''Sitona'' 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 native to the

Nearctic The Nearctic realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting the Earth's land surface. The Nearctic realm covers most of North America, including Greenland, Central Florida, and the highlands of Mexico. The parts of North America ...

and

Palaearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sibe ...

regions. Over 100 species have been described. ''Sitona'' is easily distinguished from related genera by flat, recumbent scales on the

mandibles In anatomy, the mandible, lower jaw or jawbone is the largest, strongest and lowest bone in the human facial skeleton. It forms the lower jaw and holds the lower teeth in place. The mandible sits beneath the maxilla. It is the only movable bone ...

, by the absence of an oval scar on the mandibles, by short and broad

rostrum Rostrum may refer to: * Any kind of a platform for a speaker: **dais **pulpit * Rostrum (anatomy), a beak, or anatomical structure resembling a beak, as in the mouthparts of many sucking insects * Rostrum (ship), a form of bow on naval ships * Ros ...

with a deep, longitudinal, median groove, and by dense scales on the body.Donald E. Bright, Patrice 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. 178-203. ''Sitona'' specialize on legumes, plants of the family Fabaceae. The larvae eat the root nodulesKorortyaev, B. A. and A. J. Velázquez de Castro González. (2011)
A new species of the weevil genus ''Sitona'' Germar (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) from Mt. Hermon in Israel.
''Proceedings of the Zoological Institute RAS'' 315(1) 85-88. and the adults eat the leaves. Several species of ''Sitona'' are important

agricultural pest A pest is any animal or plant harmful to humans or human concerns. The term is particularly used for creatures that damage crops, livestock, and forestry or cause a nuisance to people, especially in their homes. Humans have modified the environ ...

s of legumes, especially in its native regions and introduced populations in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Species include: *''

Sitona aliceae ''Sitona'' is a large genus of weevils in the family Curculionidae native to the Nearctic and Palaearctic regions. Over 100 species have been described. ''Sitona'' is easily distinguished from related genera by flat, recumbent scales on the mand ...

''Velázquez de Castro, A. J., et al. (2011)
Sitonini (Curculionidae: Entiminae) of Israel.
''Israel Journal of Entomology'' 40 71-108. *'' Sitona aquilonius'' *'' Sitona bicolor'' *'' Sitona brucki'' *'' Sitona californius'' *'' Sitona concavirostris'' *'' Sitona crinitus'' *'' Sitona cylindricollis'' *'' Sitona demoflysi'' *'' Sitona desertus'' *'' Sitona discoideus'' Gyllenhal *'' Sitona fairmairei'' Allard, 1869 *''

Sitona flavescens ''Sitona'' is a large genus of weevils in the family Curculionidae native to the Nearctic and Palaearctic regions. Over 100 species have been described. ''Sitona'' is easily distinguished from related genera by flat, recumbent scales on the mandi ...

'' *''

Sitona fronto ''Sitona'' is a large genus of weevils in the family Curculionidae native to the Nearctic and Palaearctic regions. Over 100 species have been described. ''Sitona'' is easily distinguished from related genera by flat, recumbent scales on the mand ...

'' *'' Sitona hispidulus'' *'' Sitona lepidus'' Gyllenhal – clover root weevil *'' Sitona lineatus'' – pea leaf weevil *'' Sitona lineellus'' *''

Sitona maroccanus ''Sitona'' is a large genus of weevils in the family Curculionidae native to the Nearctic and Palaearctic regions. Over 100 species have been described. ''Sitona'' is easily distinguished from related genera by flat, recumbent scales on the mand ...

'' *'' Sitona planifrons'' *'' Sitona puncticollis'' *'' Sitona sulcifrons'' *'' Sitona syriacus'' *'' Sitona tanneri'' *'' Sitona vittatus'' *'' Sitona volkovitshi'' *'' Sitona wahrmani''

References

Entiminae Curculionidae genera {{Entiminae-stub