JOURNAL OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL RESEARCH SOCIETY, vol.20, pp.79-90, 2018 (SCI-Expanded)
The faunal composition, altitudinal distribution, habitat preferences, seasonal changes in abundance and chorology of darkling beetles of Mount Davraz were studied in 2014. A total of 15 species that belong to 13 genera in three subfamiles were found in the research area. Dailognatha quadricollis, Pimelia subglobosa polita and Blaps tibialis were the most common species. The highest number of species (12) was collected during June at the elevations of 1800-2100 m. It was determined that individual number of the beetles reach the highest level in the summer season and the lowest in the autumn. Also, the most diverse habitat type was the steppe environment. In terms of the zoogeographical composition, the two species (Raiboscelis coelestinus and Blaps jeannei) are endemic to the fauna of Turkey. Except for these species, it was found that the remaining species are commonly distributed in East Mediterranean part of West Palaearctic region.