An online taxonomic facility of Geometridae (Lepidoptera), with an overview of global species richness and systematics

We present a new, online, open access portal to the geometrid moths of the world (Lepidoptera: Geometridae). The portal provides access to the global database including data on classification, valid genera and species, synonyms and type localities, and to an online list of valid names. The value of this online facility, inter alia, is demonstrated by using the underlying data to update our understanding of the global and regional species richness of the family. We also review, clarify and list the family-group names (family, subfamily, tribe) of the Geometridae to provide users with a better understanding of the higher category framework when they access the database. Currently, the Geometridae database includes 34,897 available species-group names. Of these, 7,891 are considered synonyms (23% of available names), giving a total of 27,006 valid species-group names, which in turn comprise 23,872 species names and 3,134 subspecies names. The world fauna is classified into 2,019 genera, 92 tribes and 9 subfamilies. Our paper also includes an annotated list of all 202 subfamily, tribe and subtribe names in systematic order. One hundred family-group names (49.5%) are considered synonyms. Although most geometrid species were described in the 19th and 20th centuries, the average number of new species descriptions from 2000–2022 has been fairly constant at around 80 per year, implying there is still much more hidden geometrid diversity yet to be discovered.Peer reviewe

Multiple novel prostate cancer susceptibility signals identified by fine-mapping of known risk loci among Europeans

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified numerous common prostate cancer (PrCa) susceptibility loci. We have fine-mapped 64 GWAS regions known at the conclusion of the iCOGS study using large-scale genotyping and imputation in 25 723 PrCa cases and 26 274 controls of European ancestry. We detected evidence for multiple independent signals at 16 regions, 12 of which contained additional newly identified significant associations. A single signal comprising a spectrum of correlated variation was observed at 39 regions; 35 of which are now described by a novel more significantly associated lead SNP, while the originally reported variant remained as the lead SNP only in 4 regions. We also confirmed two association signals in Europeans that had been previously reported only in East-Asian GWAS. Based on statistical evidence and linkage disequilibrium (LD) structure, we have curated and narrowed down the list of the most likely candidate causal variants for each region. Functional annotation using data from ENCODE filtered for PrCa cell lines and eQTL analysis demonstrated significant enrichment for overlap with bio-features within this set. By incorporating the novel risk variants identified here alongside the refined data for existing association signals, we estimate that these loci now explain ∼38.9% of the familial relative risk of PrCa, an 8.9% improvement over the previously reported GWAS tag SNPs. This suggests that a significant fraction of the heritability of PrCa may have been hidden during the discovery phase of GWAS, in particular due to the presence of multiple independent signals within the same regio

Rationale and Value of Natural History Collections Digitisation

Natural science collections comprise a small component of a more extensive source of data on which questions about the natural world may be addressed. However, NHC data offer, when digitised, an exceptional resource: within collections lies the most extensive dataset that exists of the planet’s biodiversity. Indeed, our entire knowledge of most species is based on just one or very few specimens housed in natural science collections. Nevertheless, for most species, collections provide us with the best record available. The physical presence of specimens allows us to examine them many times using new techniques (e.g. the extraction and study of molecular data). In this article we argue in favor of expedited digitisation of NHC data

Unitary or unified taxonomy?

Taxonomic data form a substantial, but scattered, resource. The alternative to such a fragmented system is a 'unitary' one of preferred, consensual classifications. For effective access and distribution the (Web) revision for a given taxon would be established at a single Internet site. Although all the international codes of nomenclature currently preclude the Internet as a valid medium of publication, elements of unitary taxonomy (UT) still exist in the paper system. Much taxonomy, unitary or not, already resides on the Web. Arguments for and against adopting a unitary approach are considered and a resolution is attempted. Rendering taxonomy essentially Web-based is as inevitable as it is desirable. Apparently antithetical to the UT proposal is the view that in reality multiple classifications of the same taxon exist, since different taxonomists often hold different concepts of their taxa: a single name may apply to many different (frequently overlapping) circumscriptions and more than one name to a single taxon. However, novel means are being developed on single Internet sites to retain the diversity of multiple concepts for taxa, providing hope that taxonomy may become established as a Web-based information discipline that will unify the discipline and facilitate data access

The structure and affinities of the Hedyloidea: a new concept of the butterflies

Volume: 53Start Page: 251End Page: 28