CONTRIBUTION OF MARIAN ALOIZ LOMNYTSKYI TO THE STUDY OF ROVE BEETLES (STAPHYLINIDAE, COLEOPTERA, INSECTA) OF THE CARPATHIAN REGION

Introduction. Rove beetles are one of the largest families of dung beetles on our planet. Representatives of this family occur in almost all types of terrestrial ecosystems, where they play an extremely important ecological role, acting as active predators, and therefore regulators of the number of a significant number of invertebrates. Despite the significant distribution of representatives of the analyzed family in terrestrial ecosystems and their role in them, staphylinids remain one of the least studied families in the Ukrainian Carpathians. In connection with the mentioned aspects, it is not possible to make a complete picture of the faunal diversity of short-winged beetles in the analyzed region. For a more complete understanding of the entomological composition of groups and the peculiarities of their changes, it is necessary to consider the results of previous entomological studies. The purpose of the work is a retrospective analysis of studies of short-winged beetle communities in the Ukrainian Carpathians. Methods. The classical method of literary data analysis was used. Main results. The article highlights the results of the research of Marian Aloiz Lomnytskyi, who for the first time thoroughly analyzed the faunal composition of groups of short-winged beetles in the Ukrainian Carpathians. In general, the author highlighted the results of his research in six works. M. A. Lomnytskyi analyzed in detail the species diversity of short-winged beetles in the studied region, established their altitudinal distribution and ecosystem timing. The results of his research became the basis for further zoological and ecological studies of staphylinids in the Carpathians. Conclusions. The existing literature is highly fragmented, yet it has provided a valuable foundation for more detailed investigations and allowed for the analysis of temporal changes in entomological complexes across extended periods. Marian-Aloiz Lomnytskyi conducted the most comprehensive and rigorous analysis of rove-beetle (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) assemblages in the Ukrainian Carpathians and the Pre-Carpathian region; his work has served as the basis for subsequent studies of entomofauna within this family. Through these investigations, Lomnytskyi identified and characterized approximately 760 species of rove-beetles across various ecosystem types, accounting for altitudinal distribution gradients. Presently, only about 600 of these species are observed in the Ukrainian Carpathians. The decline in species diversity is attributed to the degradation of natural ecosystems, increases in pollutant loads, and overall anthropogenic pressure.