global information system on pyraloidea

The Pyraloidea database

A catalogue of all available names and nomenclatural acts is necessary as a basic tool to overview the enormous diversity of the Pyraloidea and facilitate systematic research. Research projects on Pyraloidea (e.g. on biodiversity, systematics, genetics) are hampered by the need for extensive literature searches of nomenclatural acts.

Comprehensive checklists of pyraloid names have been published in recent times for the New World (Munroe et al. 1995; Poole 1996), Australia (Shaffer, Nielsen & Horak 1996) and Europe (Speidel 1996). Apart from these geographically restricted contributions, there is a global checklist available for the Epipaschiinae (Solis 1993, 1994 1995) and a global catalogue for the Heliothelinae and Scopariinae (Nuss 1999). The generic names of the Pyraloidea of the World have been catalogued by Fletcher & Nye (1984). However, catalogues are absent for the Afrotropical, Oriental and Eastern Palaearctic Regions.

Systematists specialized in pyraloids have been collecting nomenclatural data independently, and this resulted in duplication of work until very recently. GlobIZ, a multi-user database, has been developed to share the efforts of the scientists interested in gathering original descriptions of species-, genus- and family-group names, synonymies, and generic transfers for a complete synonymic catalogue of the pyraloids on a worldwide scale. In order to keep the data transparent for the user, any nomenclatural information included is based exclusively on published records and linked to the literature reference.

Classifications are based on continuing scientific research and they can change as progress is made. The higher-level classification adopted here is based on the most recent advances, but there are points of disagreement, such as the use of one (Pyralidae) (Landry) or two (Pyralidae and Crambidae) family names for the Pyraloidea.

 

References for the cited literature can be obtained via -> database -> search.

The text above has been last updated on October 25, 2010. The database itself is dayly updated.