The Disteniidae are a small
family of
beetles in the superfamily
Chrysomeloidea, traditionally treated as a group within the
Cerambycidae (most resembling certain
Lepturinae such as the genus ''
Stenocorus'', but having long fine
antennae and sometimes metallic colours).
Morphology
Adult
The adults have a
lepturoid aspect, having like those (except for a small number of cases) a divided
stridulatory area. Nevertheless, the head is extremely short, the
mandibles are strongly bowed and the anterior
coxae are globular. The
antennae are long, nearly
filiform in most of the genera, and bearing very long
setae in the
Malagasy genus ''
Nethinius''.
Larva
The major differences are in the
larval morphology, because they have the prosternal skin attached to the base of the submentum, rather than with the gula such as all other
Cerambycidae. For nearly all other aspects, they are very similar to the larvae of
Lepturinae.
Distribution
This family, original from
Gondwana
Gondwana () was a large landmass, often referred to as a supercontinent, that formed during the late Neoproterozoic (about 550 million years ago) and began to break up during the Jurassic period (about 180 million years ago). The final stages ...
, includes more than 300 species, widespread in all regions of the
Southern Hemisphere, while much less common in the
Northern Hemisphere
The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ...
. In particular, only a few species occur in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
and none are present in
Europe. In contrast,
Madagascar is extremely rich in species, especially of the
endemic genus ''
Nethinius''.
Biology
The adults have mostly nocturnal behaviour; some species (''Nethinius'') may be collected beating plants where they live. The fact that several specimens have been collected with mutilated legs and antennae suggests the existence of an aggressive character and of infra-specific fights for females. The larvae are
xylophagous
Xylophagy is a term used in ecology to describe the habits of an herbivorous animal whose diet consists primarily (often solely) of wood. The word derives from Greek ''ξυλοφάγος'' (''xulophagos'') "eating wood", from ''ξύλον'' (') ...
and attack wood or roots of broad-leaf trees.
Systematics
The Disteniidae were inserted in "Cerambycides" by
Jean Théodore Lacordaire, when the group included all
cerambycids known at that time except for
Lamiinae and
Prioninae
The Prioninae are a subfamily of Cerambycidae (long-horned beetles). They are typically large (25–70 mm) and usually brown or black. The males of a few genera sport large mandibles that are used in fights with other males, similar to stag ...
.
LeConte &
Horn
Horn most often refers to:
*Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound
** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments
*Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...
(1883) included them in the
Lepturinae, even noticing their peculiar primitivism. Gahan considered them as a
subfamily
In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...
suggesting that this group should deserve the elevation to
family rank. This statement was formalised by Linsley in 1961, accepted by many subsequent authors and only seldom contested.
The
family is composed of 4
tribes:
*
Cyrtonopini White, 1853
*
Disteniini
Disteniini is a tribe
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This defi ...
Thomson, 1860
*
Dynamostini Lacordaire, 1869
*
Heteropalpini Villiers, 1980
Notes
References
External links
Check-list of worldwide DisteniidaeGallery of worldwide DisteniidaeGallery of American Disteniidae
{{Taxonbar, from=Q906307
Chrysomeloidea
Beetle families