Researches on the family Cantharidae (insecta: coleoptera) in İnner Western Anatolian Section of Turkey

In this study, researches were carried out on the Cantharidae family in the Inner Western Anatolian Region of Türkiye (Afyonkarahisar, Northeastern of Denizli, Kütahya, and Uşak provinces). During the months of May-October 2019, March-October 2021, and March-October 2022, a total of 166 days of fieldwork was carried out in 1414 localities and a total of 1249 individuals were collected. 21 species (3 of them endemic) belonging to 2 subfamilies and 6 genera were identified. 19 species belonging to 5 genera from the Cantharinae subfamily and 2 species belonging to 1 genus from the Malthininae subfamily were determined. 11 of these species are on the first record for the study area, and 2 species are endemic to Turkey. Synonyms, locality information, distribution in Turkey and the world of the determined species are given. The species identified in the study were evaluated and discussed in terms of their systematic, faunistic, ecological and zoogeographic compositions. In systematic evaluations and discussions, general morphological characters of 21 species were identified and photographed. Male reproductive organs of 18 species with male individuals were photographed, described and compared, and discussed with drawings, photographs, and descriptions in the available literature. In this study, scanning electron microscope photographs of male reproductive organs of 18 species were given for the first time, and morphological structures that could not be seen with a stereo microscope were examined and evaluated. Detailed information in the current literature on male reproductive organs of Cantharis (s.str.) marginiventris, C. (s.str.) terminata and Rhagonycha (s.str.) kronbladi (endemic) and R. (s.str.) lignosa species could not be found. In this study, the descriptions and photographs of the male reproductive organs of these four species are given for the first time. In the faunistic evaluation, the number of species detected, the distribution of species genera, subfamilies, and the distribution according to the provinces of the study area are given. In the ecological evaluations, the number of individuals of the species, the months of gathering, and the altitude and air temperature ranges of the localities where they were collected were determined and evaluated in terms of species diversity using the Brillouin diversity index. Whether there is a statistically significant difference between the collection heights and air temperatures at the genus level was evaluated by analysis of variance. As a result of these ecological evaluations, it was found that the diversity of species was higher in May as the gathering month, 1101-1300 m as the gathering height range, and 15.1-20.0°C as the gathering temperature range. There was no significant difference between the breeds in terms of collection heights and collection air temperatures. By using ecological niche modeling, suitable habitats of the Cantharis (s.str.) rustica species, and the future, positive or negative effects of possible climate changes on these habitats were evaluated. In the section on zoogeographic evaluations, the Cantharidae fauna in the Inner Western Anatolian section was compared with the subregions of the Palaearctic region and the geographical regions of Turkey. The Cantharidae fauna of the study area showed the highest similarity with the fauna of the Eastern Europe and Southern Europe subregions of the Palaearctic region. When the detected species were compared with the geographical regions of Turkey, it was determined that they were most closely related to the Central Anatolia region.