Scaurus (genus)
| Scaurus | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Scaurus striatus |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Scaurus | ||||||||||||
| Fabricius , 1775 |
Scaurus is a beetle species from the family of darkling beetles . It is represented by ten species in Europeand around thirty species worldwide.
The generic name Scaurus is derived from ancient Greek σκαῦρος, with protruding ankles, with spread legs' and refers to the structure of the front legs.
| Common features of the genus using the example of Scaurus punctatus |
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
||||||||
| Fig. 1: Male foreleg A front tooth, B front and rear tooth, C, D front, rear and tibia |
||||||||
|
||||||||
| Fig. 2: Puncture of the wing covers, partially colored green on the right : A: wing cover suture B: dorsal rib C: humeral rib D: pleural rib; yellow: dot stripes (for reasons of space only 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th labeled) |
Characteristics of the beetle
The animals are black, but can have light or bluish tires. The male has stronger legs and a wider pronotum than the female. The front legs are different in males and females.
The head is longer than it is wide. Behind the eyes it only maintains its width for a short time, behind it it is neck-shaped. The end part of the jaw probe is elongated, egg-shaped and not broadened. The thread-like to pearl cord-like antennae consist of eleven links and arise under an extension of the cheeks. Towards the end they can thicken a little. Depending on the species, they do not reach the rear edge of the pronotum when they are put back or they protrude little beyond it. The first antenna element is inversely conical, the second antenna element small and spherical, the third almost as long as the following two. The following links are all roughly the same inverted conical, only the end link is elongated and pointed.
The large pronotum is strongly rounded at the sides, trimmed in front and behind and somewhat narrower in the back than in front. It is strikingly large in relation to the elytra. It does not close closely to the wing covers, but is separated from them by a strongly dotted , trunk-shaped section.
The wing covers are fused together at the seam and are egg-shaped together. As a rule, they have three distinct, complete or shortened longitudinal ribs. The humeral rib arises as the middle rib on the shoulder, between this and the suture lies the dorsal rib, and the pleural rib is located near the lateral fall of the wing cover (Fig. 2). There are four point strips between the suture and the dorsal rib, as well as between the dorsal and humeral and between the humeral and pleural rib. To the side of the pleural rib, there are six more point strips.
The legs are strong, the thighs of the forelegs are thickened in the male and reinforced with a strong, outwardly curved front tooth (Fig. 2 A). In the female, this tooth is triangular and protrudes vertically from the edge of the thigh. On the underside of the leg is furrowed, the furrow widens towards the splint (Fig. 2 B). Depending on the type and gender, there is a smaller rear tooth opposite the front tooth and separated by the groove. Another tooth or hump may be on the thickened front rails of the males (Fig. 2 C, D). Its shape and location have taxonomic significance. The tarsi of the hind legs are four-limbed, the other tarsi five-limbed. All tarsi have a row of very short, prickly bristles on the underside, in between they are slightly curved inward.
Identifying characteristics of the species
The following are used to differentiate between the species:
- The feelers, especially the shape of the end link and the length: width ratio of the third feeler link
- Course and degree of formation of the ribs and rows of dots on the elytra
- Formation of the teeth on the fore leg and on the front splint
- Puncture of the pronotum and formation of the edge of the pronotum
biology
The species of the genus are crepuscular or nocturnal and hide under stones during the day. You move sluggishly. Most of the species occur in the Mediterranean climate , only four species are strictly bound to the desert climate . Several species are found at altitudes over two thousand meters, but most species live between 0 and 1000 meters high. Species studied in Spain could be found in spring and early summer. Species of the genus have been caught in both bushland and salt marshes. The animals feed on plant and animal detritus and can be caught in bait traps.
The defense and defense strategy widespread among black beetles by excreting odorous substances from glands on the abdomen can also be observed in the examined species of Scaurus . The fragrances are excreted as drops of liquid. The chemical composition of the scents in the examined species Scaurus aegyptiacus showed over fifty different components.
distribution
The genus is distributed within Europe around the Mediterranean, with a focus on the southwest and with the exception of the Balkans and Asia Minor . The species show different distribution types (northwest Mediterranean , Sahara- Mediterranean, Maghrebian , Iberian and others). Of particular interest is northern Algeria with the border area and the adjoining part of Morocco . In this area, in which over ten different species of the genus exist, the eastern and western borders of the ranges of different species overlap. Another interesting aspect is the high proportion of endemic species. For example, of the twenty-two Moroccan species and subspecies, half are endemic. The range of Scaurus puncticollis is out of the ordinary because the species was found not only in Morocco, but also in Iran .
European species
- Scaurus aegyptiacus
- Scaurus atratus
- Scaurus punctatus
- Scaurus puncticollis
- Scaurus rugulosus
- Scaurus striatus
- Scaurus tingitanus
- Scaurus tristis
- Scaurus uncinus
- Scaurus vicinus
literature
- Gustav Jäger (Ed.): CG Calwer’s Käferbuch . 3. Edition. K. Thienemanns, Stuttgart 1876.
- Martial Étienne Mulsant, Claudius Rey: Histoire naturelle des coléoptères de France. Volume 14, Maison, Paris 1854.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Scaurus at Fauna Europaea. Retrieved February 27, 2012
- ↑ a b c d Harold Labrique: The genus Scaurus : Biogeographie and Ecology (Insecta, Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae). In: Spixiana. 26 | 1, pp. 53-54. PDF
- ↑ a b c d Martial Étienne Mulsant, Claudius Rey: Histoire naturelle des coléoptères de France. Volume 14.
- ^ Pape: Concise dictionary of the Greek language. (PDF; 1.3 MB)
- ↑ Gustav Jäger (Ed.): CG Calwer’s Käferbuch . 3. Edition. K. Thienemanns, Stuttgart 1876.
- ↑ Determination table of the Scauritini from www.cole-net (A. Lompe)
- ↑ Scaurus identification table from www.cole-net (A. Lompe)
- ↑ MC Cartagena, E. Galante: Écología de las espécies de Scaurus Solier, 1836 en el Sudeste iberico (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae). In: Ses.Entom. ICHN-SCL. 13 (2003), pp. 37-46, Barcelona 2005. PDF
- ↑ MC Cartagena, Amador Viñolas Eduardo Galante: Biodiversidad de tenebriónidos (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae) en saladares ibéricos. In: Bull. Inst. Cat Hist. Nat. 70, 2002, ISSN 1133-6889 , pp. 91-104. PDF
- ^ Walter R. Tschinkel: A comparative study of the chemical defensive system of tenebrionid beetles III. Morphology of the glands. In: Journal of Morphology . Vol. 145, Issue 3, 1975, pp. 355-370, doi : 10.1002 / jmor.1051450308 .
- ^ Walter R. Tschinkel: A Comparative Study of the Chemical Defensive System of Tenebrionide Beetles. Defensive Behavior and Ancillary Features. In: Annals of the Entomological Society of America. Vol. 68, Issue 3, pp. 439-453. PDF
- ^ Walter R. Tschinkel: A Comparative Study of the Chemical Defensive System of Tenebrionide Beetles: Chemistry of the Secretions. In: J. Insect Physiol. 1975, Vol. 21, pp. 753-783 PDF
- ↑ Siavash Taravati, Julio Ferrer: A new record for the tribe Darkling Beetle fauna of Iran (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). In: Iranian Journal of Animal Biosystematics. (IJAB) Vol. 3, No. 1, 2007, pp. 63-67 ISSN 1735-434X PDF
