Genetic variability of two ecomorphological forms of Latreille, 1797 in Iran, with notes on the infrageneric classification of the genus (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Steninae).

In this study, the genetic diversity of Iranian populations of two widespread species representing two ecomorphological forms, the "open living species" Eppelsheim, 1884 and the "stratobiont" Baudi di Selve, 1848, is presented using data from a fragment of the mitochondrial COI gene. We evaluate the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I haplotypes and the intraspecific genetic distance of these two species. Our results reveal a very low diversity of COI sequences in in contrast to . Moreover, the COI based phylogeny of a selection of Iranian support the monophyly of some species groups of proposed by Puthz (2008) and contradicts the traditional infrageneric classification.