Caridae

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Caridae
Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Beetle (Coleoptera)
Subordination : Polyphaga
Partial order : Cucujiformia
Superfamily : Curculionoidea
Family : Caridae
Scientific name
Caridae
Thompson , 1992

The Caridae are the smallest family within the superfamily Curculionoidea . It includes six described species in four genera. Around eight species from Australia and one genus with seven species from New Guinea are represented in collections, but not yet described. (Status: 2014). Outside the Australis , some species can also be found in South America .

features

The adult beetles of the family are two to five millimeters long, depending on the species. The Caridae belong to the basal families of the superfamily with straight, unknotted antennae ("Orthoceri"). With them, the scapus (shaft) is elongated, it reaches the front edge of the eye. The antennae are located near the base of the trunk, either on the side or on the underside of the trunk, the antennae are not visible from above. They are quite long with an indistinct, three to five-limbed club. Large eyes sit on the head, the inner edges of which are closer together than the width of the trunk. The mandibles at the tip of the trunk are serrated outside and inside in the Car genus , but only inside in the others. The Caridae have two or three segmented maxillary palps . The trunk is usually quite long and narrow, it is not set off from the head contour. The elytra have clear stripes and row points as well as dense hairs, this is twofold and consists of fine hairs lying close to the body and coarser, protruding hairs. The abdomen is completely hidden under the wing covers , and the last tergite is also covered. As is typical for many weevils, it attaches tightly to the wing covers, as these have a second edge on the inside. The abdominal plates ( sternites ) of the abdomen are all clearly separated with a clear joint membrane. The first sternite is elongated and as long as the second through fourth combined. The legs have imperforate, separate claws, which have a widening inside, from which a sensory hair extends.

As far as is known, the larvae are characterized by functional, two-segment legs, each with a claw, while the typical weevil larvae are legless. They also have four or more larval eyes (stemmata).

Way of life

The larvae of the Caridae mine inside the (female) cones of conifers. The South American species are tied to the cypress family (Cupressaceae). The Australian species of the genus Car live on ornamental cypresses ( Callitris ). In Guinea are podocarpaceae (Podocarpaceae) have been observed as a food plant. The beetles are found on their host plants in the months of October to March, when it is summer in the southern hemisphere. As far as is known, the female eats a hole with her trunk in the still green, immature cones, in which she then lays her egg. One egg is laid per cone. The larva feeds on the young seeds. Pupation in the ground has been observed in at least one species, Car condensatus .

distribution

The species-poor family is seen as a relic group. It is distributed exclusively in the southern hemisphere, with two widely separated distributions: one in Australia and New Guinea, on the other hand in South America. Such a distribution pattern is associated with an origin on the former southern continent Gondwana .

Systematics and taxonomy

The genus Car described by Blackburn from Australia in 1897 was classified differently by taxonomists because of its peculiar combination of characteristics. In 1992, Thompson first proposed an independent subfamily Carinae for them, which Zimmerman upgraded to the Caridae family. This view has prevailed.

The systematic position of the Caridae is controversial. They are considered to be sister groups of the Brentidae family or, more commonly, the Brentidae and Curculionidae together. A closer relationship to the Belidae family , which has also been proposed , is mostly rejected today. Another view puts them as a subfamily in a (broad) family Ithyceridae .

More recent phylogenomic analyzes show the Caridae as a sister group to the Brentidae and Curculionidae.

Fossils

The assignment of fossil species to this family, which is characterized by numerous plesiomorphic features, is extremely problematic. Zherikin and Gratshev equated the extinct family Eccoptarthridae, which until then had been known exclusively from fossils, with the recent Caridae. Since the name Eccoptarthridae is older, it would then have priority and the recent family would then have to bear this name. This name change has been accepted by some taxonomists, rejected by others, and has created considerable confusion. Many taxonomists reject the equation and regard the Caridae and Eccoptarthridae as different groups from one another; some consider them a subfamily of the Nemonychidae . The equation with the Caridae is justified above all with the structure of the tarsi , in which both the first and the third tarsi link are expanded. Eccoptarthridae have been recorded since the Upper Jurassic .

Genera and species

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Rolf G. Oberprieler, Adriana E. Marvaldi, Robert S. Anderson: Weevils, weevils, weevils everywhere. Zootaxa, 1668, pp. 491-520, 2007
  2. ↑ a b Rolf G. Oberprieler: 3.5 Caridae Thompson, 1992 . In: Richard AB Leschen & Rolf G. Beutel (Ed.): Handbook of Zoology. Arthropoda: Insecta. Coleoptera, Beetles, Vol. 3. Morphology and Systematics (Phytophaga). Walter De Gruyter, Berlin / Boston 2014, pages 356–363 ISBN 978-3-11-027370-0
  3. ↑ Adriana E. Marvaldi: Key to larvae of the South American subfamilies of weevils (Coleoptera, Curculionoidea). Revista Chilena de Historia Natural 76, pp. 603-612, 2003
  4. ↑ RT Thompson: Observations on the morphology and classification of weevils (Coleoptera, Curculionoidea) with a key to major groups. Journal of Natural History, 26, 4, pages 835-891, 1992 doi : 10.1080 / 00222939200770511
  5. ↑ G. Kuschel: A phylogenetic classification of Curculionoidea to families and subfamilies. Memoirs of the Entomological Society of Washington, 14: 5-33, 1995
  6. ↑ Anna K. Hundsdoerfer, Joachim Rheinheimer, Michael Wink: Towards the phylogeny of the Curculionoidea (Coleoptera): Reconstructions from mitochondrial and nuclear ribosomal DNA sequences. Zoologischer Anzeiger, Volume 248, 1, pages 9–31, 2009 doi : 10.1016 / j.jcz.2008.09.001
  7. ↑ DD McKenna, AS Sequeira, AE Marvaldi, BD Farrell: Temporal lags and overlap in the diversification of weevils and flowering plants. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 106, pp. 7083-7088, 2009
  8. ↑ VV Zherikhin & VG Gratshev (1995): A comparative study of the hind wing venation of the superfamily Curculionoidea, with phylogenetic implications. In: J. Pakaluk & SA Slipinski (Editors): Biology, Phylogeny and Classification of Coleoptera: Papers Celebrating the 80th Birthday of Roy A. Crowson. Muzeum I Instytut Zoologii Pan, Warsaw.
  9. ↑ AA Legalov: A review of the fossil and recent species of the family Ithyceridae (Coleoptera) from the world fauna. Amurian zoological journal, 1, 2, pages 117-131, 2009
  10. ↑ S. Shin, DJ Clarke, AR Lemmon, EM Lemmon, AL Aitken, S. Haddad, BD Farrell, AE Marvaldi, RG Oberprieler, DD McKenna: Phylogenomic data yield new and robust insights into the phylogeny and evolution of weevils . Molecular Biology and Evolution. 35 (4): 823-836. doi : 10.1093 / molbev / msx324
  11. ↑ Vadim G. Gratshev & Vladimir V. Zherikhin: The fossil record of weevils and related beetle families (Coleoptera, Curculionoidea). Acta zoologica cracoviensia, 46 (suppl. - Fossil Insects), pages 129-138, 2003

literature

  • Elwood Curtin Zimmerman: Australian Weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea) I: Anthribidae to Attelabidae: The Primitive Weevils. CSIRO Publishing, 1994 ISBN 0643105603