Wrinkled bark beetle
Encyclopedia
Rhysodidae is a family
of beetle
s, consisting of several hundred species in about 20 genera.
These beetles are elongate, in size ranging from 5–8 mm, and color ranging from a reddish brown to black. Both the thorax
and the elytra are deeply grooved lengthwise, thus giving these beetles their common name. The head is also grooved, and posteriorly constricted into a short but visible "neck". The 11-segment antenna
e are short, resembling a string of beads, while the mandibles lack cutting edges and are thus nonfunctional. The front legs are short and strongly built,
Adults and larvae live in moist rotten wood that is infested with slime mould
s, which are believed to be their diet. Instead of using their mandibles to bite, they use the anterior edge of the mentum
and swivel their heads to cut off pieces of food. Adults do not make burrows, instead just squeezing between the cell layers of the decomposed wood, generally leaving no visible trace of their passage, while larvae live in short tunnels.
They occur on all continents with forested areas, the richest fauna being found in New Guinea
, Indonesia
, the Philippines
, and northern South America
.
Classification remains controversial, with specialist Ross T. Bell arguing for placement as a tribe Rhysodini of Carabidae, while R. G. Beutel and others argue that larval characteristics indicate that rhysodids are their own family.
Genera include:
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
of beetle
Beetle
Coleoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...
s, consisting of several hundred species in about 20 genera.
These beetles are elongate, in size ranging from 5–8 mm, and color ranging from a reddish brown to black. Both the thorax
Thorax
The thorax is a division of an animal's body that lies between the head and the abdomen.-In tetrapods:...
and the elytra are deeply grooved lengthwise, thus giving these beetles their common name. The head is also grooved, and posteriorly constricted into a short but visible "neck". The 11-segment antenna
Antenna (biology)
Antennae in biology have historically been paired appendages used for sensing in arthropods. More recently, the term has also been applied to cilium structures present in most cell types of eukaryotes....
e are short, resembling a string of beads, while the mandibles lack cutting edges and are thus nonfunctional. The front legs are short and strongly built,
Adults and larvae live in moist rotten wood that is infested with slime mould
Slime mould
Slime mold or mould is a broad term describing protists that use spores to reproduce. Slime molds were formerly classified as fungi, but are no longer considered part of this kingdom....
s, which are believed to be their diet. Instead of using their mandibles to bite, they use the anterior edge of the mentum
Mentum
The mentum refers to a projecting structure near the mouth of any of several animals:#In insects, the mentum is the distal part of the labium. The mentum bears the palps, glossae, paraglossae, and/or ligula....
and swivel their heads to cut off pieces of food. Adults do not make burrows, instead just squeezing between the cell layers of the decomposed wood, generally leaving no visible trace of their passage, while larvae live in short tunnels.
They occur on all continents with forested areas, the richest fauna being found in New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, and northern South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
.
Classification remains controversial, with specialist Ross T. Bell arguing for placement as a tribe Rhysodini of Carabidae, while R. G. Beutel and others argue that larval characteristics indicate that rhysodids are their own family.
Genera include:
- Clinidium
- Omoglymmius
- RhysodesRhysodesRhysodes is a genus of ground beetle native to the Palearctic and the Near East. Sometimes placed in subfamily Trechinae, its relationships are actually not well known.Species include:* Rhysodes sulcatus-External links:*...