A protocol to evaluate the taxonomic health of Neotropical species of Nasutitermes (Termitidae, Nasutitermitinae)

By

Rocha, Mauricio
Da Silva Santos Lima, Karina
Cancello, Eliana Marques

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2024

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

1210

Pages

143--172

Subjects

Collections , revisionary work , rich taxa , species description , taxonomic protocol , taxonomic ranking

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1210.116666

 

Abstract

Herein a protocol is proposed to summarize the taxonomic situation for species, using the Neotropical Nasutitermes Dudley (Nasutitermitinae) as a test. The objective of this protocol is to allow comparisons between the available taxonomic information for species, and to provide objective criteria for assessing the information gaps for each taxon in order to prioritize topics for future investigation. Key aspects of taxonomic practice (condition of type specimens, helpfulness of descriptions and figures, compilation of distribution data, molecular data) were noted, the data were tabulated, and the taxa ranked. In addition, specific notes for each species have been included that may help to improve the solutions to the problems raised here.