Currently including more than 380,000 species, beetles are by far the most speciose of all organism orders and represent nearly one fourth of our planet ?s known biodiversity. With a total of ~66,000 described extant species, rove beetles (Staphylinidae) are probably the most biodiverse family not only of beetles, but of all organisms on Earth, and hundreds of new species are added every year. Staphylinidae are distributed worldwide and ecologically remarkably diverse. They are found in practically all terrestrial habitats from wet to arid, from sea-level to high-alpine, and from deep soil to the canopy layer of forests. Numerous species are inquilines living with ants, termites, wasps, mammals, and birds or inhabitants of mushrooms and various kinds of decaying matter such as compost, dead wood, carrion, and animal excrements. Despite the important role of rove beetles in practically all terrestrial ecosystems, relatively little is known about their life histories and ecology. Comprising a total of nearly 7,500 described extant species, Paederinae are among the largest of the 35 subfamilies of Staphylinidae. The Pinophilini, one of the three tribes of Paederinae, are represented by two subtribes, Procirrina (770 species) and Pinophilina (approx. 480 species prior to the present revision). The present monograph provides the first comprehensive systematic and taxonomic review of the Pinophilina fauna of the Palaearctic and Oriental Regions, including New Guinea. The subtribe was previously represented in these regions by only 78 valid species and one subspecies in seven genera, with 68 (87 %) of the species in the nominal genus Pinophilus Gravenhorst, 1802. After a revision of the accessible type material and of thousands of additional specimens from the major public and private collections, the Pinophilina fauna of these regions is now composed of as many as 309 named species in 16 genera, with none of the previously described species remaining in Pinophilus. Eleven genera and 241 species are described for the first time, five names are revalidated, one genus-group and 17 species-group names are synonymised, 104 new combinations are proposed, and numerous species groups are established. One neotype and 38 lectotypes designated. A comprehensive catalogue and keys to the genera and species of the study region are provided. All the taxa are described or redescribed, illustrated, and their distributions are mapped. In an appendix, several genera and species from other zoogeographic regions are treated, including one new genus and four newly described species.
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