Collaborative Research: Phylogenetic reclassification and generic revision of the rove beetle tribe Staphylinini (Insecta: Coleoptera: Staphylinidae)

金龟子是一种种类繁多的昆虫，全世界有5300多种。这些经常用于环境研究的显眼甲虫是陆地生态系统的重要组成部分，但它们目前的分类已经过时，阻碍了对这一群体的进一步探索。这个项目结合了形态数据、DNA和化石，将提供该部落的属级修订、其系统发育系统、在线识别检索表和所有属的物种目录。这些工具将使这些无脊椎动物在生物多样性研究中得到更广泛的使用。所有成果将通过基于互联网的出版物传播。该项目产生的广泛宣传媒体上的流行出版物将提高公众对自然界中流动甲虫的作用和丰富的认识。在几个国家进行实地考察期间，研究人员将就适用于整个土壤无脊椎动物动物群的葡萄球菌研究方法举办计划中的讲习班，这将有助于这些生物多样性热点地区的研究基础设施。该项目将加强菲尔德博物馆、田纳西大学查塔努加分校、堪萨斯大学、丹麦自然历史博物馆和世界各地其他几个机构之间的合作；并将为美国和其他国家的几名本科生和高中生提供独特的学习机会。

The rove beetle tribe Staphylinini is a mega-diverse group of insects, with more than 5,300 species worldwide. These often conspicuous beetles, frequently used in environmental studies, are an important component of terrestrial ecosystems, but their current classification is outdated, hampering further exploration of this group. Incorporating morphological data, DNA, and fossils, this project will provide a genus-level revision of the tribe, its phylogenetic system, online identification keys, and species catalogs for all genera. Such tools will enable a much broader use of these invertebrates in biodiversity studies. All results will be disseminated by Internet-based publications.Popular publications in broad outreach media generated by this project will increase public awareness of the role and abundance of rove beetles in nature. Planned workshops on the methods of study of Staphylinini applicable to an overall soil invertebrate fauna will be presented by the investigators during fieldwork in several countries, will contribute to the research infrastructure of those biodiversity hotspots. This project will enhance collaboration among the Field Museum, the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, the University of Kansas, the Natural History Museum of Denmark, and several other institutions worldwide; and will provide unique learning opportunities for several undergraduate and high school students in the United States and other countries.