Wednesday, 20 November 2002 - 8:25 AM
0863

This presentation is part of : the NSF PEET program

Systematics and evolution of Membracoidea (Hemiptera): setting priorities in the study of a hyperdiverse group

Chris Dietrich, Center for Biodiversity, Illinois Natural History Survey, Center for Biodiversity, 607 E. Peabody Dr, Champaign, IL

Membracoidea comprises ca. 30,000 described species of leafhoppers and treehoppers but recent sampling in the tropics suggests that as much as 80% of the world fauna remains undescribed. Given the rudimentary state of knowledge of Membracoidea and the paucity of taxonomic expertise, research priorities in the systematics of this group should emphasize areas of greatest unmet need. In this presentation, I discuss some of these priorities and present a rationale for our current research program, which emphasizes training, field sampling, species-level monographic studies, and work on the higher level phylogeny and classification.

Species 1: Homoptera Membracidae
Species 2: Homoptera Cicadellidae
Keywords: systematics, biological diversity

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