Ábrahám Levente (szerk.): Válogatott tanulmányok III. - Natura Somogyiensis 12. (Kaposvár, 2008)

Ábrahám Levente: Ascalaphid Studies VII. On the ascalaphid fauna of Taiwan (Neuroptera: Ascalaphidae)

Natura Somogyiensis 12 63-77 Kaposvár, 2008 Ascalaphid Studies VIL On the ascalaphid fauna of Taiwan (Neuroptera: Ascalaphidae) LEVENTE ÁBRAHÁM Somogy County Museum, Natural History Department, H-7400 Kaposvár, RO. Box 70, Hungary, e-mail: labraham@smmi.hu ÁBRAHÁM, L.: Ascalaphid Studies VII. On the ascalaphid fauna of Taiwan (Neuroptera: Ascalaphidae). Abstract: Ascalaphid fauna of Formosa is presented and as a result of species revision, four new synonym names are established. Glyptobasis brunnea Esben-Petersen, 1913 syn n. is junior synonym of Ascalohybris subjacens (Walker, 1853), Ascalohybris kolthoffi (Navás, 1927) (original combination Hybris kolthoffi Navás, 1927) syn n. is junior synonym of Acheron trux (Walker, 1853), Suhpalacsa longialata Yang, 1992 syn n. is junior synonym of Maezous umbrosa (Esben-Petersen, 1913) comb, n., and Suphalomitus lutemaculatus Yang, 1992 syn n. is junior synonym of Suphalomitus formosanus Esben-Petersen, 1913. Maezous formosana (Okamoto, 1910) comb. n. is a new combination. Checklist, faunistical data of the studied material, distribution and their flight period are given. Keywords: Ascalaphidae, new synonym, faunistics, ownfly, Taiwan, Introduction The area of Taiwan is 35.800 km

2 lying on the Southeast Asiatic continental shelf (Sunda shelf), formed in the subduction zone of the Eurasian continental and the Philippines oceanic plate. The island is separated from mainland China by the 130 km wide Taiwan Strait. In geological aspect, Taiwan is approximately a 5 million years old, relatively young island. Earlier, it was connected to the Chinese coastal region. Others assume, that it was also connected to the Philippines either (ANDERSON 2001). Two-third of its territory is mountainous area, with 1000 m altitude in average. Its highest point is the Yu Shan peak, 3952 m, this is the highest islander altitude in Earth. Taiwan belongs to the tropical zone. Its oceanic and subtropical climate is characterized by monsoon. The monthly average temperature is above 18 °C in all 12 months of the year, and the amount of the annual rainfall is 2500 mm. Taiwan, and the surrounding smaller islands, was discovered by European travelers in the early 16

th century. They named it "llha Formosa" that means "Beautiful Island". This refers to the all year green of this area. The proportion of forests is still high even nowadays (58%): the higher areas have coniferous forests, while downwards the deciduous or evergreen broad-leaved forests dominate. As a result of the palaeogeographic history of the island and its various geological forms, the fauna is exceptionally rich with high number of endemic species. The