''Glaresis'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

beetle Beetles are 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 describ ...

s, sometimes called "Enigmatic scarab beetles", in its own family, the Glaresidae. It is closely related to, and was formerly included in, the family Scarabaeidae. Although its members occur in arid and sandy areas worldwide (except Australia), only the nocturnal adults have ever been collected (typically at lights), and both the larvae and biology of ''Glaresis'' are as yet unknown. Due to their narrow habitat associations, a great number of these species occur in extremely limited geographic areas, and are accordingly imperiled by

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

. These beetles are small, 2.5–6 mm long, and have the stocky appearance typical of

fossorial A fossorial () animal is one adapted to digging which lives primarily, but not solely, underground. Some examples are badgers, naked mole-rats, clams, meerkats, and mole salamanders, as well as many beetles, wasps, and bees. Prehistoric eviden ...

scarabs, with short, heavy, spurred legs. Color ranges from tan to dark brown, and the back is covered with short

setae In biology, setae (singular seta ; from the Latin word for "bristle") are any of a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms. Animal setae Protostomes Annelid setae are stiff bristles present on the body. Th ...

. Efforts to raise glaresids in the laboratory were undertaken in the 1980s by C. H. Scholtz and others, but were unsuccessful. ''Glaresis'' was originally classified with

Trogidae Trogidae, sometimes called hide beetles, is a family of beetles with a distinctive warty or bumpy appearance. Found worldwide, the family includes about 300 species contained in four or five genera. Trogids range in length from 2 to 20 mm. Thei ...

(originally a subfamily within Scarabaeidae), and has many characteristics of "primitive" scarabaeoids, but no affinities to any of the other primitive groups; recent work suggests that they may in fact belong in Trogidae. Scholtz argued that ''Glaresis'' is the most primitive type of scarabaeoid, but more recent research indicates that the Pleocomidae hold this position. The species in North, Central, and South America have been revised by Robert Gordon and Guy Hanley, January 2014, in the journal ''Insecta Mundi''.

Species

* ''

Glaresis alfierii ''Glaresis'' is a genus of beetles, sometimes called "Enigmatic scarab beetles", in its own family, the Glaresidae. It is closely related to, and was formerly included in, the family Scarabaeidae. Although its members occur in arid and sandy area ...

'' * ''

Glaresis arabica ''Glaresis'' is a genus of beetles, sometimes called "Enigmatic scarab beetles", in its own family, the Glaresidae. It is closely related to, and was formerly included in, the family Scarabaeidae. Although its members occur in arid and sandy area ...

'' * '' Glaresis arenata'' * '' Glaresis australis'' * '' Glaresis bajaensis'' * ''

Glaresis bautista ''Glaresis'' is a genus of beetles, sometimes called "Enigmatic scarab beetles", in its own family, the Glaresidae. It is closely related to, and was formerly included in, the family Scarabaeidae. Although its members occur in arid and sandy area ...

'' * '' Glaresis beckeri'' * ''

Glaresis caenulenta ''Glaresis'' is a genus of beetles, sometimes called "Enigmatic scarab beetles", in its own family, the Glaresidae. It is closely related to, and was formerly included in, the family Scarabaeidae. Although its members occur in arid and sandy area ...

'' * '' Glaresis california'' * '' Glaresis canadensis'' * '' Glaresis carthagensis'' * '' Glaresis cartwrighti'' * '' Glaresis ceballosi'' * '' Glaresis celiae'' * '' Glaresis clypeata'' * '' Glaresis confusa'' * '' Glaresis contrerasi'' * '' Glaresis costaricensis'' * ''

Glaresis costata ''Glaresis'' is a genus of beetles, sometimes called "Enigmatic scarab beetles", in its own family, the Glaresidae. It is closely related to, and was formerly included in, the family Scarabaeidae. Although its members occur in arid and sandy area ...

'' * '' Glaresis dakotensis'' * ''

Glaresis dentata ''Glaresis'' is a genus of beetles, sometimes called "Enigmatic scarab beetles", in its own family, the Glaresidae. It is closely related to, and was formerly included in, the family Scarabaeidae. Although its members occur in arid and sandy area ...

'' * '' Glaresis desperata'' * '' Glaresis donaldi'' * '' Glaresis ecostata'' * ''

Glaresis exasperata ''Glaresis'' is a genus of beetles, sometimes called "Enigmatic scarab beetles", in its own family, the Glaresidae. It is closely related to, and was formerly included in, the family Scarabaeidae. Although its members occur in arid and sandy area ...

