THE GEOMETRID MOTHS (LEPIDOPTERA) OF THE ANCIENT CITY HASANKEYF (BATMAN) AND A NEW SPECIES FOR THE TURKISH FAUNA

: This study was conducted on the Geometridae fauna of Hasankeyf district of Batman between 2018 and 2020. 27 different localities were visited and 2.870 specimens in total were collected using insect net and UV light traps mostly in nighttimes, since the majority of Geometridae species are nocturnal. The taxonomic investigations of the collected specimens revealed presence of 66 species within 39 genera in 5 subfamilies (Desmobathrinae, Geometrinae, Ennominae, Larentiinae, Sterrhinae) in the study area. Gnophos chorista Wehrli, 1939, is reported as a new record for the Turkish fauna and photographs of


Introduction
Hasankeyf is an ancient historical city in Batman Province of Turkey settled between the tributaries of the Tigris River. The city area is very close to Mount Raman, where some petroleum research and drilling stations are located. The area was declared as a protected area in 1981 primarily considering the presence of the historical buildings of the city. However, due to the construction of the Ilısu Dam within the scope of the GAP project, some of the historical buildings were moved elsewhere, and some others were completely submerged (Batman Governorship 2021). Besides, the Ilısu Dam would submerge a portion of the research area has been a significant role in the investigation of the region's moth fauna. Despite the fact that some research has been done on the Lepidoptera fauna in southeastern Turkey for the determination of the species, several places still remain unexplored. In comparison to the surrounding provinces, this research makes contributions to the fauna of the area (Seven 2014, 2019b, 2020, Seven & Çakır 2019, Akın & Seven 2020. The widespread natural vegetation of Hasankeyf is steppe formation consisting of rocky-stony mountains with sparse oak groves. Although ancient city Hasankeyf is located in 'Important Natural Area' (Eken et al. 2006, Doga Society 2020, there is not enough research carried out on the geometrid moths and, the flora and fauna of Hasankeyf are not documented. The first and only comprehensive research on moth fauna in the study area is made with this study. The geometrid moths (Lepidoptera) are distinguished from other families of the order with their distinctive features such as long legs, thin abdomen, and delicate and fragile wings. The hard bristle bundles (chaetosema) between the antenna and the compound eyes and the tympanal organ in the first abdominal segment in adults (except for Archiearinae) are also used to distinguish geometrids from closely related families (Hausmann 2001 (Hausmann 2001, Scoble & Hausmann 2007) and wing venation and banding play a significant role in identifications at subfamily level.
The Geometridae family is represented with approximately 23.000 species in the world (Scoble & Hausmann 2007) and more than 900 species in Europe (Hausmann 2001). In Turkey, nearly 700 Geometridae species have been identified so far (Okyar & Aktaç 1999, Can & Mironov 2006, Özdemir 2007, Can 20082010, Seven 2019a2021, Kemal et al. 2020, Wanke et al. 2020. Investigations on the butterfly and moth fauna (Lepidoptera) of Batman province were conducted by Kemal et al. (2008), Kemal & Koçak (2008a, 2008b, 2008c, 2008d, Seven (2019aSeven ( , 2019b, and Seven et al. (2021). From these references Kemal & Koçak 2008d, Seven 2019a2019b andSeven et al. 2021 gave geometrid records from Batman. Especially, Seven (2019b) reported first comprehensive faunistic list of lepidopter species including the geometrid moths, gathered from Centre of Batman Province, Kozluk and Sason districts. According to these sources, the number of known geometrid species in Batman was 31. However, extensive faunistic studies on Lepidoptera fauna of Hasankeyf have not been performed. The only study from the survey based on that scope was published by This study holds the purpose of determining the geometrid fauna of Hasankeyf district and contributing to the distribution of the species.

Materials and Methods
The geometrid moths in Hasankeyf district of Batman, Turkey were collected from 27 different localities (Table 1, Fig. 1) between 2018-2020. Insect nets and UV Led light traps were used to collect the specimens. The collected materials were preserved in insect boxes and, dried specimens were softened to stretch by arranging each specimen on setting boards using insect pins and labelling. Identifications were primarily made according to external morphological features. In cases where external morphological features were not sufficient, genitals were prepared. The preparation of the specimens were performed under a Nikon SMZ1000 microscope and their photographs were taken with the help of a Canon EOS6D macro lens camera. The specimens are kept in the collection of Entomology Laboratory of Biology Department, Faculty of Science and Arts, Batman University (BTU). The references used for diagnosis and terminology were Hausmann (2001, Mironov ( , 2013 (1), Ennominae (28), Geometrinae (2), Larentiinae (18), Sterrhinae (17) (Okyar & Aktaç 1999, Özdemir 2007, Can 2008, Çakır & Seven 2019, Seven, 2020.

