• Source: Sphaerius

Sphaerius is a genus of beetles in the family Sphaeriusidae, comprising 18 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 0.5–1.2 mm (0.020–0.047 in).
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was inappropriately replaced with "Microsporidae" (by changing the genus name to Microsporus), but this act has been superseded by a return to the use of Sphaerius and a reformation of the family name as Sphaeriusidae. The position of the family within Coleoptera has also changed a number of times.




Species


The genus includes the following 18 species, as of 2022:

Sphaerius acaroides Waltl, 1838 – Europe
Sphaerius africanus (Endrödy-Younga, 1997) – South Africa
Sphaerius alticola (Löbl, 1995) – Nepal
Sphaerius coomani Lesne, 1936 – Vietnam
Sphaerius gustavlohsei (Löbl, 1995) – Nepal, India: Darjeeling
Sphaerius hispanicus Matthews, 1899 – France, Spain, Algeria, Tunisia
Sphaerius humicola (Löbl, 1995) – Nepal
Sphaerius laeviventris Champion, 1923 – India: Uttarakhand
Sphaerius madecassus Paulian, 1949 – Madagascar
Sphaerius obsoletus Lesne, 1936 – Vietnam
Sphaerius ovensensis (Oke, 1954) – Australia
Sphaerius perlaevis Lesne, 1936 – Vietnam
Sphaerius politus Horn, 1868 – USA: California
Sphaerius silvicola (Löbl, 1995) – Nepal
Sphaerius spississimus Lesne, 1935 – France: Corsica, Italy: Sardinia, Israel
Sphaerius tesselatus Lesne, 1936 – Vietnam
Sphaerius texanus Matthews, 1899 – USA: Texas
Sphaerius tropicus Matthews, 1888 – Guatemala
Species transferred to Bezesporum:

Sphaerius minutus Liang & Jia, 2018 – China: Jiangxi
Sphaerius papulosus Lesne, 1940 – Myanmar
Species of unclear assignment:

Sphaerius cribratus Lesne, 1936 – Vietnam
Sphaerius favosus Lesne, 1936 – Vietnam
Species excluded from Sphaeriusidae (actually representatives of Corylophidae):

"Sphaerius" coenensis Oke, 1954 – Australia
"Sphaerius" scutellaris (LeConte, 1878) – USA




Fossil Sphaeriusidae


†Burmasporum Kirejtshuk 2009 Burmese amber, Myanmar, Cenomanian




References






External links


Sphaeriusidae Tree of Life

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Sphaerius
• Sphaerius africanus
• Sphaerius acaroides
• Beetle
• Orthoperus scutellaris
• Myxophaga
• List of beetle species of Great Britain
• 2023 in paleoentomology
• 2022 in paleoentomology
• Coleoptera paleobiota of Burmese amber