AQUATIC COLEOPTERA FAUNA OF RAMSAR SITE SULTAN SAZLIĞI ( KAYSERI , TURKEY ) AND ITS SURROUNDINGS : NEW DISTRIBUTION RECORDS OF FOUR SPECIES FROM THE SOUTHERN LIMIT OF ITS RANGE Ü

Aquatic Coleoptera fauna of the Ramsar site Sultan Sazlığı (Kayseri, Turkey) was investigated between May and October 2009. A total of 87 species were determined. Their distributions in Turkey are presented. Worldwide distributions of four newly-recorded species (Agabus lineatus Gebler, 1848, Helophorus pumilio Erichson, 1837, Helophorus redtenbacheri Kuwert, 1885 and Cercyon tristis (Illiger, 1801)) from Turkey are also given. It was established that Turkey is the southernmost limit of distribution of all the newly recorded species from Turkey.


INTRODUCTION
Of the 300 wetlands in Turkey, 135 of which are internationally known, 13 are under conservation as Ramsar sites.Among these areas, Sultan Sazlığı (Kayseri, Turkey) was designated as a Ramsar site with the code number 661 on 13 July 1994.Sultan Sazlığı is located in the south of Kayseri and it is 70 km from the city.Its coordinates are 38º 05" / 38º 40" north 35º 00" / 35º 35" east.It is a closed river basin surrounded by high mountains on all four sides.Fresh and salty water ecosystems coexist in this area.The area of the Sultan Sazlığı ranges from 8,000 to 13,000 hectares across the seasons.It is mostly covered with reeds.In this area, 301 types of birds were identified and 85 of them incubate there.
A unique faunistic study on the aquatic Coleoptera fauna of Sultan Sazlığı is that of Özemsi and Önder (1988) The aim of this study was to make a contribution to Turkish aquatic beetle fauna of new records and additional materials collected in the Ramsar site Sultan Sazlığı.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
The samples were collected by means of a sieve, ladle and net with 1 mm pores from the shallow areas of various springs, streams, lakes and ponds in the period May -October 2009.Additional material was also examined (and deposited in the Zoological Museum, Atatürk University, Erzurum, Turkey).The beetles were killed with ethyl acetate or in a 70% alcohol solution.Aedeagophores of the beetles, cleaned with brushes, were dissected under a stereo microscope and left in a 10% KOH solution for 1-2 h.Photographs of the diagnostic characters (Figures 2-6) were taken using a SMZ-1500 Nikon type 104

RESULTS
In total, 86 species belonging to the families Gyrinidae, Haliplidae, Noteridae, Dytiscidae, Helophoridae and Hydrophilidae were collected and identified.The list of species is below:
It has been determined that Turkey is the southernmost limit of the distribution of all the newly recorded species from Turkey.
In Turkey, with its various geographical regions and different climates, the number of aquatic Coleoptera species is doubtless much higher than has been recorded so far.New studies should be conducted on this group of insects in other wetlands.