Badamdorj Bayartogtokh

Previously, thirty-one species of the subfamily Crambinae (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) have been recorded in Mongolia. Based on our newly collected materials from northeastern Mongolia, two species are reported for the first time from the country: Neopediasia mixtalis (Walker, 1863) and Pseudocatharylla inclaralis (Walker, 1863). We provide an updated checklist comprising 33 species belonging to 11 genera. In addition, we present COI barcode data for six species collected in the north and east of Mongolia. The distribution patterns of 18 species of Crambinae whose occurrence in Mongolia has been fully documented were examined in accordance with vegetation zones, and a clear separation between north–south occurrences of species was observed. Additionally, the species distributions were examined in relation to major river basins, where their occurrences broadly separated by the boundary between the Central Asian Endorheic Basin, the Arctic Basin, and the Pacific Basin.

The oribatid mite family Oppiidae Sellnick, 1937 is highly diverse globally, but this group is insufficiently studied in Korea. This work deals with four species of oppiids from Korea. Rhinoppia chuleuijungi sp. nov. and Goyoppia heuksandoensis sp. nov. are proposed based on adults, and supplementary descriptions of two little-known species, Graptoppia nukusia (Shtanchaeva, 1984) and G. tanaitica Karppinen and Poltavskaja, 1990 are provided, which are reported for the first time from Korea. All species are inhabitants of the litter and soil of the mixed forests, and aspects of the taxonomy, distribution, and ecology of all species are discussed.

Paedonothridae Norton, Ermilov & Bayartogtokh fam. nov. is proposed as a new family of the oribatid mite hyporder Nothrina. It is monotypic, based on Paedonothrus reductus Norton, Ermilov & Bayartogtokh gen. et sp. nov., which was sampled from floating vegetation in a shallow lagoon in Kavaratti Atoll of the tropical Lakshadweep Islands, Arabian Sea, India. As such, it is the first known aquatic oribatid mite that is truly marine. It is easily distinguished by knife-like claws, wide separation of genital and anal valves, and reduction of genital papillae to a single small pair. The latter two are juvenile traits in other nothrines and, considering the many losses of body and leg setae, P. reductus appears to be the most paedomorphic known member of Nothrina. We argue for the inclusion of Paedonothridae in the superfamily Malaconothroidea and present a table of traits differentiating it from Malaconothridae and Trhypochthoniidae. While specimens are few, all are adult females, so P. reductus probably is thelytokous, like all other known members of the superfamily.

The tribe Gymnopleurini is a well‐known group within Scarabaeinae, characterized by its diurnal ball rolling behavior. Although mitochondrial genomes have been reported for numerous Scarabaeinae species, those of Gymnopleurini remain unexplored. In this study, we document for the first time the mitochondrial genome sequences of two ball‐rolling dung beetles, Gymnopleurus mopsus (Pallas, 1781) and Gymnopleurus geoffroyi (Fuessly, 1775), from the tribe Gymnopleurini and infer the tribe's position within Scarabaeinae, whose phylogenetic relationships remain largely unresolved. Their mitochondrial genomes are circular DNA molecules, 15,591 and 15,460 bp in size, respectively, and consist of 37 genes, with an identical gene order in Scarabaeinae. Mitochondrial phylogeny, based on the sequences of 13 protein‐coding genes (PCGs) from 72 Scarabaeinae species, recovered monophyly of Scarabaeinae and a sister relationship between Gymnopleurus (Gymnopleurini) and Sarophorus. This finding is the first to suggest a potential sister relationship between two groups, but like previous studies, the lack of strong synapomorphic characters implies further phylogenomic analysis is needed to confirm their relationship. Notably, the monophyly of the Onthophagini + Oniticellini lineage was supported, reflecting its biogeographic history and highlighting the need for a taxonomic revision of this species‐rich and cosmopolitan group, incorporating additional suprageneric groups. The mitochondrial genome information of two Gymnopleurini species, G. mopsus and G. geoffroyi, not only helps fill the gap in the missing mitochondrial genome data for the Gymnopleurini tribe but also contributes to future conservation efforts by providing insights into the genomic diversity and population structure of these two threatened species.