'' * '' Glaresis falli'' * '' Glaresis foveolata'' * '' Glaresis franzi'' * ''

Glaresis freyi ''Glaresis'' is a genus of beetles, sometimes called "Enigmatic scarab beetles", in its own family, the Glaresidae. It is closely related to, and was formerly included in, the family Scarabaeidae. Although its members occur in arid and sandy are ...

'' * ''

Glaresis fritzi ''Glaresis'' is a genus of beetles, sometimes called "Enigmatic scarab beetles", in its own family, the Glaresidae. It is closely related to, and was formerly included in, the family Scarabaeidae. Although its members occur in arid and sandy are ...

'' * '' Glaresis frustrata'' * '' Glaresis gineri'' * '' Glaresis gordoni'' * ''

Glaresis handlirschi ''Glaresis'' is a genus of beetles, sometimes called "Enigmatic scarab beetles", in its own family, the Glaresidae. It is closely related to, and was formerly included in, the family Scarabaeidae. Although its members occur in arid and sandy are ...

'' * '' Glaresis hespericula'' * ''

Glaresis hispana ''Glaresis'' is a genus of beetles, sometimes called "Enigmatic scarab beetles", in its own family, the Glaresidae. It is closely related to, and was formerly included in, the family Scarabaeidae. Although its members occur in arid and sandy are ...

'' * '' Glaresis holmi'' * '' Glaresis holzschuhi'' * ''

Glaresis howdeni ''Glaresis'' is a genus of beetles, sometimes called "Enigmatic scarab beetles", in its own family, the Glaresidae. It is closely related to, and was formerly included in, the family Scarabaeidae. Although its members occur in arid and sandy area ...

'' * '' Glaresis imitator'' * '' Glaresis impressicollis'' * ''

Glaresis inducta ''Glaresis inducta'' is a species of enigmatic scarab beetle in the family Glaresidae ''Glaresis'' is a genus of beetles, sometimes called "Enigmatic scarab beetles", in its own family, the Glaresidae. It is closely related to, and was formerl ...

'' * '' Glaresis kocheri'' * ''

Glaresis koenigsbaueri ''Glaresis'' is a genus of beetles, sometimes called "Enigmatic scarab beetles", in its own family, the Glaresidae. It is closely related to, and was formerly included in, the family Scarabaeidae. Although its members occur in arid and sandy are ...

'' * ''

Glaresis limbata ''Glaresis'' is a genus of beetles, sometimes called "Enigmatic scarab beetles", in its own family, the Glaresidae. It is closely related to, and was formerly included in, the family Scarabaeidae. Although its members occur in arid and sandy area ...

'' * ''

Glaresis lomii ''Glaresis'' is a genus of beetles, sometimes called "Enigmatic scarab beetles", in its own family, the Glaresidae. It is closely related to, and was formerly included in, the family Scarabaeidae. Although its members occur in arid and sandy are ...

'' * '' Glaresis longisternum'' * ''

Glaresis mandibularis ''Glaresis'' is a genus of beetles, sometimes called "Enigmatic scarab beetles", in its own family, the Glaresidae. It is closely related to, and was formerly included in, the family Scarabaeidae. Although its members occur in arid and sandy area ...

'' * '' Glaresis maroccana'' * ''

Glaresis mauritanica ''Glaresis'' is a genus of beetles, sometimes called "Enigmatic scarab beetles", in its own family, the Glaresidae. It is closely related to, and was formerly included in, the family Scarabaeidae. Although its members occur in arid and sandy are ...

'' * '' Glaresis medialis'' * ''

Glaresis mendica ''Glaresis'' is a genus of beetles, sometimes called "Enigmatic scarab beetles", in its own family, the Glaresidae. It is closely related to, and was formerly included in, the family Scarabaeidae. Although its members occur in arid and sandy area ...

'' * '' Glaresis methneri'' * ''

Glaresis minuta ''Glaresis'' is a genus of beetles, sometimes called "Enigmatic scarab beetles", in its own family, the Glaresidae. It is closely related to, and was formerly included in, the family Scarabaeidae. Although its members occur in arid and sandy area ...

'' * '' Glaresis mondacai'' * '' Glaresis montenegro'' * '' Glaresis namibensis'' * '' Glaresis obscura'' * '' Glaresis ordosensis'' * ''

Glaresis orientalis ''Glaresis'' is a genus of beetles, sometimes called "Enigmatic scarab beetles", in its own family, the Glaresidae. It is closely related to, and was formerly included in, the family Scarabaeidae. Although its members occur in arid and sandy are ...

