27 Ara 2024 Cuma
A complete systematic list of longicorn beetles (Cerambycidae) of Caucasus with new and known records from Caucasian parts of Turkey and Iran based on the concept of Caucasus Ecoregion
Abstract :This article offers a new perspective of the regional acceptance of the Caucasus based on the Caucasus ecoregion. The traditional regional acceptance of the Caucasus is discussed on the base of Transcaucasia’s borders especially. Accordingly, the Caucasus is composed of two regions: The North Caucasus [Ciscaucasia or Caucasus traditionally] (including some southern autonomous republics of Russia), and the South Caucasus [Transcaucasia]. Also, the South Caucasus is consisted of two subregions: the Central Transcaucasia (Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia), and the South Transcaucasia (some northern provinces of Iran and Turkey). In accordance, the old and recent studies that does not include many taxa in Caucasian parts of Turkey and Iran traditionally was revised and presented for the first time as a complete list of the Caucasus Cerambycidae fauna. According to the list determined by this study, the Caucasus Cerambycidae fauna is included a total of 704 species-group taxa (528 species + 176 subspecies) belonging to 128 genera of 55 tribes and 12 subfamilies. Therefore, this study revealed that the Cerambycidae fauna (blue colored) known from the Caucasus in traditional sense actually constitutes only about 72% of the fauna belonging to the Caucasus Ecoregion. 28% of the species group taxa (red colored) that make up the faunistic list presented in the study were listed for the first time for the regional fauna. This situation reveals that approximately 28% of the fauna of the Caucasus region has been neglected until now and this has caused the biological significance of the region not to be fully understood. According to results of this study, a total of 372 species-group taxa (185 species and 187 subspecies) are endemic taxa to Caucasus Ecoregion, and therefore endemism ratio of the region is 52.84%. Dorcadioninae subfamily has a remarkable and spectacular endemism ratio with 86.51%.
Cerambycidae, systematic list, fauna, new data, Caucasus Ecoregion