Checklist de tabanidae (diptera) do centro de pesquisas canguçu, pium, tocantins

Abstract

Biological collections are repositories of a locality's biodiversity, providing essential databases for teaching, scientific and technological development and for national security. The entomological collections are deposits of the diversity of the insect fauna, serving as the basis for much research related to the group. Insects (Arthropoda: Insecta) constitute the largest animal grouping on the planet with about one million described species, in Brazil almost 90 thousand species distributed in 30 orders were recorded. Diptera (flies and mosquitoes) are among the four megadiverse orders of holometabolic insects and among them it is one of the best studied. The Tabanidae family is represented by diptera popularly known as horseflies, botucas, tavão, among other names. When compared to knowledge about other insects, tabanids can be considered a well-studied group in Brazil, however little is known about the fauna of Tabanidae do Tocantins, and until then, only 41 species had been registered for the state, a number not significant, as 488 species are recorded for the country. Thus, the Centro de Pesquisas Canguçu Tabanidae Checklist aimed to increase knowledge about the state's tabanidae by identifying the specimens collected over the last decade in an important transition area between the Cerrado and Amazon domains. To this end, the specimens deposited in the UFT Entomology Collection (CEUFT) were individually analyzed in an optical stereomicroscope in order to determine their respective species, these were photographed and each one received a brief diagnosis. We counted 302 specimens, distributed in three subfamilies (Pangoniinae, Chrysopsinae and Tabaninae), four tribes (Scionini, Chrysopsini, Diachlorini and Tabanini), 12 genera, 29 species and two varieties. Only eight species and the two varieties had been previously registered for Tocantins, totaling 21 new records for the state. With this, we updated the Tabanidae records for Tocantins, 62 species are now known.