Rhaebus (beetle)

Rhaebus
Rhaebus solskyi
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Clade: Pancrustacea
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Suborder: Polyphaga
Infraorder: Cucujiformia
Family: Chrysomelidae
Subfamily: Bruchinae
Tribe: Rhaebini
Blanchard, 1845
Genus: Rhaebus
Fischer von Waldheim, 1824
Type species
Rhaebus gebleri
Fischer von Waldheim, 1824

Rhaebus (from the Greek: ῥαιβός curved) is a genus of metallic bean weevils in the subfamily Bruchinae, and the only member of the tribe Rhaebini. It is restricted to the Palearctic region.

Appearance

Rhaebus beetles are small, measuring between 3–5 millimetres in length, and are metallic in colour, which is rare in members of the Bruchinae subfamily. Their bodies are elongated in shape, and the antennae vary.

Diet and life cycle

Rhaebus beetles feed exclusively on plants of the genus Nitraria, where their young also develop.

Taxonomic history

The genus was first described in 1824 by Gotthelf Fischer von Waldheim in his book Entomographie de la Russie. He described it with only one species, Rh. gebleri, making the genus monotypic.

Species creation & synonymy

Species

Since a taxonomic review in August 2022, Rhaebus has three species:: 1 

References

  1. ↑ Bouchard, Patrice; Bousquet, Yves; Davies, Anthony E.; Alonso-Zarazaga, Miguel A.; Lawrence, John F.; Lyal, Chris H. C.; Newton, Alfred F.; Reid, Chris A. M.; Schmitt, Michael; Ślipiński, S. Adam & Smith, Andrew B. T. (2011). "Family-group names in Coleoptera (Insecta)". ZooKeys (88): 1–972. doi:10.3897/zookeys.88.807. PMC 3088472. PMID 21594053.
  2. ↑ "Bruchinae". uk beetles. Retrieved 2022-09-15.
  3. ↑ "Tribe Rhaebini". iNaturalist. Retrieved 2022-09-15.
  4. 1 2 Vencl, Fredric & Leschen, Richard. (2014). Vencl FV & Leschen RAB (2014) Chapter 2.7.6. Criocerinae Lattreille 1807. pp. 237- 242 In: Leschen RAB & Beutel RG (eds). Handbook of Zoology, Coleoptera Volume 3: Morphology and Systematics (Phytophaga). Walter de Gruyter, Berlin.
  5. 1 2 3 Kingsolver, John M. & Pfaffenberger, G. S. (1980). "Systematic relationship of the genus Rhaebus (Coleoptera, Bruchidae)". Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. 82: 293–311. archive.org
  6. 1 2 Bouchard, Patrice (2014-12-17). The Book of Beetles: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred of Nature's Gems. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-08289-9.
  7. ↑ Lopatin, Igor & Chikatunov, Vladimir (2000-07-31). "Rhaebus amnoni n. sp. – The first representative of the Central-Asian genus Rhaebus in Israel" (PDF). Mitteilungen des Internationalen Entomologischen Vereins. 25: 31–34 – via Zobodat.
  8. ↑ Fischer von Waldheim, Gotthelf (1824). Entomographia Imperii Russici. Auctoritate Societatis Cæsareæ Mosquensis Naturæ Scrutatorum: Cum XL tabulis æneis. 2 (in French). Semen.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Legalov, Andrei A. (2022-08-12), "Review of the genus Rhaebus Fischer von Waldheim, 1824 (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Bruchinae)", Ecologica Montenegrina, 55: 1–16, doi:10.37828/em.2022.55.1, ISSN 2336-9744, S2CID 251543798, Rh. mannerheimi Motschulsky 1845, syn. nov., Rh. komarovi Lukjanovich 1939, syn. nov. and Rh. amnoni Lopatin et Chikatunov 2000 syn. nov. are synonymous with Rh. gebleri.