Alexiidae is a family of beetles. It contains a single genus, Sphaerosoma, formerly included within the family Cerylonidae, with around 50 species which are native to the western Palearctic. Species of Sphaerosoma are very small, around 1 to 2 mm in length rounded beetles with clubbed antennae. They are fungivores, having been observed feeding on mushrooms, and have also been found in leaf litter and on decaying bark.[1]
| Alexiidae | |
|---|---|
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| Sphaerosoma pilosum (Panzer, 1793) Size: 1.5 mm. | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Infraorder: | Cucujiformia |
| Superfamily: | Coccinelloidea |
| Family: | Alexiidae Imhoff, 1856 |
| Genus: | Sphaerosoma Stephens, 1832 |
| Synonyms | |
Taxonomy
editThere has been considerable confusion regarding the type species and authorship of the genus; most older sources consider the author and species to be Sphaerosoma quercus Samouelle, 1819. That name is now considered to be a nomen nudum, and the valid name for Samouelle's species is Sphaerosoma piliferum (Müller, 1821). The type species is now considered to be Sphaerosoma quercus Stephens, 1832, which is itself a junior synonym of Sphaerosoma pilosum (Panzer, 1793).[2] Alexiidae has been recovered as part of the superfamily Coccinelloidea as the sister group of Latridiidae.[3]
Species
edit- Sphaerosoma algiricum (Reitter, 1889)
- Sphaerosoma alutaceum (Reitter, 1883)
- Sphaerosoma antennarium Apfelbeck, 1909
- Sphaerosoma apuanum Reitter, 1909
- Sphaerosoma bicome Peyerimhoff, 1917
- Sphaerosoma bosnicum (Reitter, 1885)
- Sphaerosoma carniolicum Apfelbeck, 1915
- Sphaerosoma carpathicum (Reitter, 1883)
- Sphaerosoma circassicum (Reitter, 1888)
- Sphaerosoma clamboides (Reitter, 1888)
- Sphaerosoma compressum (Reitter, 1901)
- Sphaerosoma corcyreum (Reitter, 1883)
- Sphaerosoma csikii Apfelbeck, 1915
- Sphaerosoma diversepunctatum Roubal, 1932
- Sphaerosoma fiorii Ganglbauer, 1899
- Sphaerosoma globosum (Sturm, 1807)
- Sphaerosoma hemisphaericum Ganglbauer, 1899
- Sphaerosoma hispanicum Obenberger, 1917
- Sphaerosoma laevicolle (Reitter, 1883)
- Sphaerosoma latitarse Apfelbeck, 1915
- Sphaerosoma lederi (Reitter, 1888)
- Sphaerosoma leonhardi Apfelbeck, 1915
- Sphaerosoma libani Sahlberg, 1913
- Sphaerosoma maritimum (Reitter, 1904)
- Sphaerosoma merditanum Apfelbeck, 1915
- Sphaerosoma meridionale (Reitter, 1883)
- Sphaerosoma nevadense (Reitter, 1883)
- Sphaerosoma normandi Peyerimhoff, 1917
- Sphaerosoma obscuricorne Obenberger, 1917
- Sphaerosoma obsoletum (Reitter, 1883)
- Sphaerosoma paganetti Obenberger, 1913
- Sphaerosoma piliferum (Müller, 1821)
- Sphaerosoma pilosellum (Reitter, 1877)
- Sphaerosoma pilosissimum (Frivaldszky, 1881)
- Sphaerosoma pilosum (Panzer, 1793)
- Sphaerosoma pubescens (Frivaldszky, 1881)
- Sphaerosoma punctatum (Reitter, 1878)
- Sphaerosoma puncticolle (Reitter, 1883)
- Sphaerosoma purkynei Obenberger, 1917
- Sphaerosoma rambouseki Apfelbeck, 1916
- Sphaerosoma reitteri (Ormay, 1888)
- Sphaerosoma rotundatum Obenberger, 1913
- Sphaerosoma scymnoides (Reitter, 1885)
- Sphaerosoma seidlitzi (Reitter, 1889)
- Sphaerosoma shardaghense Apfelbeck, 1915
- Sphaerosoma solarii Reitter, 1904
- Sphaerosoma sparsum Reitter, 1909
- Sphaerosoma sturanyi Apfelbeck, 1909
- Sphaerosoma subglabrum Peyerimhoff, 1917
- Sphaerosoma sublaeve (Reitter, 1883)
- Sphaerosoma tingitanum Peyerimhoff, 1917
- Sphaerosoma vallambrosae (Reitter, 1885)
- Sphaerosoma winneguthi Apfelbeck, 1915
References
edit- ^ Ślipinśki, Adam and Tomaszewska, Wioletta. "10.30. Alexiidae Imhoff, 1856". Volume 2 Morphology and Systematics (Elateroidea, Bostrichiformia, Cucujiformia partim), edited by Willy Kükenthal, Richard A.B. Leschen, Rolf G. Beutel and John F. Lawrence, Berlin, New York: De Gruyter, 2011, pp. 432-434.
- ^ Löbl, I.; Smetana, A., eds. (2010). "Errata for Volume 4". Catalogue of Palaearctic Coleoptera. Volume 6. Chrysomeloidea. Stenstrup, Denmark: Apollo Books. ISBN 978-87-88757-84-2.
- ^ Cai, Chenyang; Tihelka, Erik; Giacomelli, Mattia; Lawrence, John F.; Ślipiński, Adam; Kundrata, Robin; Yamamoto, Shûhei; Thayer, Margaret K.; Newton, Alfred F.; Leschen, Richard A. B.; Gimmel, Matthew L.; Lü, Liang; Engel, Michael S.; Bouchard, Patrice; Huang, Diying (March 2022). "Integrated phylogenomics and fossil data illuminate the evolution of beetles". Royal Society Open Science. 9 (3): 211771. doi:10.1098/rsos.211771. ISSN 2054-5703. PMC 8941382. PMID 35345430.
External links
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