A New Iason Species from Crete (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Anillini) with Notes about Anillini of Greece and Anatolia
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
The paper includes a description of a new species of ground beetles from Crete Island and summarizes the zoogeographical knowledge about the whole tribe Anillini of the Balkan-Anatolian area. Anillini is a specialized group of minute, blind, depigmented bembidiine ground beetles adapted to live in the interstices of soil, they need special collecting techniques and therefore are not common in the collections. The description of a new species from such a specialized group accompanied with the highest quality drawings and broad zoogeographical overview make the paper interesting and may attract a wider readership than just carabidologists or specialists on the endogean and subterranean fauna of Greece.
The manuscript in general is clear, relevant for the field and presented in a well-structured manner. However, there are several points that need to be corrected and improved.
In the title the taxa in the systematic position (Coleoptera Carabidae Anillini) should be divided by “:” or “,”, for example (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Anillini).
The MS is intended to summarize the present state of knowledge about the ground beetles tribe Anillini of the Balkan-Anatolian area, but the abstract is very brief and doesn’t reflect the most important conclusions in the discussion.
From the total 27 references (refs 22 and 23 are in fact parts of one) 8 are self-citations. But taking into account that the authors are almost monopolists in the taxonomy of this group in Eastern Mediterranean area it may be considered acceptable.
The phrase on lines 344-345 “… Samos, an island politically Greek but geographically Turkish …” sounds politically biased and should be rephrased in the terms of zoogeography.
The Conclusions section needs to be critically improved. Just the first sentence “In conclusion, although still incomplete, we can assume that the knowledge of overall distribution of the Anillini … is now considerably more complete” sounds awkward. And the next sentence as well.
Author Response
First, I would like to thank the reviewer for his work. Undoubtedly, his suggestions have greatly improved the content of the paper.
All points listed as critical in the review have been addressed and resolved (see attached file).
I remain available for further corrections that the referee should request
First, I would like to thank the reviewer for his work. Undoubtedly, his suggestions have greatly improved the content of the paper.
All points listed as critical in the review have been addressed and resolved (see attached file).
I remain available for further corrections that the referee should request.
Sincerely
Pier Mauro Giachino
Author Response File: 
Author Response.docx
Reviewer 2 Report
The manuscript is eligible for publication in journal Diversity. It deals with the description of a new species for the science and in the same time is a regional synopsis of the taxa of Anillini known till now from the Balkan-Aegean-Anatolian region. A biogegraphical analysis of the group in the area investigated is also made in spite of the still not fully investigated regional diversity. As a whole, the study is an example of a fine taxonomic contribution and overall faunal view. The figures of the new taxon and the map of species distribution are of very high quality.
I recommend its publication in Diversity, after the author take into account suggestions for corrections and answer a few comments made in a PDF file representing corrected manuscript (attached to this message).
Comments for author File: 
Comments.pdf
Author Response
First, I would like to thank the reviewer for his work. Undoubtedly, his suggestions have greatly improved the content of the paper.
All points and corrections suggested by the referee in the pdf file attached to the revision have been corrected and integrated where necessary (see attached file).
I remain available for further corrections that the referee should request.
Sincerely
Pier Mauro Giachino
