Two new species of Cossidae are described, Panau lourensi sp. nov. from the Philippines and P. tanimbari sp. nov. from the island of Tanimbar in Indonesia. The new species are close to the poorly studied species P. variegatum (Roepke, 1957) from the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia. The male genitalia of the latter species are redescribed.

Glaphyrus mardjanyanae sp. nov. from the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province of Tajikistan is described and illustrated. The new species belongs to the subgenus Eoglaphyrus Semenov, 1926, which so far had included two species, G. (E.) turkestanicus Semenov, 1889 from Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and northeastern Afghanistan, and G. (E.) afghanistanicus Skrylnik et Pak, 2021 from central Afghanistan. The diagnostic characters and a key to the species of Eoglaphyrus are given. A lectotype for G. sogdianus Semenov, 1892 is designated.

Urophora sevanensis sp. nov. is described from Armenia and a key is provided for separation of the new species from U. aprica (Fallén, 1820) and U. trinervii Korneyev et White, 1996. The new species was reared from capitula of Psephellus sp. in Armenia together with the already known Terellia ermolenkoi Korneyev, 1985. Along with U. trinervii Korneyev et White, 1996, this is the second species of the genus Urophora Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830 known to attack capitula of the genus Psephellus Cassini. The new species is characterised by separated subbasal and discal crossbands, separated discal and preapical crossbands, anteriorly connected preapical and apical crossbands and the aculeus with distinct preapical primary and small secondary steps. The morphological details of T. ermolenkoi in colour photos are also presented.

We report for the first time the presence of frigate tuna Auxis thazard (Lacepède, 1800) in the Syrian marine waters in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. A specimen of A. thazard was caught in Purse seine nets in the fishery for bullet tuna A. rochei (Risso, 1810) in Ras al-Bassit in March 2022.

Three new species of the lace bug genus Physatocheila Fieber, 1844 (Heteroptera: Tingidae) from China (Sichuan and Yunnan provinces) are described: Ph. explanata sp. nov., Ph. angusta sp. nov., and Ph. potanini sp. nov. A new subspecies Ph. miyatakei latiuscula subsp. nov. is described from China (Sichuan Province) and the southern part of the Primorskiy Territory, the Far East of Russia. A key for the identification of Physatocheila species of the Russian fauna, including the new taxa, is presented. The distributions of all species are briefly summarised in the key. The species discussed herein are provided with original photographs.

There is a confusion about the date of the description and the type locality of the vine-feeding Zygaenidae species that is known as Theresimima ampellophaga. The correct date and type locality based on the original description are provided and discussed.

An integrative description of a newly discovered Spitsbergen population of Diphascon tenue Thulin, 1928 was undertaken using high quality light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and methods of molecular taxonomy. Phylogenetic analyses indicated the relationships of this species within the subfamily Itaquasconinae Bartoš in Rudescu, 1964 (the family Hypsibiidae Pilato, 1969). Arctodiphascon gen. nov. is erected with two species, A. tenue, comb. nov. and A. wuyingensis (Sun et al., 2020), comb. nov. Following the results of the phylogenetic molecular and morphological analysis, Adropion greveni (Dastych, 1984) and A. mauccii (Dastych et McInnes, 1996) are transferred to the genus Diphascon Plate, 1888 as D. greveni Dastych, 1984, stat. resurr. and D. mauccii Dastych et McInnes, 1996, stat. resurr. Following the results of the phylogenetic molecular and morphological analyses, the generic name Meplitumen Lisi et al., 2019, syn. nov. is recognised as synonymous to Platicrista Pilato, 1987. An emended diagnosis for the genus Astatumen Pilato, 1997 is given. The distribution of morphological characters within the superfamily Hypsibioidea is analysed and their taxonomic significance is discussed. A new phylogenetic tree of Hypsibioidea based on molecular data is presented. The subfamilies Itaquasconinae and Pilatobiinae Bertolani et al., 2014 are raised to family rank, as Itaquasconidae and Pilatobiidae (status promotus). The subfamily Diphasconinae Dastych, 1992 is transferred to the Hypsibiidae, as a sister group to the subfamily Hypsibiinae Pilato, 1969.

