- Rhysodidae
Taxobox
name = Wrinkled bark beetle
regnum =Animal ia
phylum =Arthropod a
classis =Insect a
ordo = Coleoptera
subordo =Adephaga
familia = Rhysodidae
familia_authority = Laporte, 1840
subdivision_ranks = Genera
subdivision = "Omoglymmius "
"Clinidium "
"(20 others)"Rhysodidae (sometimes called "wrinkled bark beetles") is a family of
beetle s, consisting of several hundred species in 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 theelytra 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 antennae are short, resembling a string of beads, while themandible s 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 thementum 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 , thePhilippines , and northernSouth America .Classification remains controversial, with specialist
Ross T. Bell arguing for placement as a tribe Rhysodini ofCarabidae , whileR. G. Beutel and others argue that larval characteristics indicate that rhysodids are their own family.References
*
Ross H. Arnett, Jr. andMichael C. Thomas , "American Beetles " (CRC Press, 2001)External links
* [http://tolweb.org/tree?group=Rhysodini&contgroup=Carabidae Tree of Life page, with pictures]
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