Christensenia | |
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Genus: | Christensenia Brinck, 1945 |
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Christensenia is a genus of weevils in the family Curculionidae.
The Curculionidae are a family of weevils, commonly called snout beetles or true weevils. They are one of the largest animal families, with 6,800 genera and 83,000 species described worldwide. They are the sister group to the family Brentidae.
Weevils are beetles belonging to the superfamily Curculionoidea, known for their elongated snouts. They are usually small, less than 6 mm in length, and herbivorous. Approximately 97,000 species of weevils are known. They belong to several families, with most of them in the family Curculionidae. It also includes bark beetles, which while morphologically dissimilar to other weevils in lacking the distinctive snout, is a subfamily of Curculionidae. Some other beetles, although not closely related, bear the name "weevil", such as the biscuit weevil, which belongs to the family Ptinidae.
A bark beetle is the common name for the subfamily of beetles Scolytinae. Previously, this was considered a distinct family (Scolytidae), but is now understood to be a specialized clade of the "true weevil" family (Curculionidae). Although the term "bark beetle" refers to the fact that many species feed in the inner bark (phloem) layer of trees, the subfamily also has many species with other lifestyles, including some that bore into wood, feed in fruit and seeds, or tunnel into herbaceous plants. Well-known species are members of the type genus Scolytus, namely the European elm bark beetle S. multistriatus and the large elm bark beetle S. scolytus, which like the American elm bark beetle Hylurgopinus rufipes, transmit Dutch elm disease fungi (Ophiostoma). The mountain pine beetle Dendroctonus ponderosae, southern pine beetle Dendroctonus frontalis, and their near relatives are major pests of conifer forests in North America. A similarly aggressive species in Europe is the spruce ips Ips typographus. A tiny bark beetle, the coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei is a major pest on coffee plantations around the world.
Anthonomus is a genus of weevils. This genus includes major agricultural pests such as the boll weevil, strawberry blossom weevil, and pepper weevil, as well as promising biological pest control agents such as Anthonomus santacruzi.
The beetle subfamily Curculioninae is part of the weevil family Curculionidae. It contains over 23,500 described species in 2,200 genera, and is therefore the largest weevil subfamily. Given that the beetle order (Coleoptera) contains about one-quarter of all known organisms, the Curculioninae represent one of the – if not the – most successful radiations of terrestrial Metazoa.
Enchytraeidae is a family of microdrile oligochaetes. They resemble small earthworms and include both terrestrial species known as potworms that live in highly organic terrestrial environments, as well as some that are marine. The peculiar genus Mesenchytraeus is known as "ice worms", as they live in glaciers and will die if exposed to temperatures a few degrees above freezing. Apart from these, the best-known species is probably the Grindal Worm, which is commercially bred as aquarium fish food.
Brentidae is a cosmopolitan family of primarily xylophagous beetles also known as straight-snouted weevils. The concept of this family has been recently expanded with the inclusion of three groups formerly placed in the Curculionidae; the subfamilies Apioninae, Cyladinae, and Nanophyinae, as well as the Ithycerinae, previously considered a separate family. They are most diverse in the tropics, but occur throughout the temperate regions of the world. They are among the families of weevils that have non-elbowed antennae, and tend to be elongate and flattened, though there are numerous exceptions.
Cryptorhynchinae is a large subfamily of weevils (Curculionidae), with some 6000 species. They are found in most zoogeographic regions although they are most diverse in the Neotropics, Australia and Oceania.
Julius Weise was a German entomologist. He specialised in Coleoptera, especially Chrysomelidae and Coccinellidae, and was one of the first entomologists to use genitalia to identify and classify species.
Otiorhynchus is a large genus of weevils in the family Curculionidae. Many species of the genus, particularly the black vine weevil and the strawberry root weevil, are important pests, both as larvae and as adults. Larvae feed on plant roots. Adults are flightless with fused elytra and feed at night on plant foliage. In many species of the genus at least some races are polyploid and parthenogenetic, while the rest of the races and species are diploid and bisexual. Otiorhynchus weevils, particularly O. scaber, have been a popular subject for studies of the evolution of parthenogenesis. The genus is native to the Palearctic region. However, sixteen species were inadvertently introduced to North America and have become widespread there.
Sitona is a large genus of weevils in the family Curculionidae native to the Nearctic and Palaearctic regions. Over 100 species have been described. Sitona is easily distinguished from related genera by flat, recumbent scales on the mandibles, by the absence of an oval scar on the mandibles, by short and broad rostrum with a deep, longitudinal, median groove, and by dense scales on the body.
The Entiminae are a large subfamily in the weevil family Curculionidae, containing most of the short-nosed weevils, including such genera as Entimus, Otiorhynchus, Phyllobius, Sitona, and Pachyrrhynchus. In comparison with their stunning diversity, only a few of these weevils are notorious pests of major economic importance. Entimines are commonly encountered in the field, including urban environments, and abundant in entomological collections.
Baridinae is a subfamily of true weevils (Curculionidae). It was established by Carl Johan Schönherr in 1836. Some 4,300 species in 550 genera are placed here, most of which occur in the New World. A few are economically significant pests, while others are in turn used for biocontrol of invasive plant pests. This subfamily also contains a few endangered species.
Rhynchophorus, or common name palm weevil, is a genus of beetles in the weevil family, Curculionidae. Palm weevils are major pests of various trees in the family Arecaceae throughout the tropics including: coconut, Areca catechu, species of the genus Phoenix, and Metroxylon sagu.
Christensenia aesculifolia is a species of tropical fern found throughout southeast Asia. Its leaves resemble horse chestnuts.
Ceutorhynchini is a true weevil tribe in the subfamily Baridinae.
Christensenia is the scientific name of two genera of organisms and may refer to:
Eustylini is a primarily Neotropical weevil tribe in the subfamily Entiminae.
Pandeleteius is a genus of broad-nosed weevils in the family Curculionidae. There are over 150 described species in Pandeleteius, distributed across the Americas. Most species in the genus were described by Anne Howden.
Conoderinae is a subfamily of true weevils in the beetle family Curculionidae. There are more than 210 genera in 15 tribes, and about 2,400 described species in Conoderinae.