The aquatic and semi-aquatic bugs (Heteroptera: Nepomorpha & Gerromorpha) of Malesia

The aquatic and semi-aquatic bugs (Heteroptera: Nepomorpha & Gerromorpha) of Malesia
Author: Ping-ping Chen
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 556
Release: 2021-10-18
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9047416805

This volume deals with the Heteroptera aquatica, or water bugs, known from Malesia, a region holding almost 1000 species belonging to seventeen families. The book includes keys to all families and genera, and provides information on their taxonomy, morphology, biology, distribution and economic importance. A checklist of the species recorded from Malesia and nearby areas, with references to original descriptions of all taxa, is included. The book is illustrated by more than 500 drawings and 35 distribution maps. A glossary explains the technical terms is employed. An extensive list of references will enable readers to trace all pertinent taxonomic literature published up to the end of 2003.

Australian Water Bugs. (Hemiptera - Heteroptera, Gerromorpha & Nepomorpha)

Australian Water Bugs. (Hemiptera - Heteroptera, Gerromorpha & Nepomorpha)
Author: Nils Møller Andersen
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 344
Release: 2021-10-25
Genre: Science
ISBN: 900447451X

Water bugs are familiar insects in aquatic habitats throughout the World. They belong to the order Hemiptera, the largest insect order with incomplete metamorphosis. There are basically two kinds: (1) the semiaquatic bugs (Gerromorpha) which live upon the water surface, and (2) the true water bugs (Nepomorpha) which live beneath the water surface. Water bugs are found in a wide variety of natural habitats from small, temporary pools to larger ponds and lakes, from small streams to rivers, and from inland freshwater bodies to coastal mangroves, tidal pools of coral reefs, and the surface of the ocean. Water bugs are chiefly predators or scavengers, feeding on any prey they can master, from tiny crustaceans and insects to tadpoles and small fish. They play a major role in aquatic ecosystems and may serve as indicators of the biological quality of aquatic habitats. They are chiefly beneficial to man since many species prey on mosquitoes and are themselves preyed upon by fish. Because of their diverse lifestyles and because they are easily observed in their natural habitats, water bugs are excellent model organisms in evolutionary biology, ecology, and conservation biology. This handbook is the first comprehensive guide facilitating the identification of Australian water bugs. It provides an overview on all 15 families, 17 subfamilies, and 55 genera known to occur on mainland Australia, Tasmania and nearby islands. Illustrated keys, featuring a minimum of technical language, are offered to assist with the identification of adult water bugs. For each genus, the handbook includes a description of the characters used to identify the genus and to separate the genus from similar genera, an illustration to show overall appearance (“habitus”) of a representative species, an illustrated key to species recorded from Australia, overview of the biology of the genus, and a map showing the locations where the genus has been found in Australia.

True Bugs (Heteroptera) of the Neotropics

True Bugs (Heteroptera) of the Neotropics
Author: Antônio R. Panizzi
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 904
Release: 2015-09-29
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9401798613

True bugs (Heteroptera) are a diverse and complex group of plant-feeding and predatory insects important to food production, human health, the global economy and the environment. Within the nearly 43,000 species described around the world, Neotropical true bugs are particularly diverse, and much remains to be discovered about their biology and relations with other species. Inspired by the need for a comprehensive assessment, True Bugs (Heteroptera) of the Neotropics is the most complete and thorough review ever published. Experts in each of the seven infraorders have drawn together the scattered literature to provide detailed treatments of each major taxon. The most common and important species as well as select lesser known species in each major family are covered, highlighting morphology, classification, biology and ecology. The numerous color illustrations highlight key species and their adaptations, and importance to basic and applied sciences is discussed. Each chapter is based on an up-to-date review of the literature, and with a bibliography of more than 3,000 references, readers are presented with an unprecedented and vital and timely account of the true bugs of the Neotropical Region.

