Evaluations of Turkish Soldier Beetle (Coleoptera: Cantharidae) Fauna from the Zoogeographical Perspective

ABSTRACT In this study, zoogeographic evaluations of the Turkish Cantharidae family were performed. In this context, the faunistic similarities between the geographical regions of Turkey, Turkey- neighbor countries, and the Turkey-Subregions of the Palaearctic region were compared. According to current literature, the Turkish fauna of the Cantharidae is composed of two subfamilies, 15 genera, and 254 species (of which 167 are endemic species). The Mediterranean region has the most species (106 species) and the most endemic species (74 species). The highest similarity is found between the Central Anatolian and Aegean regions (60.2%). Cantharis livida Linnaeus, 1758 is distributed in all Turkey geographical regions. The Turkish cantharid fauna is more similar to that of Iran than other neighboring countries when comparing subregions of the Palaearctic region. The Cantharidae fauna of Turkey showed the most similarity to the fauna of the Middle East with a rate of 55.2%.