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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:

  • Agathidium bushi Miller and Wheeler
  • Agathidium cheneyi Miller and Wheeler
  • Agathidium rumsfeldi Miller and Wheeler
  • There is also an Agathidium vaderi Miller and Wheeler, named for its shiny Darth Vader-like head.

    Last updated: February 13, 2007.

     
     
    Wikipedia: Agathidium
    Agathidium
    Scientific classification
    Kingdom: Animalia
    Phylum: Arthropoda
    Class: Insecta
    Order: Coleoptera
    Family: Leiodidae
    Genus: Agathidium
    Panzer, 1797
    Diversity
    > 100 species
    Species

    A. bushi
    A. cheneyi
    A. rumsfeldi
    A. vaderi
    and 61 others Miller & Wheeler, 2005

    Agathidium bushi, Agathidium cheneyi, and Agathidium rumsfeldi are species of round fungus beetles named after George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld, respectively, by two former Cornell entomologists, Dr Kelly B. Miller (now at Brigham Young University) and Dr Quentin D. Wheeler (now at the Natural History Museum). 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. Other namesakes for species in this genus include Darth Vader, "who shares with A. vaderi a broad, shiny, helmetlike head" and Pocahontas.

    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.[1]

    See also

    Footnotes

    1. ^ Atlantic Canada Coleoptera: Agathidium Panzer 1797 and Gelae Miller and Wheeler 2004 (with pictures)

    References

    External links

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