Checklist and updated distribution of Protoneuridae from Brazil

Abstract

Protoneuridae are represented in the neotropics by 16 genera and 117 species, of which 64 species in 12 genera are known to occur in Brazil. Most of them are known only from the original descriptions or isolated records. During 2009 the Protoneuridae collection of MNRJ was revised; 2800 specimens were studied, belonging to 40 species in nine genera. As a result, the distribution of 25 species is extended, including 50 new records for several states and three new records for the country: Epipleoneura lamina Williamson, Protoneura woytkowskii Gloyd, and Psaironeura remissa (Calvert). The widest distributions are shown by Neoneura sylvatica Hagen in Selys, Epipleoneura venezuelensis Rácenis, and Epipleoneura metallica Rácenis, which are also recorded from the highest number of states: 11 and eight respectively.Additionally, the distribution of most species within previously recorded states is extended.