Gnopharmia Staudinger
Gnopharmia irakensis Wehrli, 1938* Material: Ağlayan Mağara 750 m N, 19.06.2018, 11.07.2018, 28.08.20195♂, Ağlayan Mağara, 31.07.2018, 08.08.2018, 01.06.20191♀, Kumluca, 19.06.2018;2♀, Gürbüz, 26.08.2018, 02.08  Desmobathrinae subfamily is newly reported from Hasankeyf and Batman. Ennominae is the most represented subfamily with a rate of 44 % and holds the highest increase in the number of species. Former to the investigation, the number of Geometridae species known in Hasankeyf was only 1, and 31 in Batman , Seven 2019b, Seven et al. 2021). The present records increased the species number in Batman to 84 with nearly 171 % increase. There is also a remarkable representation of the Sterrhinae and Larentiinae subfamilies (Table 2).

Discussion
Surveys on the Lepidoptera fauna of Hasankeyf (Batman) was very restricted, and there was almost no information. In this study, 66 Geometridae species are found in the study area and, some of these are rare and spread in limited biotopes.
The comparison of the number of geometrid species in Batman with surrounding provinces (Seven 2014, 2019b, 2020, Seven & Çakır 2019, Akın & Seven 2020 (Table 3) revealed that Siirt and Bitlis have the highest species, followed by Batman because more research has been done to determine the fauna of these provinces. However, Table 3 shows that some provinces such as Muş, Mardin and Şırnak in the east and southeast of Turkey still have very limited data on the Lepidoptera species. In Hasankeyf, the highest number of moths with respect to subfamilies were sampled in Sterrhinae (1.222 specimens), followed by Ennominae (867 specimens) in direct proportion to the number of Geometridae species (Fig. 2). In Turkey, two species of Desmobathrinae, which have the lowest rate of 1% (18 specimens), are known, and Myinodes shohami are found in the study area.  The flight period of each species varies according to the food plant(s) and ecological demands. As seen in Table 3, some of them are active only in the early spring, as in the Desmobathrinae specimens. It is possible to see some specimens with high tolerance for a longer period with a few generations. The number of species in the investigated area increased from March to June, whereas a decrease in was seen in July, August, and September. October and June are the months when most of the specimens are caught. In November, the number of samples decreased. In general, the number of specimens increased with the warming of the weather, but a decrease was seen in the extremely hot months (June-September), with the cooling of the weather, an increase is observed again (Table 4).  mentioned the rare species Gnophos chorista (Fig. 3) in the Lepidoptera checklist of Turkey but they did not provide any locational information, making the species doubtful since no authentic specimens have been traced. The first recorded location in Turkey and figures of the species are newly presented with this study. The description of G. chorista was given by Wehrli in 1939, based on the samples collected by Wiltshire from northeast of Iraq (Rovanduz), near the border with Turkey (Wehrli 1939(Wehrli , 1939(Wehrli -1954. The identification of G. chorista was made by comparing with G. orthogonius Wehrli, 1939, which was defined from southern Iran (Shiraz) (Wehrli 1939) and its genitalia was given to be similar to G. chorista from Oman (Hausmann 1998). The populations of these two similar species need to be studied in more detail, and the differences between them should be completely investigated.
Charissa adjectaria was described and illustrated by Staudinger in 1897 from Jordan Valley. It is reported at the rocky mountainous steppe area in Batı Raman, 570 m, from Batman province (Seven 2018) and no furthet record was reported for the species since then. Eupithecia dearmata is distributed in North Africa and Anatolia, with a very restricted distribution in the latter . Gnophos sacraria was described by Staudinger from Israel (Jerusalem). It was known from Central Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Mediterranean, the Balkans, and Asia minor. In Turkey, it was found only in Siirt province (Seven 2018). Eupithecia reisserata was described by Pinker in 1976 and reported from Azerbaijan, eastern Mediterranean, Syria, Turkey and Greece . Ankara and Siirt provinces are known to hold the first samples; however, it is newly identified in Hasankeyf (Batman).
The first detailed study on the moth fauna of the ancient city Hasankeyf was made with this survey. Detection of the rare-endemic species in the area is significant in terms of discovering the protection limits of the species. In addition, this study contributes to the determination of the distribution areas of moth species. Also, knowing the insect fauna of the region may be beneficial, as some Lepidoptera species can be harmful to agriculture.