Bolboceratidae
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Bolbelasmus bocchus |
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| Bolboceratidae | ||||||||||||
| Mulsant , 1842 |
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Bolboceratidae is a family of beetles within the Scarabaeoidea . The family was granted family status in 1995 by Scholtz & Browne .
features
Beetle
The beetles have a body length of 5 to 40 millimeters. Their body is oval or round and strongly convex. It is mostly yellowish-brown, but in some species it is yellow and black. The head is not bent sharply downwards. The compound eyes are partially or completely separated by a canthus . The epipharynx is rounded and in the Bolboceratinae it is notched mesially at the apical edge , in the Athyreinae it is straight. The eleven-section antennae have a three-segment lobe. The palps are four-limbed. The wings have in the family a characteristic Flügeladerung and connection sclerits . To the tarsi a is Empodium formed. The position of the tracheal openings on the abdomen is different. They are formed on the first to the seventh abdominal segment. The first or the first two lie on the sternite , the rest in the pleural membrane. The male genitals are formed differently and have a well-developed genital capsule and a membranous median lobe. The females lack styli and there are six ovarioles per ovary .
The monophyly of the family is based on several features on the wing base and the wing veins as well as on the following autapomorphies : The tracheal openings on the abdomen of the adults are of different sizes, the animals feed on fungi and collect food for their larvae. In the larvae, the sixth to tenth abdomen segment is clearly tapered backwards, they lack noticeably developed, sclerotized antennae, they have a symmetrical hypopharynx and the tenth segment is not flattened.
Larvae
The larvae of the subfamily Athyreinae are unknown. The Bolboceratinae have a broad “C” -shaped body, with the thorax segments and the first six abdomen segments on the back divided into two folds. Ocelli are missing. The antennae are tripartite and do not have a large sensory mark. The mandibles are asymmetrical, have an extension on the ventral side and there is no stridulation area. Galea and Lacinia are clearly separated from each other. In some species, organs for making sounds are formed on the middle and rear legs. The hind legs are not, or only slightly, shortened. The tracheal openings are sieve-shaped (cribriform).
Distribution and way of life
The species of Athyreinae are common in the Neotropic and Afrotropic . The main range of the family, however, are dry and sandy habitats. In Australia there are 10 genera of the subfamily Bolboceratinae, in southern Africa there are 9, 12 in the New World.
Very little is known about the way of life of most species. The adults are mainly nocturnal and are attracted by artificial light sources. However, there are also species, such as some of the genus Bolbocaffer , that are diurnal. It is known that the known species bring humus into burrows for their larvae. All stages of development of species of the genus Bolboceras have been found simultaneously in the same burrow. In some species, these burrows can reach a depth of up to three meters.
Taxonomy and systematics
The family includes two subfamilies with about 40 genera and 350 species, the subfamily Athyreinae with only four genera and around 70 species is significantly smaller than the subfamily Bolboceratinae.
supporting documents
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f Rolf G. Beutel, Richard AB Leschen: Handbuch der Zoologie - Coleoptera, Beetles, Volume 1: Morphology and Systematics (Archostemata, Adephaga, Myxophaga, Polyphaga partim) . 1st edition. de Gruyter , 2005, ISBN 3-11-017130-9 , p. 374 f . (English).
literature
- Rolf G. Beutel, Richard AB Leschen: Handbuch der Zoologie - Coleoptera, Beetles, Volume 1: Morphology and Systematics (Archostemata, Adephaga, Myxophaga, Polyphaga partim) . 1st edition. de Gruyter , 2005, ISBN 3-11-017130-9 (English).