Two new species from the subgenus Pleurosticha of the genus Chrysolina are described from the mountains of southern Siberia (Russia): Ch. reshetnikovi sp. nov. (Republic of Altai) and Ch. borisi sp. nov. (Republic of Tyva). Chrysolina reshetnikovi sp. nov. has a slightly convex body, a blue-green coloration of the upper side, regular puncture rows of the elytra and mostly flat elytral intervals, which distinguish this species from all species of the subgenus, except for Ch. shapkini Mikhailov et Gus’kova, 2013. The main distinguishing features of the male of the new species from Ch. shapkini are the strongly broadened tarsomeres 1–3, the pygidium with an impression along its entire length, the last abdominal sternite with a semicircular depression, and the apex of the aedeagus bent at 90°. Chrysolina borisi sp. nov. has a convex small body, black coloration of the upper side, femora and tibiae, regular puncture rows of the elytra and slightly convex elytral intervals, and the aedeagus near the apex with a narrow protrusion of the lateral side directed toward the aedeagus base.

A palaeophiid sea snake Pterosphenus muruntau Averianov, 1997 was based on two trunk vertebrae and several vertebral fragments from the middle Eocene (Bartonian) coastal marine deposits of Dzheroi 2 locality in the Central Kyzylkum Desert, Uzbekistan. The species was considered a nomen dubium by Rage and coauthors in 2003 based on alleged poor preservation of the type specimens. However, the preservation of the holotype of P. muruntau is sufficient to discern a slightly laterally compressed vertebra and a low pterapophysis, the characters that distinguish this species from the other species of Pterosphenus. These characters are also clear in a new and better preserved vertebra of P. muruntau from the type locality. Pterosphenus muruntau should be considered a valid species of the genus Pterosphenus.

Two new species of the genus Endelus (Coleoptera: Buprestidae: Aphanisticini), E. (Endelus) carolianus sp. nov. from Australia and E. (E.) jakli sp. nov. from the Solomon Islands, are described, illustrated, and their diagnostic characters are given. Endelus carolianus sp. nov. is the third representative of the genus in Australia. The genus Endelus is recorded for the Solomon Islands for the first time. A lectotype of E. subcornutus Kerremans, 1900 is designated.

Based on collecting records, rearing, examination of type specimens and analysis of published data, this paper discusses which species of the genus Hydrellia (Diptera: Ephydridae) mine in Water Soldier, Stratiotes aloides. Seven species of Hydrellia have been reported as leaf miners of S. aloides in the literature during the last 100 years. All records are very likely to be H. tarsata Haliday, 1839, and three species described from the material reared from S. aloides are considered to be new junior synonyms of H. tarsata: H. stratiotae Hering, 1925, syn. nov., H. stratiotella Wahlgren, 1947, syn. nov., and H. propingua Wahlgren, 1947, syn. nov. Hence, only H. tarsata is known to live in S. aloides. Information on the bionomics and distribution of H. tarsata is reviewed.

A new species Neurocossus albuquerci sp. nov. of the rare poorly studied oriental genus Neurocossus Yakovlev, 2011 (Cossidae: Cossinae) is described from India. The new species clearly differs from all known species of the genus in the very small size (fore wing length 9 mm), poorly developed reticulate pattern on fore wing and very wide uncus with semicircular apex. The article also contains an illustrated catalogue of the genus Neurocossus.

Menzella timedrinensis gen. et sp. nov. is described from the Middle Atlas in Morocco. This description increases the known diversity of valvatiform hydrobiids (Hydrobiidae) of Morocco to ten species and eight genera, all known only from Morocco. A key to the genera and a brief overview of the valvatiform hydrobiids of Morocco are also provided.

The results of molecular genetic analysis of the widespread holarctic harpacticoid species Attheyella nordenskioldii (Lilljeborg, 1902) from Lake Baikal are presented for the first time. Until recently, this species was recorded from Baikal and the rivers flowing into the lake as its junior synonym Canthocamptus gibba Okuneva, 1983, which was considered endemic to Baikal. Our research is based on the material from samples of meiobenthos collected from Lake Baikal (including the type locality of C. gibba), waterbodies of the Baikal area, from other regions of Siberia (delta of the Lena River, Putorana Plateau, Western Sayan Mountains, Transbaikalia) and Europe (Bolshezemelskaya tundra). A comparison of the Baikalian specimens of A. nordenskioldii with those from other above-mentioned regions by COI nucleotide sequences showed that they belong to the same species (genetic distances between the specimens from different populations were 0.0016–0.065). Variability is shown in the length of the copulatory duct of A. nordenskioldii, previously indicated to differentiate this species from C. gibba, as well as in other characters of the fifth leg of female.

