A Check-List of the Mecoptera of the World

Ali known species of recent Mecoptera are catalogued: reference is gíven to original descriptions; and known distributions are recorded. New names for two junlor homonyms (Panorpa issiki = Panorpa acuta lsslkl & Cheng, and Panorpa bankslana = Panorpa inter rupta Banks) are included, and one new synonymv (Panorpa galloisí Miyake = Panorpa cornígera Maclachlan) is noted.

Two divergent trends among the faunal regions are shown in Tables 1 and ~! .One trend, found in the Australian, Nearctic and Neotropical Regions, is toward great diversity at the family and generic leveis, but relatively few species.The other trend.existing in ( • ) Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia.Manaus.Norman O .Penny (") George W. Byer s ( "") the Ethiopian, Oriental and Palearctic Regions , is toward slight diversity at the family and generic leveis but great diversity at the species levei.For example, in the combined Australían, Nearctic.and Neotropical areas can be found representatives of ali families and of 25 of the 29 known genera of Mecoptera.but only 28 per cent of the known species.Converse-!y, the other three regions contain only four families and seven genera of Mecoptera, but 72 per cent of the known species.Actually, the Nearctic Region appears to be somewhat intermediate, having a large number of families and genera, but also a fairly high number of species.More study needs to be given to the reasons f01• this dichotomy.Another observation is the relative scarcity of Mecoptera on islands.No Mecoptera have been found on Madagascar, although severa!species are recorded from nearby parts of Africa.In the South Pacific, only one endemic species exists in New Zealand.In the Caribbean, Mecoptera are known only from Trinidad.In most island areas where Mecoptera are known (i.e., Japan, Taiwan, Sri Lanka (Ceylon), Borneo, Java, Sumatra, Tioman lsland, Trinidad and St. Paul lsland) (*) there is a geological history of relatively recent land connection to the adjacent continent.This suggests low vagility in the Mecoptera.
In the following list, when a scíentific name is followed by two authors' names, the first indicates original describer, and the second the name of the author who first changed the generic status of the species.Valid subspecitic names follow the specific names as non-indented trinominals, while synonymi• zed subspecies are indented.Varieties have been omitted.This list includes names received up to 1 December 1978.The name Esben-Petersen has been abbreviated as E.-P.
Two species are recorded as previously unresolved junior homonyms, and they have been given new names.The first, Panorpa is~lki, was originally named Panorpa acuta by lssiki and Cheng in 1947.However, this name is predated by Panorpa acuta Carpenter (1931).The second junior homonym was originally described as Panorpa interrupta by Banks in 1918. However, in 1913 Longinos Navás described Aulops interrupta, which was later synonymized with Panorpa japonica.As the generic name Aulops has also been synonymized with Panorpa, if the species name Aulops interrupta is resurrected, it would be called Panorpa interrupta.Thus, the need to change the name proposed by Banks.We have named this species Panorpa banksiana in honor of its original describer.
One new synonomy is also included.Panorpa galloisi Navás (1913) has long been considered a synonym of Panorpa cornigera Maclachlan (1887).One pale variety of Panorpa galloisi Navás was collected at the same place and day as the type of Panorpa gal/oisi Miyake (1911).Based on published descriptions, noted variation between Panorpa gal/oisi Miyake and Panorpa gal/oisi Navás can be interpreted as intraspecific variation , and thus both Panorpa gal/oisi Miyake and and Panorpa galloisi Navás are synonyms of Panorpa cornigera Maclachlan.
Austral ia ( • ) The Snow Entomological Museum has a specimen of Bittacus from Socotra lsland which apparently does not fit in this category.