Abstract
A checklist of the species of leaf beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) of El Salvador is presented based on data from literature and a digitization project of the Bechyné collection of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS). The RBINS collections contain a total of 2797 individual chrysomelid specimens from El Salvador, sorted into 89 species and 132 genera. In total, the current checklist contains 420 species, of which 33 are new records for El Slavador from the Bechyné collection. In these collections, there are also ten nomina nuda named by Bechyné, which need further study. The leaf beetle diversity in El Salvador, partly due to the country’s unstable political history, remains poorly studied, and many (new) species await discovery. This checklist provides a baseline for further study in El Salvador and nearby region.
Highlights
The description and inventory of biodiversity is facing hard times due to budgetary problems and the decline of taxonomists (Drew 2011)
A checklist of the species of leaf beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) of El Salvador is presented based on data from literature and a digitization project of the Bechyné collection of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS)
One of the most important early studies on Neotropical Chrysomelidae was done for the multipartite series of the Biologia Centrali Americana (Baly and Champion 1885–1894; Jacoby 1880–1892; 1888–1892)
Summary
The description and inventory of biodiversity is facing hard times due to budgetary problems and the decline of taxonomists (Drew 2011) This is certainly the case for leaf beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Jan and Bohumila Bechyné described many species, and significantly contributed to the knowledge of Neotropical Chrysomelidae Another significant work is Scherer (1962) with an identification key to the genera of Neotropical Alticini (Scherer 1962). Francisco Monrós focused his studies on detailed complex revisions of particular groups and include numerous ecological observations on host plants and behavior of the species. He published mainly on Criocerinae, Clytrini, Fulcidacini, and Lamprosomatinae. He was in the process of writing his opus magnum ‘Los géneros de Chrysomelidae’, but due to his premature death only the first volume was published covering Sagrinae, Donaciinae, and Criocerinae (Monrós 1960)
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