GUTIERREZ Esteban, Cuba
Abstract (taken from the origianl project proposal)
In order to complete the taxonomic revision of the American genus Eurycotis Stål (Blattaria: Blattidae: Polyzosteriinae), and an inventory of Neotropical cockroaches species, as outputs of a 3 years on-going project "Taxonomic study of some groups of the Caribbean biota, its exhibition and divulgation" of the Cuban Museum of Natural History, I require 60 days for studying specimens at the RBINS collections in Brussels. Collection studies in the United States of America have been developed in the past by myself, but 17 type specimens of European authors are deposited at different institutions and loans of type material are almost impossible from Cuba. Study of this old type material is essential to define the real taxonomic status of many of these types, as well as, of several possible new taxa, still undescribed, deposited in different collections. RBINS collection contains additional unstudied specimens which will yield much new distribution data and probably, undescribed species relevant to my studies. Exposure to these research collections will allow me a fuller perspective on the species and their systematic relationships, by allowing me to study a wide variety of species and groups from the Neotropics, material not available in the museum collections in Cuba.
Training location and duration: Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels; 21.I.2006 to 20.II.2004
Gained personal capacity: type material from various European museums was sent to Brussels for Dr GUTIERREZ to investigate. Dr. GUTIERREZ was also financed for a short (12-15.II.2006) reserach visit to the Geneva Museum of Natural History where he studied types that could not be sent to Brussels.
Gained institutional capacity: Through conferences, Dr. GUTTIEREZ passes his gained skills to his fellow researchers in the National Museum of Natural History in Havana.Read more in this paper
Remarks: in 2006, Dr GUTTIEREZ acted as assistant tutor in a GTI training course organized in Havana.
(Left). Dr GUTTIEREZ (second from right) flanked by GTI student T. SIMOTI and GTI tutor Y. Samyn; (right). Dr GUTTIEREZ teaching during a training course in Havana.
