Avaliação do risco de extinção das espécies de rola-bostas (Coleoptera : Scarabaeinae) da Venezuela

Abstract

The general purpose of my research was to assess the risk of extinction of dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeinae) occurring in Venezuela. For which, previously i) an updated catalog and distribution of the Scarabaeinae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) for Venezuela was presented and ii) the risk of extinction of the species occurring in Venezuela was evaluated, based on the existing knowledge of their geographic distribution following the IUCN criteria. I used the data available in the literature, in the Entomology Sector of the Zoological Collection of the Federal University of Mato Grosso (CEMT, Brazil) and in the Museo del Instituto de Zoología Agrícola "Francisco Fernández Yépez" (MIZA, Venezuela), in the particular case of Pseudocanthon perplexus, data available at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF - https://www.gbif.org) were used. I assessmed the extinction risk based on Criterion B and D2 using the Computation of Parameters Used in Preliminary Assessment of Conservation Status “ConR” package, “IUCN.eval” function for global and regional 2km². I was presented one catalog with 32 genera, 149 species, of which 24 are endemic species and 36 species with distribution neighboring Venezuela with Colombia, Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago, and Guyana. Subsequently, 118 species were evaluated based on their geographic distribution (97 species based on Criterion B and 21 species on Criterion D2), with 35 species classified as threatened (CR, EN and VU). Faced with the challenges of generating knowledge and filling Lineana, Wallacean and Ostroniamo gaps, tools such as species catalogs are the key and the basis for the assessment and planning process for biodiversity conservation. On the other hand, the assessment of the conservation status of the species is a rigorous and extensive process, which must include several axes such as natural history, biology, ecology and even the global distribution of the species, even if the assessment is focused on the regional level.