Using seemingly unnecessary illustrations to improve the diagnostic usefulness of descriptions in taxonomy–a case study on Perochaeta orientalis (Diptera, Sepsidae)

By

Ang, Yuchen
Wong, Li Jing
Meier, Rudolf, 1963-

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2013

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

355

Pages

9-27

Subjects

bioimaging , Illustrations , Sepsidae , species descriptions , taxonomy , videography

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.355.6013

 

Abstract

Many species descriptions, especially older ones, consist mostly of text and have few illustrations. Only the most conspicuous morphological features needed for species diagnosis and delimitation at the time of description are illustrated. Such descriptions can quickly become inadequate when new species or characters are discovered. We propose that descriptions should become more data-rich by presenting a large amount of images and illustrations to cover as much morphology as possible; these descriptions are more likely to remain adequate over time because their large amounts of visual data could capture character systems that may become important in the future. Such an approach can now be quickly and easily achieved given that high-quality digital photography is readily available. Here, we re-describe the sepsid fly Perochaeta orientalis (de Meijere 1913) (Diptera, Sepsidae) which has suffered from inadequate descriptions in the past, and use photomicrography, scanning electron microscopy and videography to document its external morphology and mating behaviour. All images and videos are embedded within the electronic publication. We discuss briefly benefits and problems with our approach.