Sepidiini

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Sepidiini
Somaticus aeneus.jpg
Somaticus aeneus, subtribe Trachynotina
Mariazofia gibba 15537188.jpg
Mariazofia, subtribe Molurina
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Suborder: Polyphaga
Infraorder: Cucujiformia
Family: Tenebrionidae
Subfamily: Pimeliinae
Tribe: Sepidiini
Eschscholtz, 1829
Subtribes
Synonyms

The Sepidiini ("toktokkies") is a tribe of ground-dwelling darkling beetles (Tenebrionidae), [1] that occurs across Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Arabian Peninsula and Mesopotamia. It is composed of many hundreds of species. [2] The larvae of some species are known to damage crops. [3] . Around 1,000 species are known to represent Sepidiini [4] . Recently studies by Kamiński et al. revealed high levels of taxonomic inconsistencies across the tribe, which resulted in descriptions of a series of new genera [5] [6] [7] .

Contents

Morphology

Their morphology is complex due to their richly divergent forms. [2] They are distinguished from the diurnal taxa, by their well-developed and true hypomera of the elytra, the free mobility of the thorax and hind body, and the free and non-fused pleurital and pleural margins of the sterna and elytra respectively. [2]

Biology

Their morphology is believed to facilitate moisture absorption and accumulation, via the open body sutures and the loosely joined body parts. Subtribe Trachynotina excepting, they show an almost uniform tendency to be nocturnal, crepuscular or shade-loving. [2] Like the tribe Tentyriini, their daily rhythm is based on a strictly nocturnal ancestral disposition. Their open and non-connate body sutures suggest the enjoyment of nocturnal conditions and night moisture. [2]

At night, a surface secretion of a sometimes pruinescent or waxy substance has been noted on the bodies of genera Brinckia , Namibomodes , Synhimba and Ocnodes (syn. Phanerotomea ). This is assumed to prevent evaporation. [2]

Some Sepidiini (mainly Ocnodes Fåhraeus, 1870 and Mariazofia Kamiński, 2022) are commonly known for their tapping behaviour (sexual communication), which accounts for their vernacular name, the "toktokkies". [8]

Classification

The tribe Sepidiini is composed of 6 subtribes, 63 genera, and more than 1000 species. The following genera belong to the tribe Sepidiini: [9] [10] [11]

