5 research outputs found
Advances on Dipterology in the 21st century and extinction rates
At least one million extant insect species have been described on Earth, of which 150,000 belong to the megadiverse order Diptera. We here synthesize data from the last 15 years of taxonomic work in Diptera, mapping the world taxonomic productivity in the order. Our data shows an increasing importance of China and Brazil in taxonomic production, along with other traditional centres such as the USA and Europe. We correlate our database with estimates of extinction rates to determine the amount of basic taxonomic research still necessary to have the description of the fly diversity before extinction. Due to the growing recent extinction rates, it is unlikely that we will be able to entirely describe unknown fly diversity before their demise. Even considering that is still a constant and increasing speed of new species description, raising the number of active dipterists in the world is an urgent priority and the only real solution
Um panorama atual sobre a filogenia de Metazoa: conflitos e concordâncias
Metazoa is the grouping that brings together all the animals, a target that has been the subject of fervent debate for decades. The roots of understanding about their phylogenetic relationships arose through observations of morphological characteristics, which nurtured from the perspective of common ancestry became the basis for the first systematizations. New positions were proposed from the advent of molecular techniques and data, but several problems remain unresolved. In this review we present changes in the positions of some of the most conflicting groups of Metazoa. We conclude by pointing out gaps and paths to be traveled in the near future with the objective of improving the scientific understanding of the evolutionary trajectory of animals and their characters. As relações evolutivas dentro de Metazoa sĂŁo alvos de debates há dĂ©cadas. As raĂzes da compreensĂŁo de seus relacionamentos filogenĂ©ticos surgiram atravĂ©s da análise de caracterĂsticas morfolĂłgicas, seguidas de tĂ©cnicas moleculares cada vez mais sofisticadas, como a filogenĂ´mica. Estudos provenientes de dados moleculares trouxeram grandes contribuições propondo novas hipĂłteses, mas neste momento ainda existem incertezas advindas de problemas de amostragem e tĂ©cnicas moleculares, resultando em lacunas de conhecimento. No presente trabalho discutimos hipĂłteses da literatura sobre o posicionamento de alguns táxons chave na evolução dos animais, como Porifera, Ctenophora, Placozoa e Chaetognatha, alĂ©m de discutir relações internas de grupos mais diversos, como Ecdysozoa, Spiralia e Deuterostomia. Por fim, discutimos suas implicações e consequĂŞncias para o entendimento das relações entre os metazoários e suas trajetĂłrias evolutivas
Cretaceous Horse flies and their phylogenetic significance (Diptera: Tabanidae)
Popularly known as horse flies or deer flies, Tabanidae, has 4.400 described species distributed worldwide. Most of the females are hematophagous, but several species are also flower visitors. Cretaceous fossils of Tabanidae are scarce and the known fossil species have plesiomorphic features unknown in modern horse flies. Here, we revised the taxonomy of the Tabanidae from the Crato Formation of Brazil describing a new genus, Araripus gen. nov., and two new species – Araripus crassitibialis sp. nov. and Cratotabanus cearensis sp. nov. The holotype of Cratotabanus stonemyomorphus, the type species of Cratotabanus, is redescribed, and the male is described for the first time. In addition, we investigate the phylogenetic position of Cretaceous horse fly fossils using morphological characters in the context of a wider analysis also including representatives of extant lineages
ADVANCES ON DIPTEROLOGY IN THE 21 ST CENTURY AND EXTINCTION RATES
ABSTRACT At least one million extant insect species have been described on Earth, of which 150,000 belong to the megadiverse order Diptera. We here synthesize data from the last 15 years of taxonomic work in Diptera, mapping the world taxonomic productivity in the order. Our data shows an increasing importance of China and Brazil in taxonomic production, along with other traditional centres such as the USA and Europe. We correlate our database with estimates of extinction rates to determine the amount of basic taxonomic research still necessary to have the description of the fly diversity before extinction. Due to the growing recent extinction rates, it is unlikely that we will be able to entirely describe unknown fly diversity before their demise. Even considering that is still a constant and increasing speed of new species description, raising the number of active dipterists in the world is an urgent priority and the only real solution