'' * '' Glaresis oxiana'' * '' Glaresis paramendica'' * ''

Glaresis pardoalcaidei ''Glaresis'' is a genus of beetles, sometimes called "Enigmatic scarab beetles", in its own family, the Glaresidae. It is closely related to, and was formerly included in, the family Scarabaeidae. Although its members occur in arid and sandy are ...

'' * ''

Glaresis pardoi ''Glaresis'' is a genus of beetles, sometimes called "Enigmatic scarab beetles", in its own family, the Glaresidae. It is closely related to, and was formerly included in, the family Scarabaeidae. Although its members occur in arid and sandy area ...

'' * ''

Glaresis penrithae ''Glaresis'' is a genus of beetles, sometimes called "Enigmatic scarab beetles", in its own family, the Glaresidae. It is closely related to, and was formerly included in, the family Scarabaeidae. Although its members occur in arid and sandy area ...

'' * '' Glaresis phoenicis'' * '' Glaresis porrecta'' * ''

Glaresis quedenfeldti ''Glaresis'' is a genus of beetles, sometimes called "Enigmatic scarab beetles", in its own family, the Glaresidae. It is closely related to, and was formerly included in, the family Scarabaeidae. Although its members occur in arid and sandy are ...

'' * '' Glaresis rufa'' * '' Glaresis smithi'' * '' Glaresis subulosa'' * '' Glaresis texana'' * '' Glaresis thiniensis'' * '' Glaresis tripolitana'' * '' Glaresis tumida'' * ''

Glaresis villiersi ''Glaresis'' is a genus of beetles, sometimes called "Enigmatic scarab beetles", in its own family, the Glaresidae. It is closely related to, and was formerly included in, the family Scarabaeidae. Although its members occur in arid and sandy area ...

'' * ''

Glaresis walzlae ''Glaresis'' is a genus of beetles, sometimes called "Enigmatic scarab beetles", in its own family, the Glaresidae. It is closely related to, and was formerly included in, the family Scarabaeidae. Although its members occur in arid and sandy are ...

'' * '' Glaresis warneri'' * '' Glaresis yanegai'' * '' Glaresis zacateca'' * '' Glaresis zarudniana'' * '' Glaresis zvirgzdinsi''

Fossil species

* †''Glaresis burmitica'' Cai and Huang 2018 Burmese amber, Myanmar,

Cenomanian The Cenomanian is, in the ICS' geological timescale, the oldest or earliest age of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or the lowest stage of the Upper Cretaceous Series. An age is a unit of geochronology; it is a unit of time; the stage is a unit in the s ...

* †''Glaresis orthochilus'' Bai et al. 2010 Yixian Formation, China,

Aptian The Aptian is an age in the geologic timescale or a stage in the stratigraphic column. It is a subdivision of the Early or Lower Cretaceous Epoch or Series and encompasses the time from 121.4 ± 1.0 Ma to 113.0 ± 1.0 Ma (million years ago), a ...

* †''Glaresis tridentata'' Bai et al. 2014M. Bai, R. G. Beutel, and D. Ren. 2014
Description of a new species of Glaresidae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) from the Jehol Biota of China with a geometric morphometric evaluation.
''Arthropod Systematics & Phylogeny'' 72:223-236 Yixian Formation, China, Aptian ''"Glaresis" cretacea'' Nikolajev 2007 from the Aptian aged Zaza Formation in Russia is considered questionable, with Cai and Huang 2018 considering it to have no diagnostic characters of the family.

References

* Mary Liz Jameson, "Glaresidae", in Ross H. Arnett, Jr. and

Michael C. Thomas Michael Charles Thomas (May 5, 1948 – October 14, 2019) was an American entomologist who co-authored the book series ''American Beetles''. Born in Miami, Florida, Thomas graduated from the University of South Florida in 1970 with a Bachelor o ...

, ''American Beetles'' (

CRC Press The CRC Press, LLC is an American publishing group that specializes in producing technical books. Many of their books relate to engineering, science and mathematics. Their scope also includes books on business, forensics and information tec ...

, 2001), vol. 2

External links

* Browne et al.
''Glaresis''
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Tree of Life
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q140720, from2=Q14868999 Scarabaeoidea genera Scarabaeiformia