A Faunistic Survey of the Dynastinae (Insecta: Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) of Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador

9870202拉特克利夫圣甲虫是昆虫动物界的杰出成员。金龟子亚科是金龟子科中最显著的亚科之一，因其丰富的物种多样性和通常较大的体型。王朝科由大约1400种组成，在新世界热带地区发现的物种比在其他任何地区都多。本研究将对宏都拉斯、尼加拉瓜和萨尔瓦多的所有王朝进行专题研究。这项调查将首次提供有关这些国家代甲虫的分类、地理和时间分布的广泛文献，并将提供鉴定所有分类群的方法。为了实现这一目标，将对美国和加拿大的系统研究收藏品以及洪都拉斯，尼加拉瓜和萨尔瓦多的小型收藏品中的王朝进行深入调查，以收集与标本相关的时空分布和生活史或栖息地信息的数据。在洪都拉斯、尼加拉瓜和萨尔瓦多也将进行广泛的收集工作。经过权威鉴定的Dynastinae（以及其他金龟科）收藏品将在这三个国家的机构中建立。材料也将存放在其他机构，包括美国国家博物馆和内布拉斯加大学州立博物馆。该研究将有助于发展用于组织和获取有关圣甲虫知识的计算机基础设施，并为今后的圣甲虫系统学工作奠定基础。结果将是对洪都拉斯、尼加拉瓜和萨尔瓦多王朝的专题调查。这篇文章将简要介绍这三个国家。每个部落和属将被描述和讨论，并将提供所有部落、属和种的分类钥匙（英文和西班牙文）。每个物种记录将包括完整的同义词、描述、诊断、分布和时间数据、生境和生态信息、幼虫和生活史信息。这本专著将大量地用栖息地图、需要澄清的结构的线条图、分布图和主要栖息地的照片来说明。这项研究将建立标本级信息、地理和时间分布、目录和图像的电子数据库。该项目产生的其他产品将是在洪都拉斯、尼加拉瓜和萨尔瓦多建立权威鉴定的收藏品；培养一名系统学和专论方面的博士生；对洪都拉斯泛美农业博物馆的一名见习馆长和一名副分类学家进行培训，并对洪都拉斯、尼加拉瓜和萨尔瓦多其他博物馆的馆长和学生进行现代数据收集和传播实践方面的培训，以及更好地确保馆藏得到适当保护和利用的策展活动方面的培训。

9870202 Ratcliffe Scarab beetles are prominent members of the entomofauna. The Dynastinae is one of the most conspicuous subfamilies of Scarabaeidae because of their rich species diversity and often large size. The Dynastinae is comprised of about 1,400 species, and more species are found in the New World tropics than in any other realm. This research will monograph all the Dynastinae in Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador. The survey will provide the first extensive documentation of the taxonomic, geographic, and temporal distribution of dynastine beetles in these countries and will provide the means to identify all the taxa. To accomplish this, dynastines residing in systematics research collections in the United States and Canada and those small collections in Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador will be intensively surveyed in order to gather data on spatial and temporal distribution and life history or habitat information associated with the specimens. Extensive collecting will be also conducted in Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador. Authoritatively identified collections of Dynastinae (and by extension, other Scarabaeidae) will be established at institutions in all three countries. Material will also be deposited in other institutions, including the U.S. National Museum and the University of Nebraska State Museum. The research will contribute to the development of computer infrastructure for organizing and accessing knowledge about scarab beetles, and it will establish the foundation for future work in scarab systematics. The result will be a monographic survey of the Dynastinae of Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador. Included in this treatment will be a brief introduction to the three countries. Each tribe and genus will be characterized and discussed, and taxonomic keys (in English and Spanish) will be given for all tribes, genera, and species. Each species account will consist of complete synonymies, descriptions, diagnoses, distributional and temporal data, ha bitat and ecological information, and larval and life history information. The monograph will be profusely illustrated with habitus drawings, line drawings of structures requiring clarification, distribution maps, and photographs of principal habitats. This research will create electronic databases of specimen-level information, geographic and temporal distributions, catalogs, and images. Additional products resulting from the project will be the establishment of authoritatively identified collections in Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador; training a PhD student in systematics and monography; training an apprentice curator and a parataxonomist at the Escuela Agricola Panamericana in Honduras, and training curators and students at other collections in Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador in modern data gathering and dissemination practices as well as in curatorial activities that better insure proper conservation and use of their collections.