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

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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.