The article considers the scientific biography of Dr Evelyna M. Danzig (1932–2022) and also provides a brief historical overview of the Soviet coccidological school. Evelyna Danzig was the most famous expert on the scale insects and whiteflies (Insecta: Homoptera: Coccinea, Aleyrodinea) in the former Soviet Union and one of the most prominent authorities in coccidology in the second half of the XX century and early XXI century. She published more than 140 scientific papers and four large monographs, described ten genera and about 120 species of the scale insects, and five genera and 23 species of the whiteflies as new to science. The current names of these taxa as well as the bibliography of E.M. Danzig are given in this article. The life and work of E.M. Danzig are discussed in connection with the fate of the Soviet coccidological school, which had numerous members during most part of the XX century. The features of the Soviet coccidological school are briefly compared with those of the leading foreign coccidological schools.

Taniatrechus xeniae sp. nov., the second species of the genus, is described from Prostornaya Cave in the central part of the Bzyb Mountain Range, Abkhazia. A comparative study of all available specimens of the genus is carried out using both linear morphometrics (indices) and geometric morphometrics: generalised Procrustes analysis (GPA), principal component analysis (PCA), and canonical variate analysis (CVA). This study allowed us to estimate infraspecific variation in the external morphology of T. setosus Belousov et Dolzhansky, 1994, on the one hand, and to reveal reliable diagnostic features that distinguish between the two species, on the other. The diagnosis and description of the genus are completed to include the new species and variation found in the type species. Some characters were also described more accurately or corrected based on more abundant material. The major morphological features of Taniatrechus spp. are photographed, their geographic distribution is mapped, and new data on living conditions of the genus are provided. The members of the genus seem to be the most specialised hypogean Trechini in the Caucasus, with the deepest finding ever reported for Coleoptera (one specimen of T. setosus was found at a level of 1,800 m below the cave entrance). In view of recent discoveries in highlands, the subterranean layer suitable for living of hypogean insects may reach more than three km thick in intensively folded karst areas. Thus, the hypogean life is much more widespread than previously thought. Prostornaya Cave, the type locality of T. xeniae sp. nov., is described for the first time.

Two new species of the tribe Similipepsini (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae: Tinthiinae), Similipepsis gansoni sp. nov. and S. murzini sp. nov., are described and illustrated form central Africa (the banks of the Ubangi River) and Guinea, respectively. Similipepsis gansoni sp. nov. is somewhat similar to S. aureus (Gaede, 1929), but they differ from each other in the conformation of the transparent areas of the forewing, in the coloration of the abdomen, and in some details of the male genitalia. Similipepsis murzini sp. nov. is most similar to S. maromizaensis Bartsch, 2008, but they can be distinguished from each other by the coloration of the frons, thorax, and abdomen.

Two new species of bees of the family Halictidae, Lasioglossum (Hemihalictus) rugulosum sp. nov. and L. (H.) longitudinale sp. nov. from the state of Uttarakhand in northern India, are described and illustrated. An annotated list of Indian species of the subgenus Hemihalictus Cockerell, 1897 and map of their distribution are provided.

A third species of the genus Balssipotamon Ðặng et Hồ, 2008 (Brachyura: Decapoda: Potamidae), B. tre sp. nov., is described from Tre Island located in Nhatrang Bay, Vietnam. The new species clearly differs from the congeners in morphology, as well as ecologically, inhabiting a coastal brackish pond, cohabited by the typical brackish-water crabs Varuna litterata (Fabricius, 1798) (Varunidae) and Somanniathelphusa cf. sinensis (H. Milne-Edwards, 1853) (Gecarcinucidae).

The crocodile shark Pseudocarcharias kamoharai is recorded for the first time from the Visakhapatnam waters, Andhra Pradesh, India, based on three female specimens collected in December 2017 from commercial gillnetters. The morphological, morphometric and meristic characteristics of the specimens are provided in the present paper.

The calanoid copepod species Diaptomus zografi Korchagin, 1887 is recorded from the East European Plain (Middle Volga Region, Russia) for the first time since the year 1925. A brief redescription and illustrations of the species are provided, and some precise details in its morphology are revealed. The studied population of D. zografi from the Middle Volga region is similar in morphological characters to populations from the environs of Moscow and Kostroma.

