal any characters that show the monophyly of Leionota. In most species of the subgenus Hololepta the gonocoxites bear teeth that help pushing out the substrate during oviposition. The valvifers in most Hololepta species have longitudinal thickenings to further increase their strength. Our data show that the characters of the ovipositor are lower in value for phylogenetic reconstructions. The reproductive system of female Hololepta is more prone to convergences and parallelisms compared to the features of their external structure.

Between 2018 and 2023, four new records of sea turtles (Dermochelyidae, Cheloniidae) belonging to three species (Dermochelys coriacea, Chelonia mydas and Eretmochelys imbricata) were recorded in Russian Far Eastern waters. The Hawksbill Turtle (E. imbricata) is reported from Russia for the first time. This adult female was caught by fishermen in the strait between Kunashir and Shikotan islands. An adult specimen of D. coriacea was captured in nets in the Kunashir Strait of the Sea of Okhotsk near the village of Tretyakovo. Several skeleton fragments of Ch. mydas were found near the Alyokhin Cape of Kunashir Island. The Green Turtle, Ch. mydas, is recorded from the Kuril Islands for the first time, very likely that specimen belongs to the Pacific subspecies, the Black Turtle (Ch. m. agassizii). Another species of sea turtle, the Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea), is also likely to occur in the southern part of the Far Eastern sea area. The Leatherback Turtle, D. coriacea, is the only species regularly entering Russia’s waters and has been recorded at least two dozen times in the Sea of Japan, the Sea of Okhotsk, and the Bering Sea, and in the Pacific waters of the Russian economic zone near the southern Kuril Islands. Two other species, the Loggerhead, Caretta caretta, and the Green Turtle, Ch. mydas, have been recorded only a few times. The actual number of sea turtles entering Russia’s waters is higher than the number given in official sources. A tendency for sea turtle records to increase in the temperate and subarctic zones seems to be associated with increased fishing in the region. Bycatch study in temperate and subarctic zones may provide new information on the distribution and biology of sea turtles in the north and also allow for methods for reducing accidental turtle mortality to be developed.

The study is aimed at assessing the status of the key Amur tiger population, Panthera tigris, in the Khabarovsk Krai in the conditions of sharply deteriorated trophic conditions caused by the African swine fever outbreak and ongoing habitat degradation. Two relatively large areas where typical regional economic activities are conducted were chosen as study sites. The research was conducted using both traditional (snow tracking) and modern (camera traps) methods, which, in combination, helped reduce subjectivity in interpreting the results. An analysis of critically important factors negatively impacting the tiger population at the northern limit of their distribution was performed. Excessive tiger mortality in recent years has been demonstrated, which could lead to long-term negative processes in the population and significant reduction. Possible measures to reduce the emerging threats to the northernmost Amur tiger population (Panthera tigris altaica) are discussed.