''Otiorhynchus'' (sometimes misspelled as ''Otiorrhynchus'') is a large

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

weevil Weevils are beetles belonging to the superfamily Curculionoidea, known for their elongated snouts. They are usually small, less than in length, and herbivorous. Approximately 97,000 species of weevils are known. They belong to several families, ...

s in the family Curculionidae. Many species of the genus, particularly the black vine weevil (''O. sulcatus'') and the strawberry root weevil (''O. ovatus''), are important pests, both as larvae and as adults. Larvae feed on plant roots. Adults are flightless with fused elytra and feed at night on plant foliage.Warner, R. E. & F. B. Negley. 1976. The genus ''Otiorhynchus'' in America north of Mexico (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). ''Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington'' 78 (3): 240-262.Bright, D. E. & P. Bouchard. ''The Insects and Arachnids of Canada'', Part 25: ''Coleoptera. Curculionidae. Entiminae. Weevils of Canada and Alaska''. Vol. 2. Ottawa, NRC Research Press, 2008. . P. 111-131. In many species of the genus at least some races are

polyploid Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than one pair of ( homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei ( eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two sets of chromosomes, where each set contain ...

and

parthenogenetic Parthenogenesis (; from the Greek grc, παρθένος, translit=parthénos, lit=virgin, label=none + grc, γένεσις, translit=génesis, lit=creation, label=none) is a natural form of asexual reproduction in which growth and developmen ...

, while the rest of the races and species are diploid and bisexual. ''Otiorhynchus'' weevils, particularly '' O. scaber'', have been a popular subject for studies of the evolution of parthenogenesis. The genus is native to the Palearctic region. However, sixteen species were inadvertently introduced to North America and have become widespread there. A number of species are

troglobites A troglobite (or, formally, troglobiont) is an animal species, or population of a species, strictly bound to underground habitats, such as caves. These are separate from species that mainly live in above-ground habitats but are also able to live u ...

, cave-dwelling animals that lack eyes.Hlavač, P. (2011)
Endogean and cavernicolous Coleoptera of the Balkans. XI. Revision of the subgenus ''Troglorhynchus'' Reitter of the genus ''Otiorhynchus'' Germar (Coleoptera: Curculionidae).
''Natura Croatica'' 20(1), 189-200.di Marco, C. and G. Osella. (2002)
''Otiorhynchus radjai'' sp. n. from Vis Island (Dalmatia, Croatia), and description of a new subgenus of ''Otiorhynchus'' Germar (Coleoptera, Curculionidae).
''Italian Journal of Zoology'' 69(3), 257-62. There are over 1,500 species in this genus, which is divided into at least 105 subgenera. Species include: *'' Otiorhynchus alpicola'' *'' Otiorhynchus arcticus'' *'' Otiorhynchus cribricollis'' *''

Otiorhynchus cuneiformis ''Otiorhynchus'' (sometimes misspelled as ''Otiorrhynchus'') is a large genus of weevils in the family Curculionidae. Many species of the genus, particularly the black vine weevil (''O. sulcatus'') and the strawberry root weevil (''O. ovatus'' ...

'' *''

Otiorhynchus dieckmanni ''Otiorhynchus'' (sometimes misspelled as ''Otiorrhynchus'') is a large genus of weevils in the family Curculionidae. Many species of the genus, particularly the black vine weevil (''O. sulcatus'') and the strawberry root weevil (''O. ovatus'' ...

'' *''

Otiorhynchus frater ''Otiorhynchus'' (sometimes misspelled as ''Otiorrhynchus'') is a large genus of weevils in the family Curculionidae. Many species of the genus, particularly the black vine weevil (''O. sulcatus'') and the strawberry root weevil (''O. ovatus'' ...

'' *'' Otiorhynchus gemmatus'' *''

Otiorhynchus grischunensis ''Otiorhynchus'' (sometimes misspelled as ''Otiorrhynchus'') is a large genus of weevils in the family Curculionidae. Many species of the genus, particularly the black vine weevil (''O. sulcatus'') and the strawberry root weevil (''O. ovatus'' ...

''Germann, C. (2010)
''Otiorhynchus'' (''Nihus'') ''grischunensis'' sp. n.—a new species of the ''O. rhilensis'' species group from the Swiss Alps (Curculionidae, Entiminae).
''Zootaxa'' 2368, 59-68. *'' Otiorhynchus ligneus'' *'' Otiorhynchus ligustici'' *''

Otiorhynchus magnanoi ''Otiorhynchus'' (sometimes misspelled as ''Otiorrhynchus'') is a large genus of weevils in the family Curculionidae. Many species of the genus, particularly the black vine weevil (''O. sulcatus'') and the Otiorhynchus ovatus, strawberry root wee ...

''Keskin, B. (2007)
A new species of the genus ''Otiorhynchus'' Germar, 1822 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Entiminae) from Western Anatolia (Turkey).
''Zootaxa'' 1588, 63-68. *'' Otiorhynchus meridionalis'' *'' Otiorhynchus morio'' *'' Otiorhynchus ovatus'' *'' Otiorhynchus porcatus'' *'' Otiorhynchus rhacusensis'' *'' Otiorhynchus radjai'' *'' Otiorhynchus raucus'' *'' Otiorhynchus rugifrons'' *'' Otiorhynchus rugostriatus'' *'' Otiorhynchus scaber'' *'' Otiorhynchus singularis'' *'' Otiorhynchus sulcatus'' *'' Otiorhynchus vehemens''

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Further reading