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Welcome to the Australian campaign of the Lepidoptera Barcode of Life.
The lepidopteran fauna of Australia includes some 10500 known species and a similar number are thought to await description. Many species found in northern Queensland also occur in Papua New Guinea, but the remainder of the fauna is largely endemic. Because taxonomic work has been intensive in the eastern half of Australia, its fauna provides a test for the effectiveness of DNA barcodes in the discrimination of known species. It additionally provides the chance to ascertain if DNA barcodes can reveal species overlooked by past taxonomic work and to examine if barcodes can resolve uncertain synonymies. By contrast, the fauna of the remainder of the continent is poorly known, allowing DNA barcoding to aid species discovery and description.
Researchers at three organizations are providing key support for this campaign. Marianne Horak and Ted Edwards at CSIRO’s Division of Entomology in Canberra are leading the taxonomic work, and the Australian National Insect Collection, that they oversee, will be the major repository for barcoded specimens. Andrew Mitchell of the Scientific Collections Unit of the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Michelle Glover of CSIRO Entomology are co-ordinating specimen collections, identifications and data interpretation. Finally, researchers at the Biodiversity Institute of Ontario are responsible for the acquisition, curation and analysis of barcode records. Other researchers are making important contributions to specimen collections and identifications, but as this campaign is just beginning, additional participation will be critical to progress.
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Barcode Coverage
