Leandro Lourenço Dumas, Jorge Luiz Nessimian
Journal of Insect Science 12 (25), 1-40, (15 February 2012) https://doi.org/10.1673/031.012.2501
KEYWORDS: Antarctoecia, Atlantic forest, biogeography, Neoatriplectides, Neotropics
The Atlantic Forest is considered one of the world's biological diversity hotspots, and is increasingly threatened by the rapid destruction and fragmentation of its natural areas. The caddisflies (Trichoptera) of Itatiaia massif, an Atlantic Forest highland area, are inventoried and cataloged here. The catalog is based on examination of bibliographies, field work on many localities of Itatiaia massif (including Parque Nacional do Itatiaia — PNI), and the entomological collection Professor José Alfredo Pinheiro Dutra (DZRJ), Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. A total of 92 species are recorded, representing about 17% of the known Brazilian Trichoptera fauna. Leptoceridae, Hydropsychidae, and Philopotamidae are the families most represented. The high species richness, as well as the remarkable patterns of species distribution, may be related to the characteristics of Mantiqueira mountain range.