Sphaerius

Sphaerius
	Sphaerius acaroides
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Suborder:	Myxophaga
Superfamily:	Sphaeriusoidea
Family:	Sphaeriusidae; Erichson, 1845
Genus:	Sphaerius; Waltl, 1838
Species
	see text
Synonyms
	Microsporus Kolenati, 1846; Neosphaerius Oke, 1954;

Sphaerius is a

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

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was inappropriately replaced with "Microsporidae" (by changing the genus name to Microsporus), but this act has been superseded by a return to the use of Sphaerius and a reformation of the family name as Sphaeriusidae.^[1] The position of the family within Coleoptera has also changed a number of times.^[2]

Species

The genus includes the following 18 species, as of 2022:^[3]

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

ISSN 0007-5167 BioStor

Ross H. Arnett, Jr. and Michael C. Thomas, American Beetles
(CRC Press, 2001)

S2CID 254440169
.

External links

Sphaeriusidae Tree of Life

Wikispecies has information related to Sphaerius.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sphaerius&oldid=1146052420"

[1] ISSN 0007-5167 BioStor

[2] Ross H. Arnett, Jr. and Michael C. Thomas, American Beetles
(CRC Press, 2001)

[:2-3] S2CID 254440169
.

[1]

[2]

[3]