REVSYS: Multilevel Revision within the Praying Mantises (Insecta, Dictyoptera, Mantodea)

螳螂(螳螂目)这一极具魅力的捕食性昆虫群包括2400多个被描述的物种，这些物种展示了令人难以置信的丰富的形态和生活史策略的多样性。尽管有关螳螂的生态学、行为学和生理学研究有着悠久的传统，但它们在分类学上受到的关注有限，而且目前的分类模式没有反映出基于遗传的、进化的关系。该项目将统一传统和现代的形态和基于遗传的系统方法来重建所有螳螂的进化关系，这将指导构建反映真实进化群体的自然分类。这项研究还将在建立新的博物馆藏品的同时，制作两本物种水平的分类专著(约占螳螂多样性的21%)，描述大量新物种，制作螳螂属的在线交互识别检索表，并制作一个可公开访问的分类信息和科学文献参考数据库。该项目将是这些昆虫的系统学现代化的重要的第一步，这些昆虫经常被用来控制像蚜虫这样的害虫。该项目还将为其他昆虫类群的未来修订提供一个模型。这项研究将通过以下方式影响更广泛的社区：1)产生高质量的螳螂及其形态的图像，组织在一个进化框架中，通过在线的、交互式的分类检索表促进群落识别；2)每年开设研讨会，包括大学生、高中教师和公众，将提供螳螂分类学、形态学和生物学方面的信息和培训；3)在博士后、研究生和本科生层面提供新的科学培训；以及4)通过提供稳定和可预测的分类，立即补充目前在螳螂性生态学、猎物识别生理学和听觉进化方面的比较研究。

The charismatic predatory insect group of praying mantises (order Mantodea) includes over 2,400 described species that exhibit an incredibly rich diversity of morphology and life history strategies. Despite the long tradition of ecological, behavioral, and physiological research focused on the group, mantises have received limited taxonomic attention and the current classification scheme does not reflect genetically based, evolutionary relationships. This project will unify traditional and modern morphological and genetically based systematic methods to reconstruct the evolutionary relationships for all praying mantises, which will guide the construction of a natural classification that reflects true evolutionary groups. This research will also produce two species-level taxonomic monographs (representing about 21% of the praying mantis diversity) while building new museum collections, describing numerous new species, producing online, interactive identification keys for mantis genera, and producing a publicly accessible database of taxonomic information and scientific literature references.This project will represent a significant first step in modernizing the systematics of these insects that are often used to control such pests as aphids. The project will also provide a model for future revisions of other insect groups. This research will impact the broader community by: 1) producing high-quality images of mantises and their morphology, organized in an evolutionary framework that will facilitate community identifications through online, interactive taxonomic keys; 2) opening annually scheduled workshops to include university students, high school teachers, and the public, which will provide information and training in praying mantis taxonomy, morphology, and biology; 3) providing new scientific training at the post-doctoral, graduate, and undergraduate student levels; and 4) immediately complementing current comparative research in mantis sexual ecology, prey recognition physiology, and auditory evolution by providing a stable and predictive classification.