The Trace-Fossil Record of Major Evolutionary Events

The Trace-Fossil Record of Major Evolutionary Events
Author: M. Gabriela Mángano
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 497
Release: 2016-11-17
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9401795975

This volume addresses major evolutionary changes that took place during the Mesozoic and the Cenozoic. These include discussions on major evolutionary radiations and ecological innovations on land and at sea, such as the Mesozoic marine revolution, the Mesozoic radiation of vertebrates, the Mesozoic lacustrine revolution, the Cenozoic radiation of mammals, the evolution of paleosol biotas, and the evolution of hominins. The roles of mass extinctions at the end of the Triassic and at the end of the Cretaceous are assessed. This volume set provides innovative reviews of the major evolutionary events in the history of life from an ichnologic perspective. Because the long temporal range of trace fossils has been commonly emphasized, biogenic structures have been traditionally overlooked in macroevolution. However, comparisons of ichnofaunas through geologic time do reveal the changing ecology of organism-substrate interactions. The use of trace fossils in evolutionary paleoecology represents a new trend that is opening a window for our understanding of major evolutionary radiations and mass extinctions. Trace fossils provide crucial evidence for the recognition of spatial and temporal patterns and processes associated with paleoecologic breakthroughs.

Evolution of the Insects

Evolution of the Insects
Author: David Grimaldi
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 790
Release: 2005-05-16
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780521821490

Insects are the most diverse group of organisms in the 3 billion-year history of life on Earth, and the most ecologically dominant animals on land. This book chronicles for the first time the complete evolutionary history of insects: their living diversity, relationships and 400 million years of fossils. Whereas other volumes have focused on either living species or fossils, this is the first comprehensive synthesis of all aspects of insect evolution. The book is illustrated with 955 photo- and electronmicrographs, drawings, diagrams, and field photos, many in full colour and virtually all of them original. The book will appeal to anyone engaged with insect diversity: professional entomologists and students, insect and fossil collectors, and naturalists.

Oceanography and Marine Biology

Oceanography and Marine Biology
Author: R. N. Gibson
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 440
Release: 2004-07-28
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0203507819

Ever-increasing interest in oceanography and marine biology and its relevance to global environmental issues creates a demand for authoritative reviews summarizing the results of recent research. Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review has answered this demand since its founding by the late Harold Barnes more than forty years ago. Its obj

Insect Morphology and Phylogeny

Insect Morphology and Phylogeny
Author: Rolf G. Beutel
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
Total Pages: 532
Release: 2013-12-12
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3110264048

In the last decades a remarkable renaissance has materialized in insect morphology, mainly triggered by the development of new cutting-edge technologies. This is an exciting time for biological synthesis where the mysteries and data derived from genomes can be combined with centuries of data from morphology and development. And, now, more than ever, detailed knowledge of morphology is essential to understanding the evolution of all groups of organisms. In this “age of phylogenomics” researchers rely on morphological data to support molecular findings, test complex evolutionary scenarios, and for placing fossil taxa. This textbook provides an in-depth treatment of the structures and the phylogeny of the megadiverse Hexapoda. The first part presents an up-to-date overview of general insect morphology with detailed drawings, scanning electron micrographs, and 3-D reconstructions. Also included is a chapter covering innovative morphological techniques (e.g., μ-computer tomography, 3-D modeling), brief treatments of insect development and phylogenetic methods, and a comprehensive morphological glossary. The second part is of a modern synthesis of insect systematics that includes taxon-specific morphological information for all Orders. The work is an invaluable reference for students and researchers working in all facets of biology and is a must for evolutionary biologists. A detailed understanding of morphology is essential in unraveling phylogenetic relationships and developing complex evolutionary scenarios. Increasingly researchers in phylogenomics are re/turning to morphological data to support their findings, while the development of new cutting-edge technologies has further increased interest in this growing field. This definitive handbook provides an in-depth treatment of insect morphology. The first part presents an up-to-date overview of insect morphology with detailed drawings, brilliant scanning electron micrographs and 3-D reconstructions as interactive PDFs. This is complemented by a chapter on innovative morphological techniques (e.g., μ-computer tomography, 3-D modeling) and a comprehensive morphological glossary. The second part treats the state of the art in insect systematics and includes taxon-specific morphological information for all orders. Systematics are treated formally, with for example the arguments for relationships (“apomorphies”) always listed explicitly. The work is a useful reference for students and researchers working in different fields of biology and a must for those dealing with insects from an evolutionary perspective.