References

  1. 1 2 Bouchard, Patrice; Lawrence, J.F.; Davies, A.E.; Newton, A.F. (2005). "Synoptic Classification of the World Tenebrionidae (Insecta: Coleoptera) with a review of Family-group names" (PDF). Annales Zoologici. 55 (4): 499–53. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 November 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Koch, C. "The Tenebrionidae of Southern Africa, XXXII New Psammophilous species from the Namib desert" (PDF). Annals of the Transvaal Museum: 107–124. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
  3. ↑ Drinkwater, T.W. (1991). "Morphology of and key to the larvae of six somaticus spp coleoptera tenebrionidae". Journal of African Zoology. 105 (6): 509–536. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
  4. ↑ Kamiński, Marcin J.; Kanda, Kojun; Lumen, Ryan; Ulmer, Jonah M.; Wirth, Christopher C.; Bouchard, Patrice; Aalbu, Rolf; Mal, Noël; Smith, Aaron D. (2019-05-13). "A catalogue of the tribe Sepidiini Eschscholtz, 1829 (Tenebrionidae, Pimeliinae) of the world". ZooKeys (844): 1–121. Bibcode:2019ZooK..844....1K. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.844.34241 . ISSN   1313-2970.
  5. ↑ Kamiński, Marcin J.; Gearner, Olivia M.; Raś, Marcin; Hunsinger, Elliot T.; Smith, Amelia L.; Mas-Peinado, Paloma; Girón, Jennifer C.; Bilska, Aleksandra G.; Strümpher, Werner P.; Wirth, Christopher C.; Kanda, Kojun; Swichtenberg, Kali; Iwan, Dariusz; Smith, Aaron D. (2022). "Female terminalia morphology and cladistic relations among Tok-Tok beetles (Tenebrionidae: Sepidiini)". Cladistics. 38 (6): 623–648. doi:10.1111/cla.12510. ISSN   1096-0031. PMID   35785491.
  6. ↑ Gearner, Olivia M; Kamiński, Marcin J; Kanda, Kojun; Swichtenberg, Kali; Smith, Aaron D (2021-03-01). "Discovery of New Genera Challenges the Subtribal Classification of Tok-Tok Beetles (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Sepidiini)". Insect Systematics and Diversity. 5 (2): 4. doi:10.1093/isd/ixab006. ISSN   2399-3421.
  7. ↑ Kamiński, Marcin Jan (2024-04-29). "New taxa of Afrotropical Toktokkies (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Molurina) from the Natural History Museum of Basel". Zootaxa. 5446 (1): 77–87. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5446.1.4. ISSN   1175-5334. PMID   39645889.
  8. ↑ Kamiński, Marcin J.; Kanda, Kojun; Lumen, Ryan; Ulmer, Jonah M.; Wirth, Christopher C.; Bouchard, Patrice; Aalbu, Rolf; Mal, Noël; Smith, Aaron D. (2019-05-13). "A catalogue of the tribe Sepidiini Eschscholtz, 1829 (Tenebrionidae, Pimeliinae) of the world". ZooKeys (844): 1–121. Bibcode:2019ZooK..844....1K. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.844.34241 . ISSN   1313-2970. PMC   6527536 . PMID   31143077.
  9. ↑ Kamiński, Marcin J.; Kanda, Kojun; Lumen, Ryan; Ulmer, Jonah M.; Wirth, Christopher C.; Bouchard, Patrice; Aalbu, Rolf; Mal, Noël; Smith, Aaron D. (2019-05-13). "A catalogue of the tribe Sepidiini Eschscholtz, 1829 (Tenebrionidae, Pimeliinae) of the world". ZooKeys (844): 1–121. Bibcode:2019ZooK..844....1K. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.844.34241 . ISSN   1313-2970. PMC   6527536 . PMID   31143077.
  10. ↑ Kamiński, Marcin J.; Gearner, Olivia M.; Raś, Marcin; Hunsinger, Elliot T.; Smith, Amelia L.; Mas-Peinado, Paloma; Girón, Jennifer C.; Bilska, Aleksandra G.; Strümpher, Werner P.; Wirth, Christopher C.; Kanda, Kojun; Swichtenberg, Kali; Iwan, Dariusz; Smith, Aaron D. (December 2022). "Female terminalia morphology and cladistic relations among Tok-Tok beetles (Tenebrionidae: Sepidiini)". Cladistics. 38 (6): 623–648. doi:10.1111/cla.12510. ISSN   0748-3007.
  11. ↑ Gearner, Olivia M; Kamiński, Marcin J; Kanda, Kojun; Swichtenberg, Kali; Smith, Aaron D (2021-03-01). Marvaldi, Adriana (ed.). "Discovery of New Genera Challenges the Subtribal Classification of Tok-Tok Beetles (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Sepidiini)". Insect Systematics and Diversity. 5 (2) 4. doi:10.1093/isd/ixab006. ISSN   2399-3421.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kamiński, Marcin J.; Gearner, Olivia M.; Raś, Marcin; Hunsinger, Elliot T.; Smith, Amelia L.; Mas-Peinado, Paloma; Girón, Jennifer C.; Bilska, Aleksandra G.; Strümpher, Werner P.; Wirth, Christopher C.; Kanda, Kojun; Swichtenberg, Kali; Iwan, Dariusz; Smith, Aaron D. (2022). "Female terminalia morphology and cladistic relations among Tok-Tok beetles (Tenebrionidae: Sepidiini)". Cladistics: cla.12510. doi: 10.1111/cla.12510 . hdl: 10261/278940 . PMID   35785491. S2CID   250283827.
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