Alexiidae is a family of

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. It contains a single genus, ''Sphaerosoma,'' formerly included within the family Cerylonidae, with around 50 species which are native to the western Palearctic. Species of ''Sphaerosoma'' are very small, around 1 to 2 mm in length rounded beetles with clubbed antennae. They are fungivores, having been observed feeding on mushrooms, and have been also been found in leaf litter and on decaying bark.Ślipinśki, Adam and Tomaszewska, Wioletta. "10.30. Alexiidae Imhoff, 1856". ''Volume 2 Morphology and Systematics (Elateroidea, Bostrichiformia, Cucujiformia partim)'', edited by Willy Kükenthal, Richard A.B. Leschen, Rolf G. Beutel and John F. Lawrence, Berlin, New York: De Gruyter, 2011, pp. 432-434.

Taxonomy

There has been considerable confusion regarding the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specime ...

and authorship of the genus; most older sources consider the author and species to be ''Sphaerosoma quercus'' Samouelle, 1819. That name is now considered to be a ''nomen nudum'', and the valid name for Samouelle's species is ''Sphaerosoma piliferum'' (Müller, 1821). The type species is now considered to be ''Sphaerosoma quercus'' Stephens, 1832, which is itself a junior synonym of ''Sphaerosoma pilosum'' (Panzer, 1793). Alexiidae has been recovered as part of the superfamily

Coccinelloidea Coccinelloidea is a superfamily of beetles in the order Coleoptera, formerly included in the superfamily Cucujoidea. There are more than 10,000 species in Coccinelloidea, including more than 6000 in the lady beetle family Coccinellidae. Morphol ...

as the sister group of Latridiidae.

Species

* '' Sphaerosoma algiricum'' (Reitter, 1889) * '' Sphaerosoma alutaceum'' (Reitter, 1883) * '' Sphaerosoma antennarium'' Apfelbeck, 1909 * '' Sphaerosoma apuanum'' Reitter, 1909 * '' Sphaerosoma bicome'' Peyerimhoff, 1917 * '' Sphaerosoma bosnicum'' (Reitter, 1885) * '' Sphaerosoma carniolicum'' Apfelbeck, 1915 * '' Sphaerosoma carpathicum'' (Reitter, 1883) * '' Sphaerosoma circassicum'' (Reitter, 1888) * '' Sphaerosoma clamboides'' (Reitter, 1888) * '' Sphaerosoma compressum'' (Reitter, 1901) * '' Sphaerosoma corcyreum'' (Reitter, 1883) * '' Sphaerosoma csikii'' Apfelbeck, 1915 * '' Sphaerosoma diversepunctatum'' Roubal, 1932 * '' Sphaerosoma fiorii'' Ganglbauer, 1899 * '' Sphaerosoma globosum'' (Sturm, 1807) * '' Sphaerosoma hemisphaericum'' Ganglbauer, 1899 * '' Sphaerosoma hispanicum'' Obenberger, 1917 * '' Sphaerosoma laevicolle'' (Reitter, 1883) * '' Sphaerosoma latitarse'' Apfelbeck, 1915 * '' Sphaerosoma lederi'' (Reitter, 1888) * '' Sphaerosoma leonhardi'' Apfelbeck, 1915 * '' Sphaerosoma libani'' Sahlberg, 1913 * '' Sphaerosoma maritimum'' (Reitter, 1904) * '' Sphaerosoma merditanum'' Apfelbeck, 1915 * '' Sphaerosoma meridionale'' (Reitter, 1883) * '' Sphaerosoma nevadense'' (Reitter, 1883) * '' Sphaerosoma normandi'' Peyerimhoff, 1917 * '' Sphaerosoma obscuricorne'' Obenberger, 1917 * '' Sphaerosoma obsoletum'' (Reitter, 1883) * '' Sphaerosoma paganetti'' Obenberger, 1913 * '' Sphaerosoma piliferum'' (Müller, 1821) * '' Sphaerosoma pilosellum'' (Reitter, 1877) * '' Sphaerosoma pilosissimum'' (Frivaldszky, 1881) * '' Sphaerosoma pilosum'' (Panzer, 1793) * '' Sphaerosoma pubescens'' (Frivaldszky, 1881) * '' Sphaerosoma punctatum'' (Reitter, 1878) * '' Sphaerosoma puncticolle'' (Reitter, 1883) * '' Sphaerosoma purkynei'' Obenberger, 1917 * '' Sphaerosoma rambouseki'' Apfelbeck, 1916 * '' Sphaerosoma reitteri'' (Ormay, 1888) * '' Sphaerosoma rotundatum'' Obenberger, 1913 * '' Sphaerosoma scymnoides'' (Reitter, 1885) * '' Sphaerosoma seidlitzi'' (Reitter, 1889) * '' Sphaerosoma shardaghense'' Apfelbeck, 1915 * '' Sphaerosoma solarii'' Reitter, 1904 * '' Sphaerosoma sparsum'' Reitter, 1909 * '' Sphaerosoma sturanyi'' Apfelbeck, 1909 * '' Sphaerosoma subglabrum'' Peyerimhoff, 1917 * '' Sphaerosoma sublaeve'' (Reitter, 1883) * '' Sphaerosoma tingitanum'' Peyerimhoff, 1917 * '' Sphaerosoma vallambrosae'' (Reitter, 1885) * '' Sphaerosoma winneguthi'' Apfelbeck, 1915

References

External links

Alexiidae
Tree of Life * Coccinelloidea Polyphaga families Monogeneric arthropod families {{Polyphaga-stub