Spercheus

Spercheus is a genus of aquatic beetles which are placed in a family of their own, Spercheidae. About 20 species are known from around the world, with the majority being from the Oriental and Afrotropical Realms.

Larva of Spercheus emarginatus
For the Greek river, see Spercheios.

Spercheus
Dorsal view of S. senegalensis
Profile view of S. senegalensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Suborder: Polyphaga
Superfamily: Hydrophiloidea
Family: Spercheidae
Erichson, 1837
Genus: Spercheus
Kugelann, 1798

These beetles are usually less than half a centimeter long and their larvae are found in shallow still water with rich vegetation. They do not swim but hang below the water surface and filter-feed on algae. The larvae are triangular in shape, the outline resembling that of antlion larvae. Larvae of many species are also filter feeders on plant matter but some Australian species feed on worms, snails , and other small invertebrates. Females build a silken-egg case which they attach to their mid-tibiae and held by the hind legs, carried below the abdomen.[1] These beetles were formerly placed in the family Hydrophilidae but are distinctive.[2] The front of the head is notched and the 7-9 segmented antenna has the terminal 3-4 segments club like and an enlarged fourth segment. The elytra are very convex and one or two abdominal segments extend beyond the apex. They have 5 tarsal segments on all legs.[3][4]

  • Spercheus belli Champion, 1919
    • Spercheus belli babylonicus Hebauer, 1997
  • Spercheus burgeoni Orchymont, 1929
  • Spercheus cerisyi Guérin Méneville, 1842
  • Spercheus crenulatus Fairmaire, 1893
  • Spercheus emarginatus (Schaller, 1783)
  • Spercheus fimbriicollis Bruch, 1915
  • Spercheus gerardi Orchymont, 1929
  • Spercheus halophilus Archangelsky, 2001
  • Spercheus hanseni Hebauer, 1990
  • Spercheus hovanus Fairmaire, 1903
  • Spercheus humeralis Régimbart, 1906
  • Spercheus platycephalus MacLeay, 1825
    • Spercheus platycephalus interruptus Fairmaire, 1892
  • Spercheus senegalensis Castelnau, 1832
  • Spercheus siamensis Hebauer, 1990
  • Spercheus spangleri Hebauer, 1990
  • Spercheus stangli Schwarz & Barber, 1918
  • Spercheus stasimus Orchymont, 1937
  • Spercheus wattsi Hebauer, 1999

References
  1. Archangelsky, Miguel (2001). "A New Neotropical Species of Spercheus Kugelann, and its Larval Stages (Coleoptera, Hydrophiloidea: Spercheidae)". Studies on Neotropical Fauna and Environment. 36 (3): 199–204. doi:10.1076/snfe.36.3.199.2128. S2CID 84693791.
  2. Archangelsky, Miguel (1998). "Phylogeny of Hydrophiloidea (Coleoptera: Staphyliniformia) using characters from adult and preimaginal stages". Systematic Entomology. 23: 9–24. doi:10.1046/j.1365-3113.1998.00039.x. S2CID 83521707.
  3. Short, A. E. Z.; Fikáček (2013). "Molecular phylogeny, evolution and classification of the Hydrophilidae (Coleoptera)". Systematic Entomology. 38 (4): 723–752. doi:10.1111/syen.12024. S2CID 83050858.
  4. Slipinski, Adam; Lawrence, John, eds. (2019). Australian Beetles Volume 2: Archostemata, Myxophaga, Adephaga, Polyphaga (part). CSIRO.
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