Oh my goodness! Unless you are a Tree of Life developer, you really shouldn't be here. This page is part of our beta test site, where we develop new features for the ToL, often messing up a thing or two in the process. Please visit the official version of this page, which is available here.
Note

Dr. Henry S. Dybas

W. Eugene Hall

Henry S. Dybas ( 1915-1981) is considered to be the most influential worker of Ptiliidae in the 20th-century, through advancing our understanding of featherwing beetle systematics and biology. Besides describing numerous new genera and species, Dybas initially brought to the forefront of ptiliid biology concepts of featherwing beetle reproduction and polymorphism, as well as evolutionary implications of being a 'small' organism. Dybas was a dedicated member of the Field Museum of Natural History, Division of Insects, and during his association with the museum amassed the largest ptiliid collection in the world, containing over 1 million specimens from practically every geographic region around the world. Dybas was also a leading authority on cicada (Hemiptera: Homoptera) ecology.

A quick review of Dybas' publications shows his range of interests when it came to studying Ptiliidae. This body of work includes: descriptions of new genera and species of Nanosellinae; a 'blind' genus of Ptiliidae occurring in South Africa caves; a fossil ptiliid found in Baltic amber; Bolivian ptiliids occurring in termite nests; presence of parthenogenetic reproduction within certain genera of Ptiliidae; possible evolutionary relationships of Ptiliidae and other members of the Staphylinoidea based on larval characters; occurrence of polymorphism within pterycines; co-evolution of spermatheca design and sperm morphology.

For an in-depth and personable biography on Henry Dybas, written by long-time colleague Rupert Wenzel, see 'Henry Dybas: A Eulogy . Field Museum of Natural History Bulletin, March 1987, pp. 22-25. '

About This Page


University of Arizona

Page: Tree of Life Dr. Henry S. Dybas Authored by W. Eugene Hall. The TEXT of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License - Version 3.0. Note that images and other media featured on this page are each governed by their own license, and they may or may not be available for reuse. Click on an image or a media link to access the media data window, which provides the relevant licensing information. For the general terms and conditions of ToL material reuse and redistribution, please see the Tree of Life Copyright Policies.

close box

This page is a note that is attached to a branch of the Tree of Life.

ToL notes provide brief accounts of characteristics, short summaries, commentaries, media files, taxonomic information, or identification tools for a given group of organisms.

For a more detailed explanation of the different ToL page types, have a look at the Structure of the Tree of Life page.

close box

Ptiliidae

Page Content

articles & notes

Treehouses

collections

people

Explore Other Groups

random page

  go to the Tree of Life home page
top