Sphaerius
Template:Short description Template:Automatic taxobox
Sphaerius is a genus of beetles in the family Sphaeriusidae, comprising 18 extant species. It is one of the two extant genera in the family, the other being Bezesporum. They are typically found along the edges of streams and rivers, where they feed on algae; they occur on all continents except Antarctica. Three species occur in the United States.
The overall form of the beetle is convex, glossy, dark brown or black with some markings possible. The head is prominent, with relatively large eyes set far apart, and capitate antennae. Total length ranges from Template:Cvt.
The beetles occur in a variety of damp environments, including mud, under stones, among plant roots and leaf litter, and in mosses in bogs. They store some air underneath their elytra.
Females produce a single large egg at a time.
The family used to be known as "Sphaeriidae", but the name was preoccupied by a family of freshwater clams. The name was inappropriately replaced with "Microsporidae" (by changing the genus name to Microsporus), but this act has been superseded by a return to the use of Sphaerius and a reformation of the family name as Sphaeriusidae.[1] The position of the family within Coleoptera has also changed a number of times.[2]
Species
The genus includes the following 18 extant species, as of 2022:[3]
- Sphaerius acaroides Waltl, 1838Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – Europe
- Sphaerius africanus (Endrödy-Younga, 1997)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – South Africa
- Sphaerius alticola (Löbl, 1995)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – Nepal
- Sphaerius coomani Lesne, 1936Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – Vietnam
- Sphaerius gustavlohsei (Löbl, 1995)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – Nepal, India: Darjeeling
- Sphaerius hispanicus Matthews, 1899Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – France, Spain, Algeria, Tunisia
- Sphaerius humicola (Löbl, 1995)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – Nepal
- Sphaerius laeviventris Champion, 1923Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – India: Uttarakhand
- Sphaerius madecassus Paulian, 1949Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – Madagascar
- Sphaerius obsoletus Lesne, 1936Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – Vietnam
- Sphaerius ovensensis (Oke, 1954)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – Australia
- Sphaerius perlaevis Lesne, 1936Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – Vietnam
- Sphaerius politus Horn, 1868Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – USA: California
- Sphaerius silvicola (Löbl, 1995)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – Nepal
- Sphaerius spississimus Lesne, 1935Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – France: Corsica, Italy: Sardinia, Israel
- Sphaerius tesselatus Lesne, 1936Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – Vietnam
- Sphaerius texanus Matthews, 1899Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – USA: Texas
- Sphaerius tropicus Matthews, 1888Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – Guatemala
Species transferred to Bezesporum:
- Sphaerius minutus Liang & Jia, 2018Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – China: Jiangxi
- Sphaerius papulosus Lesne, 1940Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – Myanmar
Species of unclear assignment:
- Sphaerius cribratus Lesne, 1936Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – Vietnam
- Sphaerius favosus Lesne, 1936Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – Vietnam
Species excluded from Sphaeriusidae (actually representatives of Corylophidae):
- "Sphaerius" coenensis Oke, 1954Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – Australia
- "Sphaerius" scutellaris (LeConte, 1878)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – USA
Fossil species
- †Sphaerius martini Li and Cai, 2023Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". – Burmese amber, Myanmar, Cenomanian[4]
References
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- ↑ <templatestyles src="smallcaps/styles.css"/>ICZN 2000: Opinion 1957. Sphaerius Waltl, 1838 (Insecta, Coleoptera): conserved; and Sphaeriidae Erichson, 1845 (Coleoptera): spelling emended to Sphaeriusidae, so removing the homonymy with Sphaeriidae Deshayes, 1854 (1820) (Mollusca, Bivalvia). Bulletin of zoological nomenclature, 57: 182–184. Template:Catalog lookup linkScript error: No such module "check isxn".Script error: No such module "check isxn".Script error: No such module "check isxn".Script error: No such module "check isxn".Script error: No such module "check isxn".Script error: No such module "check isxn".Script error: No such module "check isxn".Script error: No such module "check isxn".Script error: No such module "check isxn". BioStor
- ↑ Ross H. Arnett, Jr. and Michael C. Thomas, American Beetles (CRC Press, 2001)
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
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External links
- Sphaeriusidae Tree of Life