A quantitative analysis of species descriptions of tiger beetles (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae), from 1758 to 2004, and notes about related developments in biodiversity studies

David Pearson, Fabio Cassola

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

31 Scopus citations

Abstract

A history of taxonomic descriptions of tiger beetles (Cicindelidae) is presented from 1758, when the first species were described by Carl von Linné, to present day. The number of new species over 50 year periods shows an irregularly increasing species number that soon will exceed 2,600. Possible causes of these irregular patterns include economic and political upheavals that affected collecting and the near monopoly of descriptions by one or a few researchers during several periods. The growing influence of tiger beetles as models for patterns of use in biology, conservation, and general biodiversity are also discussed.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)184-193
Number of pages10
JournalColeopterists Bulletin
Volume59
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 2005

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Insect Science

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