A new crane fly species from South Korea, Tipula (Pterelachisus) submitophora sp. nov. (Diptera: Tipulidae), is described and illustrated. The male and female of the most closely related species, T. (P.) mitophora Alexander, 1934, are redescribed and illustrated. In both species, males are full-winged and females are strongly brachypterous.

The monotypic African genus Masnerosema Sundholm, 1970 is revised. This generic name is recognised as synonymous to Acanopsilus Kieffer, 1908. The new combination Acanopsilus africanus (Sundholm, 1970), comb. nov. is established. The male of A. africanus is described for the first time. New data on the distribution and detailed illustrations of the species, and an updated diagnosis of the tribe Pantolytini are provided.

Using light and electron microscopy, as well as molecular phylogenetic methods, we described a new species of monoxenous trypanosomatids, Zelonia daumondi sp. nov., based on three isolates collected in northwestern Russia: two from the predatory pentatomid bug Picromerus bidens (Linnaeus, 1758) and one from an overwintering female mosquito Culiseta annulata (Schrank, 1776). This is the first record of a member of the genus Zelonia Shaw, Camargo et Teixeira, 2018 in the Holarctic Region and the most northern one in the world. All three studied isolates had identical sequences of the 18S rRNA and gGAPDH genes, justifying their assignment to a single species. An isolate previously documented in the lygaeid bug Stalagmostethus fuscatus (Turton, 1802) from Madagascar was found to belong to the same species, as determined by the 18S rRNA gene sequence, thereby demonstrating a wide geographic range of the new species.

The species of the subgenus Ahlbergia Bryk, 1947 of the genus Callophrys Billberg, 1820 of Russia are revised using the external characters of adults and the characters of the male and female genitalia combined with the phylogenetic analysis of the COI gene. Our analysis revealed three species present in Russia: Callophrys (Ahlbergia) confusa (Huang, Chen et Li, 2006), status promotus, C. (A.) korea (Johnson, 1992), status promotus, and C. (A.) frivaldszkyi (Lederer, 1855). The name C. (A.) inopinata (M.M. Omelko, 1995), syn. nov. is placed in synonymy with C. (A.) frivaldszkyi. An identification key for the species of the subgenus Ahlbergia of Russia is provided.

Specimens of the widespread microturbellarian species Microstomum lineare (Müller, 1773) were collected in the coastal zone of Chivyrkuy Bay in the northern basin of Lake Baikal at a depth of 11 m. All taxonomically significant characters of the collected specimens are fully consistent with the diagnosis of this species. This is the first reliable record of the species from Lake Baikal and from Eastern Siberia, expanding the data on the range of M. lineare and increasing the list of Baikal microstomids to two species. And furthermore, the finding of M. lineare in the lake is another example of overcoming the barrier between the Baikal and Palaearctic faunas.

Nephopterix beljaevi sp. nov. (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) from the southwestern part of Sakhalin Island is described. In the structure of the male and female genitalia, the new species is most closely related to the type species of the genus, Nephopterix angustella Hübner, 1796. The new species can be distinguished from it by the indistinct pattern of the forewings, a cone-shaped protrusion on the forehead, a much smaller tooth at the first antennal segment in the male, the cucullus with a rounded apex, larger spines in the aedeagus, and a group of strong spines in the middle part of bursa copulatrix.

Taxonomy and nomenclature of the genus Metaceronema Takahashi, 1955 are discussed. Metaceronema theae (Green, 1900), nom. resurr. and M. monticola (Wang, 1976), nom. resurr. are resurrected from synonymy with M. japonica (Maskell, 1897), the type species of the genus. Metaceronema theae is redescribed and illustrated. An identification key for the species M. japonica, M. theae, and M. monticola (Wang, 1976) is provided for the first time. Additionally, a new total drawing of M. japonica is provided to clarify the morphology of this species.

Hebrus (Hebrusella) ruficeps Thomson, 1871 (Heteroptera: Hebridae) is recorded for the first time from the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), East Siberia, approximately 1850 km from the nearest western finding (Irkutsk) and roughly 2080 km from the nearest eastern finding (Artem) of the species. The single specimen was collected in a small grass-sedge hummocky swamp located 19 km west-northwest of Yakutsk.

Two species of Pauropoda, Allopauropus danicus (Hansen, 1902) and Decapauropus gracilis (Hansen, 1902), are recorded from Russia (Syktyvkar, Komi Republic) for the first time. The morphological characters and habitat of these species are briefly described. The COI sequences of mitochondrial DNA of D. gracilis are obtained and analysed for the first time. The previous records of Pauropoda in Russia, with identifications to species and genera, are briefly reviewed.

