The ground beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) of southern Kuril Islands, Russia

We compiled a list of the ground beetles that have been confirmed to occur to date in the southern Kuril Islands, Russian Far East. The list includes 168 species, all of which are known from Kunashir Island and the species richness on the remaining islands ranges from 68 (Shikotan Island) to 21 species (Tanfil'eva Island). The species richness is shown to depend sublinearly on island area, this being unusual for island faunas (Triantis et al. 2011). A large part of data is published here for the first time on the records of ground beetles in the southern Kuril Islands with precise localities. This allows not only the taxonomic composition of the faunas, but also the composition of local faunas to be discussed.

First record of the genus Oedoparena Curran, 1934 (Diptera: Dryomyzidae) from Russia

The genus Oedoparena Curran, 1934 (Diptera: Dryomyzidae) with species O. minor Suwa, 1981 is recorded from Russia (Kuril Islands: Shikotan Island) for the first time. Diagnosis of the genus and description of the species are given.

The “Cribrilina annulata" problem and new species of Juxtacribrilina (Bryozoa: Cheilostomata: Cribrilinidae) from the North Pacific

Originally described from Greenland, Juxtacribrilina annulata (Fabricius, 1780) (previously known as Cribrilina annulata) has long been regarded as having a circumpolar, Arctic-boreal distribution. The genus Juxtacribrilina Yang, Seo, Min, Grischenko & Gordon, 2018 accommodated J. annulata and three related North Pacific species formerly in Cribrilina Gray, 1848 that lack avicularia, have a reduced (hood-like, cap-like, or vestigial) ooecium closely associated with modified latero-oral spines to form an ooecial complex, and produce frontally or marginally positioned dwarf ovicellate zooids. While the recently described NW Pacific species J. mutabilis and J. flavomaris, which have a vestigial ooecium like a short, flattened spine, clearly differ from J. annulata, the differences between J. annulata and other Pacific populations remained unclear. Here we provide descriptions for five species from the North Pacific region. We identified a specimen from the Sea of Okhotsk as J. annulata. Among the other four species, J. ezoensis n. sp. has a trans-Pacific distribution (abundant at Akkeshi, Hokkaido, Japan; also detected in the Commander Islands and at Ketchikan, Southeast Alaska); J. pushkini n. sp. was found only at Ketchikan; J. dobrovolskii n. sp. was found only at Shikotan Island in the Lesser Kuril Chain; and J. tumida n. sp. was found only at Kodiak, Gulf of Alaska. These four species all differ from J. annulata in having one or two frontal pore chambers on the proximal gymnocyst of most zooids; in budding frontal dwarf ovicellate zooids from these chambers rather than from basal pore chambers; in producing dwarf zooids more abundantly; and in having ooecia that are somewhat to markedly more reduced (cap-like rather than hood-like) and more closely integrated with the modified latero-oral spines. Furthermore, in the Pacific species, the ooecium in basal zooids arises from the roof of the distal pore chamber of the maternal zooid; ovicellate zooids can thus also bud a distal autozooid and are often arranged in columnar series with other zooids. In J. annulata, the hood-like kenozooidal ooecium budded from the maternal zooid replaces the distal autozooid, and ovicellate zooids are thus usually not embedded in a columnar series.

Differentiation of the frog sculpin Myoxocephalus stelleri Tilesius, 1811 (Actinopterygii, Cottidae) based on mtDNA and karyotype analyses

A molecular genetic and karyological study of the frog sculpin Myoxocephalus stelleri Tilesius, 1811 was carried out on an extensive sample from a large area of the species’ range. A total of 42 specimens was sampled from the Sea of Japan, Sea of Okhotsk, and coastal waters off the southern Kuril Islands, which makes this sampling scheme the most comprehensive to date. The level of mtDNA polymorphism was found to be low. The haplotypes of the species formed three phylogenetic groups. The unique M. stelleri haplotype from the coast of Shikotan Island linked all the studied groups, indicating that it is likely ancestral. Robertsonian polymorphism was identified in the species. In all five cytotypes (I – 2n = 44, II – 2n = 43, III – 2n = 42, IV – 2n = 41, V – 2n = 40; NF = 44+2) were identified, all of which were present in the Sea of Japan. Only one (cytotype I) was found in the Sea of Okhotsk, which is probably the closest to the ancestral karyotype. The significant chromosomal polymorphism and the presence of common haplotypes in the studied samples indicate their recent origin from a common ancestor and/or relatively recent contacts within the range. The discrepancies between mtDNA and karyotypes in assigning the ancestral M. stelleri to the coastal waters off Shikotan Island (southern Kuril Islands) and the Sea of Okhotsk, respectively, can be explained by the different inheritance mechanisms and the rates of evolution of molecular genetic and karyological traits.

ON THE METHODS OF O. N. LOSHAKOV IN TEACHING EASEL PAINTING From his experience at the Vladivostok Art School in 1960–1962

The article explores the first pedagogical experience of Academician of the Russian Academy of Arts, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, Professor Oleg Nikolaevich Loshakov in Vladivostok. The work provides a brief overview on the history of the formation of professional arts education in the Far East. Positive influence of Oleg Loshakov — graduate of the Moscow State Academic Art Institute named after V. I. Surikov on improving the quality of the educational process at the Vladivostok Art School is noted. He contributed greatly to the development of fine arts in Primorsky Krai as a teacher and representative of the Moscow School of Painting. Further creative activity of O. N. Loshakov who painted landscapes on Shikotan Island together with a group of young artists that were his first graduates is described. The materials of the article expand the range of ideas about the artist's work in the Far East, and reveal new aspects of his landscape paintings of the 1960s. Special consideration is given to the monumental landscape in the master's work. The relevance of the topic is determined by the lack of materials devoted to the period of O. N. Loshakov's formation as a teacher and artist.

Macrobenthos of a typical small stream of the Southern Kuril Islands (example of nameless stream, Shikotan Island)

Structure, quantitative indicators and specifics of distribution of principal macrozoobenthos communities of krenal, ritral and estuarine zones in the body of nameless stream (Shikotan Is.) are described. General patterns of the distribution are explained.

Phenolic compounds of Dasiphora fruticosa plants from natural populations in the south of the Russian Far East

The profile and amounts were determined for phenolic compounds in the leaves of Dasiphora fruticosa plants growing in natural populations in the south of the Russian Far East. It was found that the phenolic profiles of the plants are similar among all the analyzed populations, but there are differences in the concentrations of the phenolic compounds. Total concentrations of phenolic compounds, flavonols, rhamnetin glycosides, and free quercetin are 12—46% higher in the leaves of plants of three populations from Shikotan Island. The highest total concentration of ellagic compounds (12.6 mg/g) was noted in the population from Primorsky Krai.