Taxonomic investigation of Coniopterygidae

Informations

Funding country

Hungary

Acronym

-

URL

-

Start date

2/1/2005

End date

12/31/2008

Budget

4,747 EUR

Fundings

Abstract

The family Coniopterygidae is one of the four neuropterous families with highest species number, and the number of the known species is increasing most quickly in this group of the neuropterous insects. The number of the undescribed species is high; it surely is higher than in the other families of the order Neuroptera. Our knowledge about the coniopterygids of large geographical territories is poor. Large part of the extra European species is known only from a single, or from a few localities, and the area border out of Europe also is uncertain in the case of some genera and subgenera. The validity of a part of the described species is controversial, or their present taxonomical position is erroneous. Definition of the characteristics of some genus-group taxa is not exact entirely. The grouping of the species of the largest genera needs a revision. At present the females of the species living in Central Europe may be determined almost exclusively; however, examination of some features offers possibility of exact identification of other females also. Among the three coniopterygid subfamilies, the South American Brucheiserinae is most poorly known, and even the systematic rank of this subfamily is somewhat uncertain. To write a new coniopterygid monograph became necessary, as the number of the known species increased almost two and a half times since the publishing of the last such work.