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A Checklist of the Beetles of Cuba with Data on Distributions and ...

A Checklist of the Beetles of Cuba with Data on Distributions and ...

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Figure 1. Outline map <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>Cuba</str<strong>on</strong>g>, showing present provinces.<br />

A fundamental part <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> patrim<strong>on</strong>y or natural<br />

heritage <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> every nati<strong>on</strong> is <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> diversity <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> its<br />

biological species. <str<strong>on</strong>g>Cuba</str<strong>on</strong>g> is a tropical isl<strong>and</strong> nati<strong>on</strong><br />

which is excepti<strong>on</strong>ally well endowed <str<strong>on</strong>g>with</str<strong>on</strong>g> a rich<br />

array <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> plant <strong>and</strong> animal species in both marine<br />

<strong>and</strong> terrestrial envir<strong>on</strong>ments. However, this isl<strong>and</strong><br />

<str<strong>on</strong>g>with</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> richest known biota in <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> West Indies<br />

remains little known by most entomologists, biologists,<br />

<strong>and</strong> c<strong>on</strong>servati<strong>on</strong>ists outside <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>Cuba</str<strong>on</strong>g>.<br />

The Republic <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>Cuba</str<strong>on</strong>g> includes more than 1,600<br />

isl<strong>and</strong>s <strong>and</strong> covers an area <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> 110,922 km 2 . <str<strong>on</strong>g>Cuba</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />

harbours <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> greatest species diversity <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> West<br />

Indies (Woods 1989), <str<strong>on</strong>g>with</str<strong>on</strong>g> more than 6,000 species<br />

<str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> plants, 552 species <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> terrestrial vertebrates, 778<br />

species <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> fish, probably more than 15,000 species<br />

<str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> insects, <strong>and</strong> an additi<strong>on</strong>al large number <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> myriapods,<br />

terrestrial crustaceans, l<strong>and</strong> snails, <strong>and</strong><br />

arachnids.<br />

Genaro <strong>and</strong> Tejuca (1999) provide a count <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />

8,312 species <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> insects in <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> 29 insect orders now<br />

known in <str<strong>on</strong>g>Cuba</str<strong>on</strong>g>, <strong>and</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>y provide an introducti<strong>on</strong><br />

to a review <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>Cuba</str<strong>on</strong>g>n insects in general. <str<strong>on</strong>g>Cuba</str<strong>on</strong>g> also<br />

has <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> highest amount <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> West Indian endemism<br />

(species unique to <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> country); more than 32% <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />

its vertebrates (approximately 90% <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> amphibians<br />

<strong>and</strong> 85% <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> reptiles), <strong>and</strong> 50% <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> its flowering<br />

plants naturally occur <strong>on</strong>ly <strong>on</strong> this isl<strong>and</strong>. And<br />

many <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> endemics are limited to <strong>on</strong>ly parts <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />

<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> isl<strong>and</strong>. Of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> some 6,000 species <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> flowering<br />

plants, 1,575 occur <strong>on</strong>ly in eastern <str<strong>on</strong>g>Cuba</str<strong>on</strong>g> (López<br />

Almirall 1998). Vales et al. (1998) estimate that<br />

some 30% <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>Cuba</str<strong>on</strong>g>’s insects are endemic.<br />

A <str<strong>on</strong>g>Checklist</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>Beetles</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>Cuba</str<strong>on</strong>g> 1<br />

Introducti<strong>on</strong><br />

Many groups, such as vascular plants <strong>and</strong> birds<br />

are now well known in <str<strong>on</strong>g>Cuba</str<strong>on</strong>g>. Less well known are<br />

<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> invertebrate animals, especially <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> insects. Of<br />

course <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>re are excepti<strong>on</strong>s to this. Some insects<br />

have received much study <strong>and</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>ir species <strong>and</strong><br />

distributi<strong>on</strong>s are well known. Two such examples<br />

are <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> butterflies (Alayo <strong>and</strong> Hern<strong>and</strong>ez 1987) <strong>and</strong><br />

<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> plant-feeding aphids (Holman 1974) <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>Cuba</str<strong>on</strong>g>.<br />

Reviews <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> various groups <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> terrestrial invertebrates<br />

are in <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> newsletter ”Cocuyo”, published<br />

since 1994 by <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> Nati<strong>on</strong>al Museum <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> Natural<br />

History, Havana, <str<strong>on</strong>g>Cuba</str<strong>on</strong>g>.<br />

It is estimated that <str<strong>on</strong>g>Cuba</str<strong>on</strong>g> was about 60% covered<br />

by various kinds <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> forest formati<strong>on</strong>s at <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />

time <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> its discovery by Columbus in 1492. Four<br />

hundred years <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> Spanish col<strong>on</strong>ial occupati<strong>on</strong> did<br />

not much change this. In <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> late 1800’s forests<br />

still covered an estimated 56% <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> isl<strong>and</strong> (Smith<br />

1954). With <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> independence <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>Cuba</str<strong>on</strong>g> from Spain<br />

in 1898, <strong>and</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> creati<strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> a preferential tariff for<br />

<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> importati<strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> sugar into <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> USA, <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> rate <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />

clearing <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> native forest cover was greatly accelerated.<br />

By 1959 more than 4.4 milli<strong>on</strong> ha (hectares)<br />

<str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> forests had been destroyed or greatly altered <strong>and</strong><br />

forested areas had been reduced to <strong>on</strong>ly 14% <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>Cuba</str<strong>on</strong>g>’s<br />

l<strong>and</strong> area. The deforestati<strong>on</strong> process has now been<br />

reversed, <strong>and</strong> natural <strong>and</strong> plantati<strong>on</strong> forest cover<br />

has increased to approximately 18% <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> l<strong>and</strong> area.<br />

The Food <strong>and</strong> Agriculture Organizati<strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />

United Nati<strong>on</strong>s identifies <str<strong>on</strong>g>Cuba</str<strong>on</strong>g> as now having <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />

lowest annual deforestati<strong>on</strong> rate (0.1%) in Latin<br />

America.

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