Escarabajos Armadura: Entre éxito evolutivo y amenaza ecológica en la Macaronesia
-
Isabel R. Amorim [1] ; Pedro Oromí [2] ; Artur R. M. Serrano [4] ; Brent C. Emerson [3] ; Paulo A. V. Borges [1]
-
[1] Universidade dos Açores
Universidade dos Açores
Portugal
-
[2] Universidad de La Laguna
Universidad de La Laguna
San Cristóbal de La Laguna, España
-
[3] Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas
Madrid, España
-
[4] Universidad de Lisboa. Portugal
-
- Localización: El Indiferente: Centro de Educación Ambiental Municipal, ISSN-e 1885-5172, Nº. 22, 2016 (Ejemplar dedicado a: Edición especial 20 aniversario), págs. 194-205
- Idioma: español
- Títulos paralelos:
- Ironclad beetles: Between evolutionary success and ecological threat in Macaronesia
- Enlaces
-
Resumen
The islands of Macaronesia, like their famous counterparts in the Galapagos and Hawaiian archipelagos, are home to an array of species that are unique to the region, and often unique to a single island. One only needs to walk within the Macaronesian islands to easily observe the more obvious endemic plants, birds and reptiles of the region.
However, to see the majority of the even richer invertebrate diversity of these islands requires a more physical interaction with the environment, to see species which are less frequently observed in exposed or open areas. But for those who do not mind to get a bit of soil under their fingernails, hidden treasures such as the endemic and charismatic beetles from the genus Tarphius can be found.
Recent investigations of this typically forest dwelling group are helping us to understand how species diversity establishes over time, and the threats to this diversity due to past and ongoing many human induced pressures.
Tarphius are but one of many evolutionary and ecological success stories among the invertebrates of Macaronesia, and serve to demonstrate what we should be both proud and concerned for the region’s special biota.
