The importance of superfamily Chrysomeloidea for Turkish biodiversity (Coleoptera)

Abstract :

Endemism richness can be interpreted as the specific contribution of an area to global biodiversity. The degree of endemism for an area is often cited as a measure of the uniqueness of the fauna and consequently is important for prioritizing sites for conservation. Turkey has continental properties considering both species richness and endemism richness in terms of its covered area on the Earth. For this reason, the paper gives an updated list of Turkish Chrysomeloidea that includes a total of 925 species group taxa (897 species and 28 subspecies belonging to 108 genera of 18 subfamilies of 4 families). The endemism ratio for Turkish fauna of Cerambycoidea is 11.14% in 9 subfamilies of 3 families. Because, the family Orsonachnidae, 3 subfamilies in the family Bruchidae (Amblycerinae, Pachymerinae and Rhaebinae), 1 subfamily in the family Megalopodidae (Zeugophorinae), 4 subfamilies in the family Chrysomelidae (Donaciinae, Criocerinae, Timarchinae and Hispinae) do not include any endemic species. Consequently, Turkey can easily be interpreted as a “biodiversity hotspot” on the Earth in terms of the fauna of Cerambycoidea that is an important animal group for Turkish biodiversity in respect to species richness. However, fauna of Turkish Chrysomeloidea has a low (with respect to the closely related superfamily Cerambycoidea that has endemism ratio over 40%, but also a remarkable  endemism ratio (11.14%).


Keyword :

Biodiversity, Chrysomeloidea, Coleoptera, Turkey.


Author(s) : Özdikmen, H., Mercan, N., Cihan, N., Kaya, G., Topcu, N. N., Kavak, M.
Downloads : 2207
Published Issue : 2014 Vol. 9 Number 1


2014 Vol. 9 Number 1