ASIAN
MYRMECOLOGY
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online first (online version of paper published before print issue)
DOI: 10.20362/am.019008
Asian Myrmecology 19: 019008 (1-26)
article first published online: 15/August/2026
Ant diversity of Eastern Black Sea Region of Türkiye, including five new national records (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
KADRI KIRAN1, CELAL KARAMAN1 & VOLKAN AKSOY1
Abstract:
The Eastern Black Sea Region of Türkiye is one of the biologically richest parts of the country due to its humid climate, topographic complexity, and diverse habitats, yet its ant fauna remains insufficiently known. In this study, we surveyed the ant fauna of the region based on material collected by hand and an aspirator from 287 localities between 2000 and 2016. A total of 141 species were recorded. Of these, 62 are new records for the Eastern Black Sea Region. Additionally, five species, Nylander iacolchica, Proformica caucasea, Solenopsis juliae, Temnothorax tergestinus, and T. volgensis are newly recorded for the ant fauna of Türkiye, increasing the known number of ant species from Türkiye from 388 to 393. Species richness peaked at mid-elevations and was highest in heterogeneous habitats suchas river banks, oak, mixed, and Pinus sylvestris forests. However, rare faction and extrapolation analyses indicated that oak forests had the highest expected richness after standardization for sampling effort. These results provide a quantitative framework for understanding patterns of ant diversity in the Eastern Black Sea Region and expand current knowledge of Turkish myrmecofauna.
Keywords:
Entomology, biodiversity, new records, species richness, zoogeography, taxonomy.
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KADRI KIRAN1, CELAL KARAMAN1 & VOLKAN AKSOY1
Abstract:
The Eastern Black Sea Region of Türkiye is one of the biologically richest parts of the country due to its humid climate, topographic complexity, and diverse habitats, yet its ant fauna remains insufficiently known. In this study, we surveyed the ant fauna of the region based on material collected by hand and an aspirator from 287 localities between 2000 and 2016. A total of 141 species were recorded. Of these, 62 are new records for the Eastern Black Sea Region. Additionally, five species, Nylander iacolchica, Proformica caucasea, Solenopsis juliae, Temnothorax tergestinus, and T. volgensis are newly recorded for the ant fauna of Türkiye, increasing the known number of ant species from Türkiye from 388 to 393. Species richness peaked at mid-elevations and was highest in heterogeneous habitats suchas river banks, oak, mixed, and Pinus sylvestris forests. However, rare faction and extrapolation analyses indicated that oak forests had the highest expected richness after standardization for sampling effort. These results provide a quantitative framework for understanding patterns of ant diversity in the Eastern Black Sea Region and expand current knowledge of Turkish myrmecofauna.
Keywords:
Entomology, biodiversity, new records, species richness, zoogeography, taxonomy.
Get PDF (8.6 MB) :
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1Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Trakya University, Balkan Campus, 22030, Edirne, TÜRKİYE
*Corresponding author: kadrikiran@trakya.edu.tr
