I study the beetle family Carabidae, commonly known as the predacious ground beetles. Being the fifth-largest family of the order Coleoptera, which consists of one-fourth of all species of organisms, carabids are a very speciose group. Apart from being quite a diverse group, they are rather fascinating. These insects typically live on the forest floor and eat other small ground-dwelling invertebrates. They have large mandibles and eyes, fast legs, keen predatory skills, and a voracious appetite.

The genus of beetle that I'm studying is Diplous. It has about 27 species with 23 interspersed throughout Asia and four in North America. The majority exists in the western portion of the Sichuan province in China. These beetles prefer rocky forest streams and can be found in the Sierra Nevada, Appalachian, White, Yulong, Gaolingong, Burhan Budai, A'nyêmaqên, Qinghai, and Daxue Mountain chains, among others.

I plan on making several expeditions to the localities of Diplous in order to gather as many specimens as possible. As a zoologist I feel the utmost responsibility to go on these trips in order to collect ground beetles for study and description. Right now, I feel especially anxious to secure these valuable specimens. On one hand, the loss of biodiversity in such a large group is staggering. On the other hand, Erwin (2000) predicted that with the current description of beetle species at 3,154 per year all known species will be described by the year 3056! The combination of biodiversity loss and the slow rate of descriptions make for a nasty contingency: the complete ignorance of species. Throughout the world, and especially in China, deforestation and other human encroachment occur at an alarming rate. With the decreased and lower quality habitat from impingement by mankind, these beetles will simply become extinct. Ignorance of a particular beast has terrible consequences. The unknowing or dismissal of a link in the chain of life could result in a cascade of possible events that might spell harm for all living things. As a part of a larger picture each creature has its trajectory and proper function in nature. With the early demise of any one of these pieces of the puzzle nature is not complete.

In part of an effort to describe and catalog Earth's creatures, I endeavor to revise the genus Diplous, which includes description of new species, redescription of unsuitable species descriptions, and a phylogenetic analysis. As well, I plan on describing any new species of ground beetle that I encounter in my collecting of Diplous. Through my quality revision of the genus Diplous and my future works in systematics, I hope to contribute to the magnus opus of organismal taxonomy in hope of destroying the ignorance of our fellow inhabitants and preserving one of Earth's greatest assets, biodiversity.

mail to: pmarek@calacademy.org