A comprehensive taxonomic revision of the genus Urometopus Formánek, 1904 is presented. The genus, distributed across the Black Sea Basin, Caucasus, and Alborz, is redefined to comprise 49 species. The subgenus Phyllobioides Formánek, 1923 stat. res. et stat. nov., is resurrected from synonymy. New synonyms are established: Urometopus korgei Smreczyński, 1970 syn. nov. of U. rugifrons (Hochhuth, 1851), and U. georgicus (Reitter, 1888) syn. nov. and U. moczarskii (Penecke, 1929) syn. nov. of U. inflatus (Kolenati, 1859). Thirty-two species are described as new to science. Greater Caucasus: U. abchasicus sp. nov., U. brevis sp. nov., U. glabratus sp. nov., U. helenae Yunakov sp. nov., U. korotyaevi Yunakov sp. nov., U. kodoricus Yunakov sp. nov., U. nitidirostris sp. nov., U. prasolovi Yunakov sp. nov., U. validicornis Yunakov sp. nov., U. alanicus sp. nov., U. armatus Yunakov sp. nov., U. kovali Yunakov sp. nov. Lesser Caucasus: U. savitskyi Yunakov sp. nov., U. musculus Yunakov sp. nov., U. hlavaci Yunakov sp. nov., U. lederi sp. nov., U. sieversi sp. nov., U. schneideri sp. nov. Armenian Highlands: U. zangezuri Yunakov sp. nov. Alborz Mountains: U. hyrcanus Yunakov sp. nov., U. chaudoiri Yunakov sp. nov., U. sengleti Yunakov sp. nov., U. persicus Yunakov sp. nov. Pontic Mountains: U. dieckmanni Yunakov sp. nov., U. lasistanicus Yunakov sp. nov., U. formaneki Yunakov sp. nov., U. osellai Yunakov sp. nov., U. bohaci Yunakov sp. nov., U. virilis Yunakov sp. nov. Anatolian Plateau: U. klapperichi Yunakov sp. nov., U. behnei Yunakov sp. nov. Bosporus: U. europaeus Yunakov sp. nov. Lectotypes are designated for: Urometopus asiaticus (Formánek, 1910), U. circassicus (Reitter, 1888), U. ferrugineus (Formánek, 1904), U. georgicus (Reitter, 1888), U. imereticus (Reitter, 1897), U. inflatus (Kolenati, 1859), U. mingrelicus (Reitter, 1888), U. nemorum L. Arnoldi, 1965, U. rosti (Reitter, 1896), U. rugifrons (Hochhuth, 1851), U. strigifrons (Gyllenhal, 1834), U. swaneticus (Reitter, 1897) and U. talyschensis (Reitter, 1897). Species richness is highly uneven, with the Western Caucasus forming the main centre of diversity and endemism, and secondary centres in the Central Caucasus, Likhi (Surami) Range, Pontic Mountains, and Alborz; a single endemic species occurs in Dobruja. Distribution patterns highlight three evolutionary processes: Ponto–Crimean disjunctions, Caucasus–Alborz vicariance, and centrifugal speciation through parthenogenesis. The U. sieversi group, radiating from the Lesser Caucasus and Surami Range, diversified in the Late Pliocene and underwent a Pleistocene–Holocene adaptive radiation into forest–steppe mosaics. In contrast, the Eastern Caucasus harbours only young, climatically restricted lineages. Relict species in Crimea and Dobruja indicate faunal links with the Pontic Mountains. Biogeographic and morphological evidence supports a Pontic origin of Urometopus, followed by dispersal into the Caucasus and Alborz, shaped by repeated vicariance and peripatric events. The transversal Stavropol–Surami axis played a key role in different stages of diversification and postglacial expansion into Eastern Europe.

Europeanjournaloftaxonomy

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