This work was begun to provide keys to the aquatic insect species known from Brazil. The original goal was to include all genera known from South America and all species from Brazil, but for most groups, the scope was expanded to encompass all species in South America, and, in some cases, to include terrestrial species of orders comprising both terrestrial and aquatic taxa. In no case is a taxonomic revision of any group undertaken, although recommendations for such revisions are included where appropriate, and probable synonymy of nominal species still treated as valid in the literature is noted. Two different approaches will be employed according to the taxon being treated. For phylogenetic groups encompassing overwhelmingly or exclusively aquatic species, such as the orders Plecoptera and Ephemeroptera or the families Dytiscidae and Culicidae, keys are provided to distinguish all genera and species known to occur in South America. An effort has been made to include every identifiable species so that the user ofthe key can determine with reasonable certainty whether or not his specimen belongs to a species that has already been described or whether it is one that is not yet known to science. Where feasible, complete keys will be prepared for groups containing both aquatic and terrestrial species that do not encompass an extraordinarily large number ofspecies. This has already been done for the order Collembola.

For many years, students from numerous countries have complained about the lack of "tools" to identify aquatic invertebrates from Latin America. Keys found in accepted textbooks are mostly limited, superficial or too popular-science. On the other hand, more advanced keys in academic books on aquatic invertebrates fail to cover Neotropical representatives in due detail. The few that do, however, also show too many defects in scope and presentation to be considered up-to-date. An international team of editors combined their efforts with Pensoft Publishers to launch a new major series on the aquatic biodiversity of Latin America. About 15 monographs, written by scientists from various countries, will offer a new, unrivalled view of the marvellous aquatic world of South America! The series is addressed to zoologists, ecologists, hydrobiologists, biogeographers, conservationists and students interested in aquatic biodiversity. The series will be an imminent tool for any biological library. This book covers all known (14) families, (103) genera and (470) species of the insect order Ephemeroptera from continental South America. It includes updated keys (in English and Spanish) to separate families, genera and species (when possible), as well as complete reference data on each taxon, considering its status, characters, biology and distribution. The book is addressed to specialists in systematics, ecologists, limnologists and biologists in general.

Thorp and Covich's Freshwater Invertebrates, Fourth Edition: Keys to Neotropical Hexapoda, Volume Three, provides a guide for identifying and evaluating a key subphylum, hexapoda, for Central America, South America and the Antarctic. This book is essential for anyone working in water quality management, conservation, ecology or related fields in this region, and is developed to be the most modern and consistent set of taxonomic keys available. It is part of a series that is designed to provide a highly comprehensive, current set of keys for a given bioregion, with all keys written in a consistent style. This series can be used for a full spectrum of interested readers, from students, to university professors and government agencies. - Includes zoogeographic coverage of the entire Neotropics, from central México and the Caribbean Islands, to the tip of South America - Identifies aquatic springtails (Collembola) and insects to the genus level for many groups, and family or subfamily level for less well known taxa - Presents multiple keys, from higher to lower taxonomic levels that are appropriate for each users' level of scientific knowledge and needs - Provides a general introduction and sections on limitations, terminology and morphology, material preparation and preservation, and references

This volume is the proceedings of the IX International Conference on Ephemeroptera and the XII International Symposium on Plecoptera, held in Tucuman, Argentina. Divided into comprehensive thematic sections, the early sections cover studies on ecology and behavior ranging from life cycles and general biology to genetic divergence and vibrational communication, while the latter sections reveal the diversified studies being developed worldwide. This book will be useful for beginners and specialists, providing important data for ecological, distributional, morphological, and biogeographical studies.

