Biodiv Sci ›› 2022, Vol. 30 ›› Issue (3): 21314.  DOI: 10.17520/biods.2021314

Special Issue: 昆虫多样性与生态功能

• Bioinventories • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Trend of Chinese Orthoptera taxonomy research based on holotype specimens

Jiangrong Huang, Jiaxin Tang, Zhuqing He()   

  1. School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241
  • Received:2021-08-12 Accepted:2021-10-06 Online:2022-03-20 Published:2022-03-30
  • Contact: Zhuqing He

Abstract:

Aims We studied following field based on Chinese Orthoptera holotype information: (1) species composition of Orthoptera in China; (2) the preservation of Orthoptera holotype; (3) the regularity of the discovery of new species over time; (4) geographical distribution of holotype specimens.

Methods The information of holotypes is mainly obtained from the Orthoptera Specifications File (OSF), Catalogue of the Insect Type Specimens Deposited in China.

Results (1) There are 3,070 holotype specimens, which is more than 10% of the known species in the world. They belong to 2 suborders, 11 superfamilies, 20 families, 58 subfamilies and 594 genera. (2) 3,044 holotype specimens with specimen preservation sites are deposited in 16 countries in the world. Among them, 2,705 holotype specimens are deposited in China, involving 44 scientific research institutions. (3) According to the variation of the number of new species described each year, the publishing process has three stages: stagnation period, fluctuating growth period and rapid growth period. The number of new species described shows a significant upward trend in recent years. (4) The number of holotype specimens collected from each province is significantly different. The new species of Orthoptera were mainly found in the areas with mountains and hills.

Conclusion The Orthoptera holotype specimens are mostly deposited in Chinese universities and research institutions. At present, many new Orthoptera species have being published every year, and the total number of Chinese Orthoptera species has a lot of room for growth. We suggest that government should increase the support for traditional taxonomy and training of young taxonomists.

Key words: Orthoptera, holotype, distribution