This article provides an overview of the taxonomic composition of free-living flatworms (Plathelminthes: Catenulida, Rhabditophora) in the Volga–Kama basin. A total of 143 flatworm species from 43 genera have been recorded from this region over more than 150 years of research, i.e. starting from the 1870s. The annotated checklist includes synonymy and taxonomic notes on some species. It also summarises the available data on the distribution of free-living flatworms across the largest river basin of Europe.

The article reports on the first fecord of the genus Alampes Horváth, 1884 and the species A. longiusculus Horváth, 1884 (Heteroptera: Rhyparochromidae) from Kazakhstan. The species was collected on the Kalba Ridge near the Tainty Reservoir in the East Kazakhstan Province. This finding expands the range of the species, previously known in the south of Europe, in Transcaucasia and Tajikistan, in a northeastern direction by almost 1,000 km.

Phyllodiscus semoni Kwietniewski, 1897, a little-known species of sea anemones of the family Aliciidae, is quite widely distributed in the tropics but has not been recorded from the Spratly Islands so far. The reason that the range of this species is poorly studied lies not only in the fact that many tropical areas are still poorly explored but also in the peculiar appearance of this animal in the sea. It rarely extends its tentacles during daylight hours and is not readily recognised by divers and researchers as an actinian. Our underwater observations, accompanied by high-resolution photography and specimen collection, evidence the presence of this species along the continental coast of Vietnam and in the waters of the Spratly Archipelago. During the dives, some observations were made on the behavior of the polyps and symbiotic shrimp living on their bodies. This species of sea anemones can cause severe skin burns in humans, which is confirmed by our experience. Summarised literature data on the distribution of Ph. semoni is provided.

The male and female terminalia of Halys sulcatus (Thunberg, 1783) and H. magnus Chopra, 1974, nom. resurr. are redescribed in detail, including the completely inflated aedeagi. The distribution of these taxa is analysed. It is shown that H. sulcatus is reliably recorded only from the southern regions of India and H. magnus, only from the northern regions; numerous published records of “H. dentatus” from the central regions of India cannot be reliably attributed to either of these taxa. It is shown that almost all characters of the terminalia previously used to distinguish between H. sulcatus and H. magnus are highly variable and do not have a hiatus in their variability. Furthermore, the specimens were examined which exhibited an intermediate type of paramere between those in the two taxa. The material examined (which is not very extensive) revealed only one character that can consistently differentiate between northern and southern populations: the shape of armament on the anterior margin of parameral hypophysis (i.e., the position of a denticle and the presence or absence of a carina proximal to its base). However, a lack of correlation between these characters and with other, even less significant characters, as well as published evidence of the variability of the paramere, raise doubts about whether H. sulcatus and H. magnus are distinct species. Hypotheses about the status of these taxa are considered. It is shown that the name H. sulcatus was applied to the taxon described as H. magnus, based on a variable character of the female terminalia, which has no diagnostic value in this case. Additionally, the type locality of H. sulcatus is in the southern regions of India, where no reliably identified specimens of H. magnus have been found so far. Therefore, in this article H. sulcatus is recognised as a senior synonym of H. serriger Westwood, 1837, syn. resurr., and the name H. magnus Chopra, 1974, nom. resurr., is resurrected to the taxon distributed in the north. In addition, a detailed redescription of the female terminalia of Halys shaista Ghauri, 1988 and the male and female terminalia of Neohalys serricollis (Westwood, 1837) is provided. A new species, Halys brocchus sp. nov. is described, distinguished from all congeners primarily by a unique character of its pygophore. An updated identification key for species of the genus Halys Fabricius, 1803 is given. The name H. hyderabadiensis Memon, Parveen, Ahmad et Shah, 2017, syn. nov. is recognised as a junior synonym of H. magnus. Neohalys Azim, 2002, syn. nov., is recognised as a junior subjective synonym and a junior homonym of Neohalys Ahmad et Perveen, 1982. The names Neohalys acuticornis Ahmad et Perveen, 1982, syn. nov., N. longirostratus Ahmad et Perveen, 1982, syn. nov., and N. minirostratus Ahmad et Perveen, 1982, syn. nov. are placed in synonymy with N. serricollis.