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Tesarius Rakovic, 1981
Tesarius Rakovic, 1981a: 27.
Tesarius caelatus (LeConte).
Photo by Paul Skelley.
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| Aphodiinae Overview | ||
| Psammodiini Key |
Type species: Phycochus sulcipennis Lea, 1904, by monotypy.
Diagnosis: Body globose. Clypeus granulate. Eyes greatly reduced. Flight wings lacking. Elytral intervals margined at base. Metatibia with strong, complete median transverse carina.
Remarks: The most recent review of Tesarius was by Rakovic (1984). Except for T. sulcipennis, which occurs in Australia (Tasmania) and New Zealand (Chathams) (Stebnicka 2001), all other described species are
native to western North America. This distribution seems unusual, and it is felt the genus needs further work after more specimens have been collected in Australia. Being flightless and probably blind, they are not
attracted to light and must be sifted out of the sand dunes they inhabit. They can be locally abundant.
References:
Rakovic, M. (1984) A review of the genus Tesarius Rakovic (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Aphodiinae). Acta Entomologica Bohemoslovaca, 81, 448–452.
Stebnicka, Z.T. (2001) Aphodiinae (Insecta: Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). Fauna of New Zealand, 42, 1–59.
Excerpt from: Smith, A. B. T. and P. E. Skelley. 2007. A review of the Aphodiinae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) of southern South America. Zootaxa 1458: 1-80.
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| Authors: Andrew Smith ( Canadian Museum of Nature) and Paul Skelley (Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services). Generated on: 07/JAN/08.....Last modified: 07/JAN/08 University of Nebraska State Museum - Division of Entomology |