Quedius (Microsaurus) sp. ex. mutilatus group

Material examined

KAZAKHSTAN • 2 ♂♂; Tarbagatay Mts, Karakol River; 23 Aug. 1989; V.A. Kastcheev leg.; ZIN .

Remarks

Prior to this study, the northernmost record for the peculiar mutilatus group was presented by three specimens from the Dzhungarian Alatau (Salnitska & Solodovnikov 2018b). However, at that time we considered that record as questionable, possibly based on mislabelling, because of its very distant location from the core distribution area for this group. The specimens examined here come from a locality even further northwards. Thus, it can be argued that the formerly questioned record from Dzhungarian Alatau was in fact not erroneous. These findings show that the distribution of the mutilatus group extends significantly northwards. Unfortunately, as in the case of the material from Dzhungarian Alatau (Salnitska & Solodovnikov 2018b), both male specimens from the Tarbagatay Mountains reported here are damaged by dermestids and their aedeagi are lost. Based on the external morphology, both specimens clearly belong to the Q. mutilatus group, but a more precise identification at the moment is not possible.