This study focused on Mantispidae species (Neuroptera) from Tocantins state in Brazil. Herein we provide nine new records to this state, increasing the total number of mantidflies from Tocantins to 12. New records are as following: Anchieta fumosella (Westwood, 1867); Dicromantispa moulti (Navás, 1909); Entanoneura batesella (Westwood, 1867); Haematomantispa sp.; Leptomantispa chaos Hoffman, 2002; Plega hagenella (Westwood, 1867); Trichoscelia varia (Walker, 1853); Zeugomantispa compellens (Walker, 1860); Z. virescens (Rambur, 1842). We also provide the first list of Mantispidae species from Tocantins, including general notes for each one, and identification key for these species.

The SISBIOTA-BRASIL was a three-year multimillion-dollar research program of the Brazilian government to document plants and animals in endangered/understudied areas and biomes in Brazil. Distributional patterns and the historical events that generated them are extensively unknown regarding Brazilian fauna and flora. This deficiency hinders the development of conservation policies and the understanding of evolutionary processes. Conservation decisions depend on precise knowledge of the taxonomy and geographic distribution of species. Given such a premise, we proposed to research the diversity of Diptera of the Brazilian western arc of Amazon, Cerrado, and Pantanal in the states of Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, and Rondônia. Three important biomes of the South American continent characterize these Brazilian states: Amazon forest, Cerrado (Brazilian Savannah), and Pantanal. Besides their ecological relevance, these biomes historically lack intensive entomological surveys. Therefore, they are much underrepresented in the Brazilian natural history collections and in the scientific literature, which is further aggravated by the fact that these areas are being exponentially and rapidly converted to commercial lands. Our project involved over 90 collaborators from 24 different Brazilian institutions and one from Colombia among researchers, postdocs, graduate and undergraduate students, and technicians. We processed and analyzed nearly 300,000 specimens from ~60 families of Diptera collected with a large variety of methods in the sampled areas. Here, we provide a detailed overview of the genera and species diversity of 41 families treated. Our results point to a total of 2,130 species and 514 genera compiled and identified for the three states altogether, with an increase of 41% and 29% in the numbers of species and genera known for the three states combined, respectively. Overall, the 10 most species-rich families were Tachinidae, Cecidomyiidae, Tabanidae, Psychodidae, Sarcophagidae, Stratiomyidae, Bombyliidae, Syrphidae, Tephritidae, and Asilidae. The 10 most diverse in the number of genera were Tachinidae, Stratiomyidae, Asilidae, Mycetophilidae, Syrphidae, Tabanidae, Muscidae, Dolichopodidae, Sarcophagidae, and Chloropidae. So far, 111 scientific papers were published regarding taxonomic, phylogenetic, and biogeographical aspects of the studied families, with the description of 101 new species and three new genera. We expect that additional publications will result from this investigation because several specimens are now curated and being researched by specialists.

The genus Chlorotabanus Lutz is revised herein based on examination of external morphology of type material and specimens from Brazilian and international institutions (total of 2,134 specimens, 201 males and 1,933 females). Eight currently valid species are recognized: C. crepuscularis (Bequaert, 1926); C. fairchildi Wilkerson, 1979; C. flagellatus Krolow & Henriques, 2009; C. inanis (Fabricius, 1787); C. leucochlorus Fairchild, 1961; C. mexicanus (Linnaeus, 1758); C. ochreus Philip & Fairchild, 1956; C. parviceps (Kröber, 1934). Three new species are described: C. falsiflagellatus n. sp. (Brazil, Amazonas), C. leuconotus n. sp. (Amazon region) and C. microceratus n. sp. (Brasil, Maranhão). Tabanus tetrapunctus Thunberg, 1827, previously synonymous with C. mexicanus, here is synonymous with C. crepuscularis (new synonymy). We provide diagnosis, descriptions, redescriptions, distribution records, illustrations and discussion for all species, as well as a dichotomous key for identification of females.

This paper documents the horse fly fauna collected in lowland rainforest in the southwesternmost part of French Guiana (Mitaraka). During this “Our Planet Revisited” survey nine tabanid species were recorded from French Guiana for the first time:Chrysops ecuadorensisLutz,C. incisusMacquart,Catachlorops amazonicusHenriques & Gorayeb,Chlorotabanus flagellatusKrolow & Henriques,Cryptoylus cauriStone,Phaeotabanus phaeopterusFairchild,Philipotabanus stigmaticalis(Kröber),Stypommisa captiroptera(Kröber) andTabanus amapaensisFairchild. An updated check list of Tabanidae of French Guiana is presented, including 79 species and one unidentifiedChrysops.