Brachypsectridae
Encyclopedia
Brachypsectridae is a family of beetles commonly known as the Texas beetles. There is only one genus
, Brachypsectra. The type species
, Brachypsectra fulva
(LeConte, 1874), occurs in North America. There are three other species which occur in southern India
, Singapore
and northwestern Australia
. Two other extant and fossil
species have been described from the Dominican Republic
.
are indistinctly striated and the antennae
form a club.
The larvae are distinctive being described by Ferris in 1927 and Blair in 1930 as being "entomological enigmas". They were not associated with the adult beetles until 25 years after their discovery by Barber in 1905. They are ovate and flattened and have moderately long, lateral lobes lined with elongate feathery lobules on all the thoracic segments and the first eight abdominal segments. The head and the posterior abdominal segments are relatively small and dark-coloured.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
, Brachypsectra. The type species
Type species
In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...
, Brachypsectra fulva
Brachypsectra fulva
Brachypsectra fulva is a species of beetle in the Brachypsectridae family commonly known as the Texas beetle.-Distribution:B. fulva occurs in Mexico and in the southern United States in the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas and Utah.-Description:This beetle has a light...
(LeConte, 1874), occurs in North America. There are three other species which occur in southern India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and northwestern Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Two other extant and fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
species have been described from the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
.
Taxonomy
The family is somewhat enigmatic since the discovery and description of the first species, Brachypsectra fulva. This was originally included in the family Dascillidae but was later placed in the new family Brachypsectridae by Horn (1881).Description
Members of this family are small (4-8 mm), flattened, relatively soft-bodied, brown or yellow beetles with large eyes. The elytraElytron
An elytron is a modified, hardened forewing of certain insect orders, notably beetles and a few of the true bugs ; in most true bugs, the forewings are instead called hemelytra, as only the basal half is thickened while the apex is membranous...
are indistinctly striated and the antennae
Antenna (biology)
Antennae in biology have historically been paired appendages used for sensing in arthropods. More recently, the term has also been applied to cilium structures present in most cell types of eukaryotes....
form a club.
The larvae are distinctive being described by Ferris in 1927 and Blair in 1930 as being "entomological enigmas". They were not associated with the adult beetles until 25 years after their discovery by Barber in 1905. They are ovate and flattened and have moderately long, lateral lobes lined with elongate feathery lobules on all the thoracic segments and the first eight abdominal segments. The head and the posterior abdominal segments are relatively small and dark-coloured.
Species
- Brachypsectra fulvaBrachypsectra fulvaBrachypsectra fulva is a species of beetle in the Brachypsectridae family commonly known as the Texas beetle.-Distribution:B. fulva occurs in Mexico and in the southern United States in the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas and Utah.-Description:This beetle has a light...
LeConte - Occurs in North America. - Brachypsectra fuscula Blair - Occurs in Singapore.
- Brachypsectra lampyroides Blair - Occurs in south India.
- Brachypsectra moronei Branham - Extant species found fossilised in amber in the Dominican Republic.
- Brachypsectra vivafosile Woodruff - Extant species from the Dominican Republic.
- Brachypsectra sp. - Unnamed species occurring in Australia.