Anthia
Encyclopedia
Anthia is a genus of the ground beetle
family, the Carabidae. Species of Anthia can spray a jet of formic acid
up to 30 centimetres (11.8 in), which if not treated, can cause blindness
in cat
s and chicken
s.
In general the beetles are large, armored, fast-moving, with prominent, powerful, sharp mandibles. Some are diurnal predators in semi-arid habitats, some are nocturnal.
The genus is one of a group of very similar taxa of predatory Carabidae that has been the subject of considerable taxonomic confusion. Several species here and elsewhere included within the genus Anthia
are occasionally referred to as belonging to the genus Thermophilum (e.g. Anthia fornasinii referred to as Thermophilum fornasinii) Furthermore, the spelling has undergone a range of errors and disputes. The currently accepted spelling is Termophilumhttp://www.ubio.org/NZ/search.php?search=Termophilum&colname=on&colauthority=on&colcomments=on&colcategory=on&colpublication=on&vol=&page=, but Thermophilum and Thermophila have been variously used in the past, and even the outright misspelling "Thermophilium" has appeared in some books.
Ground beetle
Ground beetles are a large, cosmopolitan family of beetles, Carabidae, with more than 40,000 species worldwide, approximately 2,000 of which are found in North America and 2,700 in Europe.-Description and ecology:...
family, the Carabidae. Species of Anthia can spray a jet of formic acid
Formic acid
Formic acid is the simplest carboxylic acid. Its chemical formula is HCOOH or HCO2H. It is an important intermediate in chemical synthesis and occurs naturally, most notably in the venom of bee and ant stings. In fact, its name comes from the Latin word for ant, formica, referring to its early...
up to 30 centimetres (11.8 in), which if not treated, can cause blindness
Blindness
Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...
in cat
Cat
The cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...
s and chicken
Chicken
The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
s.
In general the beetles are large, armored, fast-moving, with prominent, powerful, sharp mandibles. Some are diurnal predators in semi-arid habitats, some are nocturnal.
The genus is one of a group of very similar taxa of predatory Carabidae that has been the subject of considerable taxonomic confusion. Several species here and elsewhere included within the genus Anthia
Anthia
Anthia is a genus of the ground beetle family, the Carabidae. Species of Anthia can spray a jet of formic acid up to , which if not treated, can cause blindness in cats and chickens....
are occasionally referred to as belonging to the genus Thermophilum (e.g. Anthia fornasinii referred to as Thermophilum fornasinii) Furthermore, the spelling has undergone a range of errors and disputes. The currently accepted spelling is Termophilumhttp://www.ubio.org/NZ/search.php?search=Termophilum&colname=on&colauthority=on&colcomments=on&colcategory=on&colpublication=on&vol=&page=, but Thermophilum and Thermophila have been variously used in the past, and even the outright misspelling "Thermophilium" has appeared in some books.
Species
The genus Anthia includes the following species:- Anthia aemiliana Dohrn, 1881
- Anthia aequilatera Klug, 1853
- Anthia alternata Bates, 1978
- Anthia andersoni Chaudoir, 1861
- Anthia artemis Gerstaecker, 1884
- Anthia babaulti Benard, 1921
- Anthia biguttata Bonelli, 1813
- Anthia binotata Perroud, 1846
- Anthia brevivittata Obst, 1901
- Anthia bucolica Kolbe, 1894
- Anthia burchelli Hope, 1832
- Anthia calida Harold, 1878
- Anthia calva Sternberg, 1907
- Anthia capillata Obst, 1901
- Anthia cavernosa Gerstaecker, 1866
- Anthia cephalotes Guerin-Meneville, 1845
- Anthia cinctipennis Lequien, 1832
- Anthia circumscripta Klug, 1853
- Anthia costata Gory, 1836
- Anthia csikii Obst, 1906
- Anthia decemguttata (Linnaeus, 1764)
- Anthia discedens Sternberg, 1907
- Anthia duodecimguttata Bonelli, 1813
- Anthia ferox J. Thomson, 1859
- Anthia fornasinii Bertoloni, 1845
- Anthia galla J. Thomson, 1859
- Anthia hedenborgi Boheman, 1848
- Anthia hexasticta Gerstaecker, 1866
- Anthia ida Kolbe, 1894
- Anthia lefebvrei Guerin-Meneville, 1849
- Anthia limbata Dejean, 1831
- Anthia lunae J. Thomson, 1859
- Anthia machadoi (Basilewsky, 1955)
- Anthia mannerheimi Chaudoir, 1842
- Anthia massilicata Guerin-Meneville, 1845
- Anthia maxillosa (Fabricius, 1793)
- Anthia mima Peringuey, 1896
- Anthia mirabilis Sternberg, 1906
- Anthia namaqua Peringuey, 1896
- Anthia nimrod (Fabricius, 1793)
- Anthia oberthuri Obst, 1906
- Anthia omoplata Lequien, 1832
- Anthia ovampoa Peringuey, 1896
- Anthia orientalis (Hope, 1838)
- Anthia praesignis Bates, 1888
- Anthia prevoili Lucas, 1881
- Anthia principalis Sternberg, 1907
- Anthia promontorii Peringuey, 1899
- Anthia pulcherrima H. W. Bates, 1888
- Anthia sexguttata Fabricius, 1775
- Anthia sexmaculata Fabricius, 1787
- Anthia sulcata (Fabricius, 1793)
- Anthia tatumana White, 1846
- Anthia thoracica (Thunberg, 1784)
- Anthia venator (Fabricius, 1792)