| Abstrakt: |
Abstract: The morphological characters used in an interactive identification key to the world speciesgroups of Leucospis Fabricius, 1775 were analyzed phylogenetically to evaluate both the monophyly and relationships of the species-groups of Leucospis. There was considerable homoplasy in the diagnositic characters and the majority of the species-groups are only weakly supported by the cladistic analysis. An interactive identification key was used to diagnose the species-groups in each of the world’s major biogeographic regions. Based on these diagnoses and the results of the cladistic analysis, a modification to Bouček’s (1974) system of species-groups is proposed: subdividing the Leucospis pediculata species-group into two putatively monophyletic species-groups, the L. pediculata species-group (revised composition) and the L. micrura species-group. The use of informal species-groups, as advocated by Bouček, as opposed to poorly substantiated genera or subgenera, is a pragmatic approach to infra-generic classification. New initiatives in taxonomy for the twenty-first century are discussed and the suggestion is made to have Bouček’s (1974) revision be the new starting point for the taxonomy of the Leucospidae. |
