Revision of the Neotropical Obscure Genus Ebenia Macquart 1846 (Diptera, Tachinidae, Dufouriini).

The Neotropical genus Ebenia Macquart, 1846, is a member of the tribe Dufouriini (Dexiinae), and before the current work, comprised four species, viz. E. claripennis Macquart 1846, E.

Revision of the Brazilian species of Ptilodexia Brauer & Bergenstamm, 1889 (Diptera: Tachinidae: Dexiinae), with the description of a new species.

The Brazilian species of the New World genus Ptilodexia Brauer & Bergenstamm, 1889 are revised. Before this study, only one species of Ptilodexia was recorded from Brazil, viz. P.

Partial revision of the exclusively Neotropical species of Zelia Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830 (Tachinidae: Dexiinae: Dexiini), with the description of a new species.

Zelia Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830 is a genus of Dexiini distributed throughout the New World, with most of its species in the Neotropical Region. This revision deals with the exclusively Neotropical species of Zelia, with the exception of the recently revised Zelia discalis group. The following new synonyms of Zelia are proposed in the present study: Diaugia Perty, 1833, syn.

On the nature of evolutionary explanations: a critical appraisal of Walter Bock's approach with a new revised proposal.

Walter Bock was committed to developing a framework for evolutionary biology. Bock repeatedly discussed how evolutionary explanations should be considered within the realm of Hempel's deductive-nomological model of scientific explanations. Explanation in evolution would then consist of functional and evolutionary explanations, and within the latter, an explanation can be of nomological-deductive and historical narrative explanations.

Vertical stratification of insect abundance and species richness in an Amazonian tropical forest.

Tropical forests are among the most biodiverse biomes on the planet. Nevertheless, quantifying the abundance and species richness within megadiverse groups is a significant challenge. We designed a study to address this challenge by documenting the variability of the insect fauna across a vertical canopy gradient in a Central Amazonian tropical forest.

The Neotropical genus Eudexia Brauer amp; Bergenstamm, 1889 (Tachinidae: Dexiinae: Dexiini): lectotype fixation for the type species, synonymy, and a new species from Brazil.

Eudexia Brauer Bergenstamm, 1889, a Dexiini genus restricted to the Neotropical Region, is revised with proposal of the following new synonymies: Chaetocalirrhoe Townsend, 1935 = Eudexia, syn. nov. and Cordillerodexia Townsend, 1927 = Eudexia, syn.

Taxonomic update of the Neotropical genus Cryptocladocera Bezzi, 1923 (Diptera: Tachinidae), with remarks on tachinids with fissicorn antennae.

Cryptocladocera Bezzi, 1923 is a Neotropical genus of Tachinidae with remarkable multifissicorn antennae, previously composed of four species. A new species from Brazil, Cryptocladocera arnaudi Santis Alvarez-Garcia sp. nov.

A new synonym for Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830 (Diptera, Tachinidae), the genus Opsozelia Townsend, 1919, with the description of three new species.

The monotypic tachinid genus Townsend, 1919 (Diptera: Tachinidae) is synonymized with Robineau-Desvoidy 1830, . The single species of , Townsend, 1919, is redescribed as , , based on examination of the holotype from Guyana and additional material from Suriname, Brazil and Paraguay. Three new species of similar to are described from Brazil: , and .

A new genus and species of Sophiini Townsend, 1936 (Diptera: Tachinidae) from Brazil, with an updated key to the genera of the tribe.

Sophiini is a New World tribe of Tachinidae composed, prior to this study, of 19 species in eight genera. Cryptosophia aurulenta gen. and sp.