Distribution of carpenter-moths (Lepidoptera, Cossidae) in the Palaearctic deserts

Specific features of the carpenter-moths (Cossidae) distribution in the Palaearctic deserts are considered. The Palaearctic frontier was delimited to the Arabian Peninsula (the eastern and northern parts of Arabia are attributed to the Palaearctic Region; Yemen, southwestern Saudi Arabia, and southernmost Iran belong to the Afrotropical Region). Cossidae are highly endemic to arid areas. Some Palaearctic carpenter-moth genera penetrate to Africa southward of the Sahara Desert (an important characteristic distinguishing them from most of the other Lepidoptera). The local faunas of the Palaearctic deserts are united into 4 groups: the Sahara-Arabian-Southern-Iranian, Central-Asian-Kazakhstanian, Western-Gobian, and Eastern-Gobian. In the Eastern Gobi Desert, the fauna is the most specific; it should be considered as a separate zoogeographical subregion.