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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Systematic Entomology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #409746
Research Project: Systematics of Beetles, Flies, Moths and Wasps with an Emphasis on Agricultural Pests, Invasive Species, Biological Control Agents, and Food Security

Location: Systematic Entomology Laboratory

Title: Coleoptera of Brazil: what we knew then and what we know now. Insights from the "Catálogo Taxonômico da Fauna do Brasil:

Author
item CARON, EDILSON - Universidade Federal Do Parana
item MONNE, M. - Universidade Federal Do Rio De Janeiro
item LINZMEIER, A. - University Of Brazil
item MERMUDES, JOSE, RICARDO - Universidade Federal Do Rio De Janeiro
item Chamorro, Maria
item SEKERKA, LUKAS - National Museum Czech Republic

Submitted to: Zoologia
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/1/2024
Publication Date: 9/6/2024
Citation: Caron, E., Monne, M.L., Linzmeier, A.M., Mermudes, Jose, R.M., Chamorro, M.L., Sekerka, L. 2024. Coleoptera of Brazil: what we knew then and what we know now. Insights from the "Catálogo Taxonômico da Fauna do Brasil:. Zoologia. 41 (e23072):1-15. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1984-4689.v41.e23072.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1590/S1984-4689.v41.e23072

Interpretive Summary: After more than 20 years the beetle fauna of Brazil is updated and summarized. Understanding baseline data of agriculturally important groups is fundamental to our ability to identify, manage, and understand beetles that may pose a threat. More than 90 scientists from around the world provided updates on the known beetles of Brazil through the online portal of the Brazilian Fauna. Currently 35,533 beetles in 4,955 genera are known to occur in that country. Conotrachelus, a weevil genus, is the most species-rich with 570 species. This resource and this updated database will better prepare farmers, foresters, federal and local regulatory and inspection agencies, against the threat of invasive species around the country and the world.

Technical Abstract: In 2000, a paper presenting the state of knowledge of the Neotropical Coleoptera, but emphasizing the Brazilian fauna, was published by Cleide Costa. Twenty-three years later, thanks to the development of the Coleoptera in the CTFB (Taxonomic Catalog of the Brazilian Fauna) through the collaboration of 91 coleopterists from all over the globe, we can build on Costa’s work and present an updated overview of the state of knowledge of the beetles from Brazil. There are currently 35,533 species in 4,955 genera and 113 families known to occur in the country, including representatives of all extant suborders and superfamilies. The most diverse family in numbers of genera is Cerambycidae (1,056 genera), while in species numbers it is Chrysomelidae (6,079 species). Conotrachelus Dejean, 1835 (Curculionidae) is the most species-rich genus with 570 species. The French scientist Maurice Pic is the author who has contributed the most to the naming of species recorded from Brazil, with 1,794 valid names in 36 families, whereas the Brazilians Ubirajara R. Martins and Maria Helena M. Galileo are the only ones among the top-ten authors to have named species in the 21st century. Currently, approximately 144 new species of Brazilian beetles are described each year, and this average is projected to increase in the next decade to 180 species per year, or about a new Brazilian beetle every two days.