Taxonomical study of Afrotropical Diptera
Informations
- Funding country
Hungary- Acronym
- -
- URL
- -
- Start date
- 3/30/2006
- End date
- 12/31/2009
- Budget
- 15,822 EUR
Fundings
| Name | Role | Start | End | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thematic Programme | Grant | 3/30/2006 | 12/31/2009 | 15,822 EUR |
Abstract
No specimen of the overwhelming majority of the supposedly extant species of the tropical insects has been collected yet. Also the dipterous fauna of the Afrotropical region has been known inadequately and unevenly. The aim of this project is to reduce deficiencies by descriptions of new genera and species, partly based on new collections. The insect guilds in the tropics are richer in species but their structure is quite similar to that of the guilds in temperate zones: representatives of one or a few dominant or subdominant species comprise the majority of individuals. Since those species have already been described, the only way to avoid needless specimens is when taxonomist specialists themselves are collecting in the tropics. During a collection trip we capture as many specimens at as many sites as possible (several times 100000 individuals/ a month trip), and we select specimens important for the collections under a stereomicroscope. Through the simple and effective method of selecting individuals in the field, which we elaborated in the last decade, obtaining specimens of rare species is strongly increased. As all descriptions in our era, the morphological and taxonomic descriptions of the Afrotropical dipterous species must follow strict standards: their high quality would make later re-examinations of the type specimens unnecessary. Specimens from our own collection trips as well as from other materials preserved in the HNHM will be identified and published.