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Psammodius Fallén 1807
Psammodius Fallén 1807: 37.
Photo by Paul Skelley.
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| Aphodiinae Overview | ||
| Psammodiini Key |
Type species. Scarabaeus asper Fabricius 1775: 20, by subsequent designation (= Aphodius sulcicollis Illiger 1801: 20).
= Psammobius Heer 1841: 531.Type species: Aphodius
sulcicollis Illiger 1801, by subsequent designation.
Diagnosis. Body length 3.0-4.0 mm, elongate to weakly globose, reddish-brown to almost black, dorsal surfaces glabrous, with lateral fringe of setae at least on pronotum. Head surface coarsely granulate, frontal suture indistinct, vertex with 1-2 pair V-shaped ridges. Clypeus rounded each side of median emargination. Pronotum with distinct set of 4 transverse grooves and 5 ridges. Elytral base finely margined; intervals moderately convex. Metafemur robust. Metatibia weakly curved, widened at apex. Metatarsi shortened; basal metatarsomere triangular.
Distribution. Africa, Palearctic to Oriental region, northeastern North America (introduced).
Composition. Worldwide, Psammodius contains 20 species, 3 of which are introduced in the New World.
Psammodius basalis (Mulsant and Rey 1869: 636) [Psammobius], Europe, NE-USA (introduced).
Psammodius laevipennis Costa 1844: 18, Europe, NE-USA (introduced).
= Psammodius aegialioides Haldeman 1848: 107.
= Psammodius ciliatus Kuster 1849: 51.
= Psammodius rugicollis Erichson 1848: 916.
= Psammodius scutellaris Mulsant and Wachanru 1859: 187.
Psammodius pierotti Pittino 1979: 598, Europe, western Asia, NE-USA (introduced).
= Aphodius sulcicollis Illiger 1801: 20, of authors [not
Psammodius asper (Fab. 1775)].
Life History. In North America, Psammodius were possibly introduced in ships ballast. Kim and Lumaret (1981) discuss the biology for the related P. porcicollis (Illiger) in Europe.
Larvae. The larvae of P. pierotti was described by Medvedev (1952).
References:
Cartwright, O. L. 1955. Scarab beetles of the genus Psammodius in the Western Hemisphere. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 104(3344): 413-462.
Kim, J. I., and J. P. Lumaret. 1981. Ecologie de Psammodius porcicollis (Ill.) (Col., Aphodiidae), insecte sabulicole des dunes littorales du Golfe du Lion. Annales de la Societe Entomologique de France 17: 449‑462.
Medvedev, S. I. 1952. Larvae of scarabaeid beetles of the fauna of the U.S.S.R. Opredeliteli po Fauna U.S.S.R. Moscow 47: 1-242
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| Author: Paul Skelley Generated on: 09/MAY/08.....Last modified: 09/MAY/08 University of Nebraska State Museum - Division of Entomology |