Inventory of the Cassidinae species (Insecta, Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae) of the Parque Nacional do Itatiaia, RJ, Brazil

Abstract

A survey of the Cassidinae species recorded to the Parque Nacional do Itatiaia, state of Rio de Janeiro, is presented. The Parque Nacional do Itatiaia (PNI), is situated in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and is one of the most important Mata Atlântica Conservation Unit. Little is known about the species of Coleoptera from this park. Two surveys concerning Cassidinae fauna of Rio de Janeiro were previously done, totaling 80 species recorded to PNI. The main goal of this study is to update the checklist of species as well as to provide an identification key of Cassidinae tribes that occur at the PNI. We examined specimens from the collection of Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro and Fundação Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. In addition, samples were done from september, 2007 to january, 2010.This study resulted in 88 species distributed in 29 genera and seven tribes. Nineteen species have now new records of distribution, eight of them for the state of Rio de Janeiro, Parque Nacional do Itatiaia.