Światowy katalog chrząszczy należących do rodziny Bostrichidae (kapturnikowate) obejmuje 574 gatunki zgrupowane w 9 podrodzinach, 11 plemionach i 92 rodzajach. Na 8 kolorowych tablicach zilustrowano przedstawicieli większości ujętych w opracowaniu rodzajów. Katalog napisany jest w języku angielskim.

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Jerzy Borowski (born 1966) has studied beetles for more than 20 years, making every year (since 1992) at least one entomological expedition abroad. He graduated from the Faculty of Forestry, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, and now works there as a lecturer. His scientific activity is mainly directed to the taxonomy of beetles of the superfamily Bostrichoidea, with additional interests in faunistics, bionomy and ecology of Central European beetles, valorization of forest environments by zooindication, resistance vs. susceptibility of introduced trees and shrubs to insect infection. He has authored above 90 publications. Privately he is a lover of horror and science-fiction literature, as well as zealous (but, unfortunately, in the last years only "theoretical"...) angler.

Piotr Węgrzynowicz (born 1970). Graduated from the Faculty of Forestry, Warsaw University of Life Sciences. Now works in the Museum and Institute of Zoology, Warsaw, studying taxonomy of beetle superfamily Cucujoidea, mostly family Erotylidae. Besides he is interested in bionomy and ecology of fungivorous beetles and in history of entomology. He has spent two years at The Hokkaido University in Sapporo on scholarship from the Japanese Government. He has authored more than 50 publications. His spare time he devotes to nature photography and drawing.

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From introduction:
Almost 140 years have passed since the publication of the first world catalogue of Bostrichidae (Gemminger and Harold 1869), including 11 genera with 112 species; together with the representatives of the present subfamilies Lyctinae and Endecatominae, placed (according to the ten accepted classification) in the family Ciidae, they listed 14 genera with 136 species currently considered to belong to Bostrichidae.
In 1894 French entomologist Pierre Lesne started to publish his long series of papers concerning the systematics and faunistics of the Bostrichidae. Thereafter, up to 1943, Lesne described and revised various groups of the family with great conscientiousness and - uncommon at the time - rich illustrative material. Moreover, with rare exceptions, he avoided separate descriptions of particular genera or species, having published rather extensive summarizing revisions. Meanwhile, in 1938 - as part of the monumental series "Coleopterorum Catalogus", edited by Sigmund Schenkling and published by Walther Junk - appeared the second world catalogue of the Bostrichidae, authored just by Lesne and containing 518 species. Since that time relatively few new taxa have been described, and Lesne's works, published at the end of XIX and first half of XX century, are still mostly actual. Almost 70 year after the second (Lesne's) we are hereby presenting the third world catalogue of the family Bostrichidae.