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| Genus: | Stanwatkinsius Barker & Bellamy, 2001 |
Stanwatkinsius is a genus of beetles in the family Buprestidae, the jewel beetles. They are native to Australia. [1]
Beetles are a group of insects that form the order Coleoptera, in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 species, is the largest of all orders, constituting almost 40% of described insects and 25% of all known animal life-forms; new species are discovered frequently. The largest of all families, the Curculionidae (weevils) with some 83,000 member species, belongs to this order. Found in almost every habitat except the sea and the polar regions, they interact with their ecosystems in several ways: beetles often feed on plants and fungi, break down animal and plant debris, and eat other invertebrates. Some species are serious agricultural pests, such as the Colorado potato beetle, while others such as Coccinellidae eat aphids, scale insects, thrips, and other plant-sucking insects that damage crops.
Buprestidae is a family of beetles known as jewel beetles or metallic wood-boring beetles because of their glossy iridescent colors. Larvae of this family are known as flatheaded borers. The family is among the largest of the beetles, with some 15,500 species known in 775 genera. In addition, almost 100 fossil species have been described.
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. It is the largest country in Oceania and the world's sixth-largest country by total area. The neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, and East Timor to the north; the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east. The population of 26 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard. Australia's capital is Canberra, and its largest city is Sydney. The country's other major metropolitan areas are Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide.
The genus was erected in 2001 for a few species of Cisseis. Several new species were then described. These beetles are less than a centimeter long. They are iridescent, often with colorful heads and bodies in shades of green or blue. Male and female are sometimes dimorphic. They are associated with Australian plants such as Grevillea , Hakea , Casuarina , and Allocasuarina . [1]
Iridescence is the phenomenon of certain surfaces that appear to gradually change color as the angle of view or the angle of illumination changes. Examples of iridescence include soap bubbles, feathers, butterfly wings and seashells, as well as certain minerals. It is often created by structural coloration.
Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the two sexes of the same species exhibit different characteristics beyond the differences in their sexual organs. The condition occurs in many animals and some plants. Differences may include secondary sex characteristics, size, weight, color, markings, and may also include behavioral and cognitive differences. These differences may be subtle or exaggerated, and may be subjected to sexual selection. The opposite of dimorphism is monomorphism.
Grevillea is a diverse genus of about 360 species of evergreen flowering plants in the family Proteaceae, native to rainforest and more open habitats in Australia, New Guinea, New Caledonia, Sulawesi and other Indonesian islands east of the Wallace Line. It was named in honour of Charles Francis Greville. The species range from prostrate shrubs less than 50 cm (20 in) tall to trees 35 m (115 ft) tall. Common names include grevillea, spider flower, silky oak and toothbrush plant. Closely related to the genus Hakea, the genus gives its name to the subfamily Grevilleoideae.
Species include: [2]
- Stanwatkinsius amanda Barker, 2007
- Stanwatkinsius careniceps (Carter, 1923)
- Stanwatkinsius cinctus (Kerremans, 1898)
- Stanwatkinsius constrictus (Blackburn, 1887)
- Stanwatkinsius crassus Barker & Bellamy, 2001
- Stanwatkinsius demarzi Barker & Bellamy, 2001
- Stanwatkinsius grevilleae Barker & Bellamy, 2001
- Stanwatkinsius kermeti Barker & Bellamy, 2001
- Stanwatkinsius lindi (Blackburn, 1887)
- Stanwatkinsius macmillani Barker & Bellamy, 2001
- Stanwatkinsius perplexa (Blackburn, 1887)
- Stanwatkinsius powelli Barker & Bellamy, 2001
- Stanwatkinsius rhodopus Barker & Bellamy, 2001
- Stanwatkinsius speciosus Barker & Bellamy, 2001
- Stanwatkinsius subcarinifrons (Thomson, 1879)
- Stanwatkinsius uniformis (Thomson, 1879)
- Stanwatkinsius viridimarginalis Barker & Bellamy, 2001
