ALL-CERAM-JPN: a barcoding project on the longicorn beetles of Japan
In Japan, longicorn beetles belonging to the families Cerambycidae and Disteniidae (Insecta: Coleoptera) are one of the most advanced groups in terms of alpha taxonomy, mainly due to their importance in forestry and agriculture. However, some Japanese species are very difficult to identify by using morphological characters.
Under the leadership of the Japanese Barcode of Life Initiative and Ehime University, we started a project to make a DNA barcode inventory of 946 species-group taxa of longicorn beetles known to occur in Japan in order to facilitate further studies and species identification based on molecular data.
As the first step in development of the project, we are constructing a comprehensive collection of 99.5% ethanol preserved specimens in cooperation with many professional and amateur researchers and determining DNA barcode of them.
Contact information
Hiraku Yoshitake
Natural Resources Inventory Center,
National Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences
E-mail: zoumushi [at] niaes.affrc.go.jp