The genus Suctobelbella is diversely represented in the northern hemisphere, but this group is insufficiently studied in Korea. Herein, we propose two new species, Suctobelbella (Flagrosuctobelba) subiasi sp. nov., Suctobelbella (Ussuribata) wiryeca sp. nov., and provide supplementary descriptions of two known species, Suctobelbella (Flagrosuctobelba) hastata Pan’kov, 1986 and Suctobelbella (Flagrosuctobelba) plumosa Chinone, 2003, which are reported from Korea for the first time. Diagnostic characterization and illustration of each species along with their habitat ecology and distributional data are given. Furthermore, a diagnostic key for the identification of adults of the known species of Suctobelbella in Korea, is provided.

This work deals with four species of oribatid mites of the family Brachychthoniidae Thor, 1934 from Korea. A new species, Sellnickochthonius gotjawaliensis sp. nov. is proposed, and three known species, Liochthonius leptaleus Moritz, 1976, Liochthonius muscorum Forsslund, 1964, and Sellnickochthonius cricoides (Weis-Fogh, 1948) are newly reported to the fauna of Korea. Diagnostic characterization and illustration of each species along with their habitat ecology and distributional data are given. A diagnostic key to adults of all species of Brachychthoniidae known from Korea is presented.

The supplementary descriptions of two species of Oribatodes (Oribatida, Cepheusidae), O. mirabilis Banks, 1895 and O. reticulatus (Sitnikova, 1979), are presented, based on adults collected from the U.S.A. and Panama, respectively. The deutonymphal and tritonymphal instars of O. mirabilis and the deutonymphal instar of O. reticulatus are described; this is the first data on juveniles of the genus. The revised generic diagnosis and an identification key to the known representatives of Oribatodes are provided. The taxonomic status of the related genus Reticulocepheus Vasiliu & Călugăr, 1977 is discussed, resulting in the following new taxonomic proposals: Oribatodes Banks, 1895 (=Reticulocepheus Vasiliu & Călugăr, 1977 syn. nov.); O. areolatus (Sitnikova, 1979) comb. nov.; O. decoui (Vasiliu & Călugăr, 1977) comb. nov.; O. grandis (Sitnikova, 1979) comb. nov.; O. mirabiloides (Jacot, 1938) comb. nov.; and O. reticulatus (Sitnikova, 1979) comb. nov. Comparative characteristics of juveniles of the different genera of Cepheusidae are given based on our own data and available literature sources.

Appendisotoma bisetosa Martynova, 1970, A. stebayevae (Grinbergs, 1962) and A. sibirica Stebayeva, 1985 are redescribed based on the material from Palaearctic region. Seasonal cyclomorphosis of the three species is distinguished. The winter form is armed with apical lobe on dens, chitinized furca and larger ocelli. Tenaculum, tenent hairs, and pigmentation can also be affected by cyclomorphosis. Dimorphism of species of Appendisotoma resembles that of several species of Proisotoma s. str. Appendisotoma monomorpha sp. nov. is described from Kazakhstan, taxonomic remarks are given to A. absoloni Rusek, 1966 and A. abiskoensis (Agrell, 1939).

This work deals with 13 species of oribatid mites from different regions of Korea. Two new species, Humerobates aokii sp. nov. and Humerobates ulleungdoensis sp. nov. are proposed, and 11 known species, Punctoribates ezoensis (Fujikawa, 1982), Tectoribates proximus (Berlese, 1910), Protoribates tohokuensis Fujikawa, 2003, Protoribates capucinus Berlese, 1908, Peloribates pilosus Hammer, 1952, Scheloribates fimbriatus Thor, 1930, Neoribates aurantiacus (Oudemans, 1914), Zygoribatula glabra (Michael, 1890), Pergalumna myrmophila (Berlese, 1914), Trichogalumna boninensis Hagino, Bayartogtokh & Shimano, 2017, and Trichogalumna ohkuboi Hagino, Bayartogtokh & Shimano, 2017 are newly reported for the fauna of Korea. Supplementary descriptions and illustrations of each species along with their distributional data are provided.