Data from: Madagascar Flatidae (Hemiptera, Fulgoromorpha): state-of-the-art and research challenges

The paper provides a historical review of the research on Flatidae in Madagascar and indicates future prospects. While the first two species of Madagascar Flatidae were described by Guérin-Méneville (1844), it was Signoret (1860) who made the first real attempt to enhance our knowledge of the Hemiptera fauna of Madagascar by describing several additional species. Over the following century and a half, several investigators have turned their attention to this group of insects, with the final number of species recorded for the island reaching 76. Despite this long history of research , it is evident that much still remains to be done. Detailed taxonomic research will allow the natural history of Madgascar and changes in the biological diversity of its endemic ecosystems to be better understood. This paper should be considered as an introduction to a complex study on the systematics and phylogeny of worldwide Flatidae planthoppers.

本论文对马达加斯加地区扁蠟蝉科（Flatidae）的研究历史进行了系统性回顾，并展望了未来研究方向。尽管盖吕-梅讷维尔（Guérin-Méneville, 1844）已描述了马达加斯加扁蠟蝉科的首批两个物种，但真正首次切实拓展我们对马达加斯加半翅目（Hemiptera）动物区系认知的是西尼奥雷（Signoret, 1860），他记述了多个新增物种。在随后的一个半世纪中，多位研究者将目光投向这一类昆虫，最终该岛记录的扁蠟蝉科物种数量达到76种。尽管该领域已有漫长的研究历程，但显然仍有大量工作亟待开展。深入的分类学研究将有助于我们更好地理解马达加斯加的自然历史，以及其特有生态系统的生物多样性变化。本论文可视为针对全球扁蠟蝉科蜡蝉的分类学与系统发育学展开的综合性研究的开篇导论。