Among the various groups of aquatic insects, mayflies (Ephemeroptera) are of special interest for professional limnologists and entomological researchers as well as for naturalists in general and even the dedicated fly angler. Identification has traditionally been considered difficult and implementation in environmental monitoring and freshwater management has led to an ever increasing demand for exact information on taxonomy and ecology. The present handbook is designed to provide for the first time an up-to-date standard work for Ephemeroptera identification, including last instar larvae (nymphs), subimago (dun), male and female imagines. Recent changes in nomenclature are discussed in detail as well as gaps in current knowledge and probable pitfalls concerning the reliable identification of all taxa known so far from the region. Keys are provided for genera and introductory chapters characterize every family and genus. Species accounts follow a common format providing a synonymy, characters for identification (including literature references), remarks (on type material, variation, confusing or extralimital species) and short information on biology and distribution pattern. Male genitalia are illustrated by micrographs and line drawings, REM photographs of the egg chorionic structure are provided for genera and selected species. Habitus of larvae and imagines are for most genera illustrated by colour photographs. The geographical area covered is Europe including the European part of Russia, the mediterranean islands and North Africa. Short additional information is provided for adjacent parts of the western Palaearctic Region. A comprehensive index, check-list and distribution catalogue (following the widely adopted concept of Illies’ Limnofauna Europaean) allow for quick information on all species recorded so far from Europe.

The papers included in this volume were presented at the VIth International Ephemeroptera Conference and the Xth International Symposium on Plecoptera, and at a Joint Symposium on Applied Aspects in the study of Mayflies and Stoneflies. One additional paper has been included, a review of the studies of on mayflies.

This book is part of a series designed to facilitate identification of South American insects likely to be encountered in, on, or near water, on wetlands, and in unusual aquatic habitats. It permits identification of all known adults and larvae. Each volume of the Encyclopedia of South American Aquatic Insects begins with a short general introduction. The scope of this volume is the Plecoptera. It includes all species known from South America as of the year 2002 and permits a state-of-the-art identification of the species. In the case of specimens belonging to undescribed species or those not previously reported from South America, it permits identification to genus or family and gives the reader reasonable certainty that his specimen does not belong to the known fauna of the continent. The keys are richly illustrated to permit non-specialists in the group to reliably identify specimens. Taxonomic revisions are intentionally avoided, but doubtful taxa are so designated in the keys. The volume is meant for anyone interested in identifying aquatic stoneflies, including entomologists, stream biologists, ecologists, zoogeographers, fishery biologists, and naturalists. Already published within this encyclopedia: -Encyclopedia of South American Aquatic Insects: Collembola ISBN: 0-7923-6704-9 -Encyclopedia of South American Aquatic Insects: Ephemeroptera ISBN: 1-4020-0775-2 -Encyclopedia of South American Aquatic Insects: Plecoptera ISBN: 1-4020-1520-8 Forthcoming book titles: -Encyclopedia of South American Aquatic Insects: Odonata -Encyclopedia of South American Aquatic Insects: Orthoptera -Encyclopedia of South American Aquatic Insects: Heteroptera -Encyclopedia of South American Aquatic Insects: Neuroptera, including Megaloptera -Encyclopedia of South American Aquatic Insects: Trichoptera -Encyclopedia of South American Aquatic Insects: Lepidoptera -Encyclopedia of South American Aquatic Insects: Coleoptera -Encyclopedia of South American Aquatic Insects: Diptera -Encyclopedia of South American Aquatic Insects: Hymenoptera

The book has general biological significance due to usage of the new non-ranking nomenclature and the rational layout of taxonomic text, which can be qualified as post-Linnaean systematics. While after the works by Lameere and Hennig, non-ranking classifications became widely used, this book represents the first experience of consistently non-ranking classification, including taxa of low taxonomic level (i.e. taxa traditionally regarded as genera, families et al.). In contrast to other recent attempts to elaborate a non-ranking nomenclature not contradictory to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, this one appears to be successful and can be applied to any zoological taxa (although its application in botany could be possible only after further elaboration). Biology is currently going through a crisis, which causes some investigators to use such non-scientific methods of reconstructing phylogeny as parsimony analysis. The author believes that the new method of phylogeny description and reconstruction used in this book will help indicate a way out of this crisis.