Open Access

Biodiversity continues to decline in the face of increasing anthropogenic pressures such as habitat destruction, exploitation, pollution and introduction of alien species. Existing global databases of species’ threat status or population time series are dominated by charismatic species. The collation of datasets with broad taxonomic and biogeographic extents, and that support computation of a range of biodiversity indicators, is necessary to enable better understanding of historical declines and to project – and avert – future declines. We describe and assess a new database of more than 1.6 million samples from 78 countries representing over 28,000 species, collated from existing spatial comparisons of local-scale biodiversity exposed to different intensities and types of anthropogenic pressures, from terrestrial sites around the world. The database contains measurements taken in 208 (of 814) ecoregions, 13 (of 14) biomes, 25 (of 35) biodiversity hotspots and 16 (of 17) megadiverse countries. The database contains more than 1% of the total number of all species described, and more than 1% of the described species within many taxonomic groups – including flowering plants, gymnosperms, birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, beetles, lepidopterans and hymenopterans. The dataset, which is still being added to, is therefore already considerably larger and more representative than those used by previous quantitative models of biodiversity trends and responses. The database is being assembled as part of the PREDICTS project (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems – www.predicts.org.uk). We make site-level summary data available alongside this article. The full database will be publicly available in 2015.

A revision of the genus Acyphoderes Audinet-Serville, 1833 (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), with a brief synopsis of the genus Bromiades Thomson, 1864, is presented. Acyphoderes to comprise eight South American species, Acyphoderes aurulenta (Kirby, 1818), A. abdominalis (Olivier, 1795), A. auricapilla Fisher, 1947, A. crinita (Klug, 1825), A. hirtipes (Klug, 1825), A. rubrohirsutotibialis Tippmann, 1953, A. carinicollis Bates, 1873 and A. amboroensis Clarke 2013; and Acyphoderes is divided into three informal species groups. A new genus, Ameriphoderes, is proposed for eleven Mexican and Central American species, Ameriphoderes acutipennis (Thomson, 1860), A. amoena (Chemsak and Linsley, 1979), A. ayalai (Chemsak and Linsley, 1988), A. bayanicus (Giesbert, 1991), A. cribricollis (Bates, 1892), A. magna (Giesbert, 1991), A. parva (Chemsak and Linsley, 1979), A. prolixa (Chemsak and Linsley, 1979), A. suavis (Bates, 1885), A. velutina (Bates, 1885) and A. yucateca (Bates, 1892); and Ameriphoderes is divided into two informal species groups. Acyphoderes delicata Horn, 1894 is placed in its own genus, Amerispheca. Other new genera are proposed for the following; Acyderophes for Acyphoderes fulgida Chemsak and Linsley, 1979; Brachyphoderes for Acyphoderes dehiscens Chemsak, 1997 and A. longicollis Chemsak and Noguera, 1993; Acutiphoderes for Acyphoderes odyneroides White, 1855; and Anomaloderes for Acyphoderes itaiuba Martins and Galileo, 2004. Acyphoderes sexualis Bates, 1885 and Sphecomorpha forficulifera (Gounelle, 1913) are moved to the new genus Forficuladeres. Acyphoderes synoecae Chemsak and Noguera, 1997 from Mexico is treated as a junior synonym of Sphecomorpha vespiventris (Bates, 1880) from Guatemala. Acyphoderes cracentis Chemsak and Noguera, 1997 from Mexico, and Acyphoderes violaceus Bezark, Santos-Silva and Martins, 2012 from Costa Rica are placed in the new genus Odontogracilis, together with two species, Odontocera exilis Fisher, 1947 from Mesoamerica and Odontocera gracilis (Klug, 1825) from Brazil. Identification keys are provided for the genera, species groups (and the species in each one). All species are illustrated (both male and female when available). Plates illustrating the following are also provided; types of abdomen, hind leg, and aedeagus (tegmen and median lobe). Host-flower records are provided for many species.

Klugiatragus gen. nov. is described for Epimelitta laticornis (Klug, 1825) because this species has closed procoxal cavities, a crucial diagnostic incompatible with Epimelitta Bates, 1870, which has open procoxal cavities. Both sexes of this species are illustrated.

New Bolivian Rhinotragini (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Cerambycinae) are described: three species of Phygopoda Thomson, 1864 (P. longiscopifera sp. nov., P. boliviensis sp. nov. and P. chaquensis sp. nov.); and one species of Phygopoides Peñaherrera-Leiva and Tavakilian, 2007 (P. maxwelli sp. nov.). Two Brazilian species of Neophygopoda Melzer, 1933 are transferred to the genus Phygopoda: P. exilis (Melzer, 1933) comb. nov. and P. agdae (Martins, Galileo and Santos-Silva, 2015) comb. nov. All the species are illustrated, and a key to the Bolivian species of Phygopoda and host flower records are provided.