Anthia
Anthia sexguttata
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Carabidae
Subfamily: Anthiinae
Genus: Anthia
Weber, 1801

Anthia (common name saber-toothed ground beetles) is a genus of the ground beetle family (Carabidae) from Africa and Asia. Species of Anthia can spray a jet of formic acid up to 30 centimetres (12 in), which, if not treated, can cause blindness in animals that harass the beetles.[1]

In general, the beetles are large, armored and fast-moving, with prominent, powerful and sharp mandibles. Some are diurnal predators in semi-arid habitats, while others are nocturnal.

The genus is one of a group of similar taxa of predatory Carabidae that has been the subject of considerable nomenclatural confusion. