Faunistic Studies on the Genus Medon Stephens, 1833 (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae) in Turkey

In this study, 702 specimens belonging to the genus Medon Sephens were examined. The material was obtained from various field trips between 2010-2019 by using aspirator, sifter, pitfall trap, berlese funnel and MSS trap methods. As a result of the study, 15 of the 22 known species from Turkey were identified. Medon brunneus (Erichson, 1839), M. ferrugineus (Erichson, 1840), M. lanugo Assing, 2004 and M. subfusculus Fagel, 1969 from the Aegean Region, M. semiobscurus (Fauvel, 1875), M. abantensis Bordoni, 1980 and M. lamellatus Assing, 2004 from the Central Anatolian Region are reported for the first time. Besides, M. rufiventris (Nordmann, 1837) is recorded for the first time from both the Aegean and Central Anatolian Regions. In addition, many new locality records of the recorded species were presented. The distributions of all Medon species in Turkey were mapped. Research Article Article History Received : 30.06.2020 Accepted : 01.09.2020


INTRODUCTION
listed 111 species of the genus Medon Stephens, 1833 from Palaeractic Region.
After the catalog, eight new species were reported in this region. Assing, 2016;Shibata and Fujimoto, 2017). Thus, the number of known species increased to 119. However, Assing (2013 a) added 31 of these species to Medonina incertae sedis list and reported that these species are suspicious species that must be confirmed, which may be included in other genera in the Medonina. Therefore, 88 species from the Palearctic Region are known. These species are classified into five species groups called Medon apicalis, M. ferrugineus, M. brunneus, M. fusculus and M. profundus (Assing, 2014 a). In Turkey, the genus Medon contains 22 species in four species groups (M. apicalis group, M. ferrugineus group, M. brunneus group, M. fusculus group) and nine of them are endemic to Anatolia .
Ecologically, the Medon species are the most commonly inhabit the litter layer. In addition, it can be found in damp meadows and under the rocks near the stream. Species that associated with subterranean small mammal nests such as M. ripicola (Kraatz, 1854) and M. castaneus (Gravenhorst, 1802) are also known . There were also species recorded from the caves (e.g. M. fusculus and M. semiobscurus) . But most of them are not troglobionts.
The main purposes of the present paper were to contribute to determining the Turkish Medon fauna.

MATERIAL and METHODS
Aegean and Central Anatolia Regions material was obtained from various field trips within two project supported by Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey Projects between the years 2013-2019 (TÜBİTAK, Project no: 112T907 and 215Z080). Other regions material was collected between the years 2010-2019. Also, some of the material of the genus Medon found in the Alaşehir Zoology Museum, Manisa (AZMM) was re-examined. Samples were collected using aspirator, sifter, pitfall trap, berlese funnel and MSS trap methods. All material in this study is deposited in the AZMM.
Classification and nomenclature were made according to Assing ( a, 2007Assing ( a, 2013 and Schülke and Smetana (2015). Google Earth Pro was used to create the maps. All known records were used with the records in this paper while creating maps. Distribution in Turkey: Aydın, Çanakkale, Isparta, İzmir, Muğla   (Figure 1).

RESULTS
Distribution in the world: The known distribution of M. caricus is confined to Amorgos Island (in the Aegean Sea) and West Anatolia (Assing, a, 2007Anlaş and Rose, 2009;Schülke and Smetana, 2015).  Distribution in Turkey: Aydın, İzmir . The species is reported from Manisa Province for the first time (Figure 1).
Distribution in the world: The known distribution of M. semiobscurus is confined to Turkey, Middle East and Rhodes, Kos, Samos İslands (in Aegean Sea) (Assing, a, 2013Schülke and Smetana, 2015).