The Manual of South American Diptera will bring together information on the systematics of South Ame Editors
Márcia Couri
Claudio J.B. de Carvalho
Carlos J.E.
The Manual of South American Diptera will bring together information on the systematics of South American dipteran diversity. It will include general information on the systematics of families, identification keys, genera synopses, and high-resolution illustrations, establishing a basis for study of South American Diptera. Several large recent Diptera surveys in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and othe
r South American countries have substantially added to the available information on the biodiversity of the order. Besides hundreds of new species records, these projects have demonstrated endemism patterns for South American dipterans and for conservation of natural environments. These projects, during the last two decades, represent strong team efforts and have provided training for a large number of qualified students on the systematics of different dipteran families (many of whom are in permanent research positions). The projects have also improved many important South American dipterological collections. Finally, a closer partnership has been established with specialists from around the world. The MSAD has close to one hundred co-authors and, as with previous published regional Diptera manuals, will be organized in two volumes with 12 introductory chapters and 112 family chapters. The project is an international effort, including specialists from countries of South America and other parts of the world. The internal organization of chapters will closely follow previously published Diptera manuals, especially standardization of morphological terminology. The MSAD will certainly represent a major step—similar to the Nearctic, Central American, and Afrotropical manuals—towards providing wider access to information on the biodiversity of South American Diptera. This is a four-year project for publication of Volume 1, and a five-year project for Volume 2. Annual evaluation protocols will be scheduled to review progress of chapters. MSAD project was launched during the 8th International Congress of Dipterology in Potsdam, Germany, 10-15 August 2014. Lamas
Silvio S. Nihei
Dalton de Souza Amorim
José Albertino Rafael
Wayne N. Mathis
