84 search hits
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'Europe' and 'The Islamic World' : Perceptions and Stereotypes
(2007)
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Michael Dusche
- Pope Benedict XVI’s Regensburg lecture has been exposed by some learned voices of 'the Muslim world' as alluding, by the means of one particular quotation, to age-old stereotypes about Islam being an essentially violent creed in which moderation through reason has no legitimate place, and of representing Muhammadas an evil and inhuman man who preached that Islam should be spread by the sword. While none of these presumably 'Muslim' voices deny that the Pope has the right to express his opinions, even when they are plainly wrong in the face of historic facts that show how Islam and Christianity were spread (or were made to spread) across the world, he is criticised for a host of omissions in terms of intellectual honesty and factual accuracy. These omissions, it is argued here, cast an unfortunate light on the compatibility of scientific and religious rationality much advocated by the Pope in his 12 September 2006 lecture. This flagrant 'performative contradiction' (Habermas) leaves room for speculation about the true aim of the speech. Is Benedict XVI's appeal to theology as a legitimate academic discipline a credible attempt to explicate Roman Catholicism's rightful place in a modern world governed by liberal democracy and ethical-political pluralism, or is it a reflection of a move to restore the age-old, intolerant, anti-scientific, and anti-democratic legacy of the pre-Vatican II Catholic Church?
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A new genus and species of armored scale insect (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) from Australia found in the historic Koebele Collection of the California Academy of Sciences
(2012)
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John W. Dooley III
Gregory A. Evans
- A new genus and species of armored scale insect (Hemiptera: Diaspididae), Protomorgania koebelei
Dooley and Evans, is described and illustrated from specimens collected by Albert Koebele on Pittosporum sp.
(Pittosporaceae) in Australia around the year 1900. A key to the genera of armored scale insects similar to Protomorgania
and known to occur in Australia is provided.
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A new species of Chrysina Kirby (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Rutelinae) from Oaxaca, Mexico
(2012)
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José Monzón Sierra
- Chrysina arellanoi new species (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Rutelinae) is described from the southernmost
part of the Sierra Madre del Sur in Oaxaca, Mexico
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A new species of Stenorrhachus McLachlan from Chile (Neuroptera: Nemopteridae) with biological notes
(2012)
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Robert B. Miller
Lionel A. Stange
- A new species of Stenorrhachus (McLachlan), S. chilensis (Neuroptera: Nemopteridae), is described from
Chile with biological observations of Stenorrhachus walkeri (McLachlan). A key to the two species is provided as well
as diagnoses of the adults and of the larva of Stenorrhachus walkeri.
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A new species of Villiersicometes Santos-Silva, 2003 (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Disteniinae)
(2012)
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Gérard L. Tavakilian
Antonio Santos-Silva
- Villiersicometes absalom sp. nov., a new species of Villiersicometes Santos-Silva, 2003 (Coleoptera,
Cerambycidae, Disteniinae) is described from French Guiana. The species is illustrated and a key to the species of the
genus is provided.
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A new U.S. and Florida record for Caccoleptus (Bicaccoleptus) kacka Háva, 2009 (Coleoptera: Dermestidae)
(2012)
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Jiří Háva
Michael C. Thomas
- Caccoleptus (Bicaccoleptus) kacka Háva, 2009 is newly recorded from the U.S. and Florida. The female
of this species is here described from Florida specimens.
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A preliminary report on the World species of Bemisia Quaintance and Baker and its congeners (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) with a comparative analysis of morphological variation and its role in the recognition of species
(2012)
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Raymond Gill
- Extreme economic effects globally of various populations of the whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius)
(Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) led to an in depth study of the morphology of that species as well as that of
numerous other species of whiteflies in the genus Bemisia Quaintance and Baker and other similar appearing
species. The data collected are presented here as illustrations of the puparia (fourth instar nymphal stages)
and discussions of morphology as it relates to species and generic separations within this closely knit group
of insects. A brief history of the pest outbreaks of B. tabaci is given and an overview of the important
morphological characteristics of aleyrodine whiteflies is provided. Each of the eighty illustrations is
accompanied by a discussion of the more important aspects of morphology.
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A summary of the endemic beetle genera of the West Indies (Insecta: Coleoptera); bioindicators of the evolutionary richness of this Neotropical archipelago
(2012)
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Stewart B. Peck
Daniel E. Perez-Gelabert
- The Caribbean Islands (or the West Indies) are recognized as one of the leading global biodiversity hot
spots. This is based on data on species, genus, and family diversity for vascular plants and non-marine vertebrates. This
paper presents data on genus level endemicity for the most speciose (but less well publicised) group of terrestrial
animals: the beetles, with 205 genera (in 25 families) now recognized as being endemic (restricted) to the West Indies.
The predominant families with endemic genera are Cerambycidae (41), Chrysomelidae (28), Curculionidae (26), and
Staphylinidae (25). This high level of beetle generic endemicity can be extrapolated to suggest that a total of about
700 genera of all insects could be endemic to the West Indies. This far surpasses the total of 269 endemic genera of all
plants and non-marine vertebrates, and reinforces the biodiversity richness of the insect fauna of the West Indies.
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A taxonomic review of the ancora species group of Graphipterus Latreille (Coleoptera: Carabidae)
(2012)
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Jonathan R. Mawdsley
- The taxonomy of the ancora species group of Graphipterus Latreille (Coleoptera: Carabidae) is reviewed
and seven species are recognized, all from southern Africa: Graphipterus ancora Dejean, Graphipterus cordiger
Dejean, Graphipterus distinctus Péringuey (new status), Graphipterus fasciatus Chaudoir, Graphipterus fritschi
Chaudoir, Graphipterus wahlbergi Boheman (new status), and Graphipterus westwoodi Brême (new status).
Diagnostic features are provided for each species and adult specimens of each species are illustrated.
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A third locality for the milliped Mitocybe auriportae Cook and Loomis, 1928 (Platydesmida: Andrognathidae)
(2012)
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Rowland M. Shelley
- With the discovery of Mitocybe auriportae Cook and Loomis, 1928 (Platydesmida: Andrognathidae) in
Alameda County (Co.), east of San Francisco Bay, a potential overall distribution in coastal California is projected based
on those of partly congruent diplopods. The area extends from northern Mendocino to central Monterey cos. and inland
to central Lake, Yolo, and Santa Clara cos.
