Agathidium
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Agathidium
Agathidium is the name of an obscure genus of small, slime mold-feeding beetles found in North and Central America. It includes about 100 species (over 60 described by Kelly B. Miller of Brigham Young University and Quentin Wheeler of the Natural History Museum in London in the March 24, 2005, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History).
The creatures are highly contractile and are able to roll themselves up into a virtual sphere.
Males of some species exhibit large horns extending from the left mandible. The horn is unique in that it is dramatically asymmetrical, unlike most male ornaments in insects, which are bilaterally symmetrical.
Males use a head-thrusting behavior to dislodge other males from the surfaces of the slime molds on which they feed, and horned males appear better able to dislodge opponents. This presumably increases the opportunity for the winning male to mate. Head thrusting is also used, less vigorously, on females before and after mating.
Some of the new species have been named in homage to U.S. government officials, such as:
There is also an Agathidium vaderi Miller and Wheeler, named for its shiny Darth Vader-like head.
Last updated: February 13, 2007.
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Agathidium
| Agathidium | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Agathidium mandibulare | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Family: | Leiodidae |
| Subfamily: | Leiodinae |
| Genus: | Agathidium Panzer, 1797 |
| Diversity | |
| > 100 species | |
Agathidium is a genus of beetles in the family Leiodidae.
A. bushi, A. cheneyi, A. rumsfeldi and A. vaderi are species of this genus named after George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and Darth Vader respectively, by two former Cornell entomologists, Dr Kelly B. Miller (now at Brigham Young University) and Dr Quentin D. Wheeler (now at ASU). According to Miller and Wheeler, the naming of the beetles (who were three of 65 species to be named) was done in homage to the political figures.[1]
Some species can roll themselves up into an almost complete sphere, similar to pillbugs. Some males have horns on their left mandibles to dislodge rival males.[2]
Selected species
- Agathidium arcticum Thomson, 1862
- Agathidium atrum (Paykull, 1798)
- Agathidium badium Erichson, 1845
- Agathidium bushi Miller et Wheeler, 2005
- Agathidium cheneyi Miller et Wheeler, 2005
- Agathidium confusum Brisout de Barneville, 1863
- Agathidium convexum Sharp, 1866
- Agathidium discoideum Erichson, 1845
- Agathidium gutianense Angelini et Cooter, 1999
- Agathidium haemorrhoum Erichson, 1845
- Agathidium laevigatum Erichson, 1845
- Agathidium mandibulare Sturm, 1807
- Agathidium marginatum Sturm, 1807
- Agathidium nigrinum Sturm, 1807
- Agathidium nigripenne (Fabricius, 1792)
- Agathidium pallidum (Gyllenhal, 1827)
- Agathidium pisanum Brisout de Barneville, 1872
- Agathidium plagiatum (Gyllenhal, 1810)
- Agathidium pulchellum Wankowicz, 1869
- Agathidium rotundatum (Gyllenhal, 1827)
- Agathidium rumsfeldi Miller et Wheeler, 2005
- Agathidium seminulum (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Agathidium vaderi Miller et Wheeler, 2005
- Agathidium varians Beck, 1817
References
- ^ "Cornell News: Slime-mold beetle named for Bush". http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/April05/slime-mold.Bush.Cheney.ssl.html.
- ^ Atlantic Canada Coleoptera: Agathidium Panzer 1797 and Gelae Miller and Wheeler 2004 (with pictures)
- Miller, Kelly B; Wheeler, Quentin D (2005). "Slime-mold beetles of the genus Agathidium Panzer in North and Central America, part II. Coleoptera: Leiodidae." Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 291(1): 1-167. doi:10.1206/0003-0090(2005)291<0001:SBOTGA>2.0.CO;2 Free PDF reprint
External links
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Wikispecies has information related to: Agathidium |
- Press Release from Cornell News
- Dr Kelly B Miller's homepage
- Dr Quentin D Wheeler's homepage
 |
This Leiodidae-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
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