11 January, 2019
At the end of last year the first two volumes of the Manual of Afrotropical Diptera were published. The book is a compendium of our knowledge of flies from the largest biogeographical and most diverse region, sub-Saharan Africa. Volume 1 contains 11 introductory chapters dealing with collection, preservation, morphology, natural history, phylogeny, biogeography and conservation of Afrotropical Diptera, as well as their agricultural, medical and forensic significance.
Volume two has chapters describing 43 familias of Lower Diptera (nematocerus and lower brachycerous flies), and includes three chapters co-authored by Vladimir Blagoderov, Principal Curator of Invertebrates at National Museums Scotland. Each chapter provides diagnosis of the family, details of biology and immature stages, classification and identification keys to the genera, and synopsis of the Afrotropical fauna. Both volumes include more than 3,500 illustrations, almost half of them are photographs of real specimens, so it will be very easy to use for both experts and anybody interested in flies.
