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1.
Summary: |
Venezuela holds an array of
different terrestrial ecosystems, ranging from the Andean Cordillera,
Amazonian forests, and the ancient Guayana highlands; this diversity of
habitats places us within the top mega diverse countries in the World.
Insects are the keystone of global biodiversity, some estimates place
their total number of species up to 10,000,000 species, and nevertheless
they are one of the most poorly known groups. Plotting their
distribution against well documented and verified records is of
paramount importance to map the biodiversity of the planet. Chrysomelids
(Coleoptera) is a group of special interest in biodiversity studies
since they are one of the largest families of living organisms (35.000
species) and for their close evolutionary relationship with their host
plants.By digitizing and making publicly available the information,
complying with current data standards, of over 20,000 specimens
representing nearly 200 genera we will contribute to the enhancement of
the knowledge of this keystone group in insect biodiversity. |
