Tiger beetle fauna (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae) of Syria: distribution, geographical origin, taxa list and new records

Based on the literature data and new faunistic records, the diversity of the tiger beetle fauna of Syria is discussed and the most diverse geographical units within the country are recognized, including: lowlands along the Euphrates and its tributaries (7 taxa, 50% of Syrian fauna) as well as the Ghab depression and narrow coastal plains (3 taxa, 21% of fauna). Assembled by their biogeographical origins, the Syrian tiger beetles (13 species, 14 subspecies) fall into seven different groups: Levant endemics (36% of the Syrian fauna), South-western Asiatic (29%), Mediterranean, Middle Oriental, Turano-Mediterranean, Central Asiatic-Mediterranean, and Afrotropical Indo-Mediterranean (7% each). Lists of taxa for all the Syrian regions and geographical units are also given. New faunistic records for seven tiger beetle species from the Syrian Arab Republic are provided, including Myriochila melancholica melancholica and Calomera littoralis winkleri, reported for the first time from Aleppo district, C. l. aulicoides, from the Al-Raqquah district and C. aphrodisia aphrodisia and C. fischeri fischeri from the Tartus district.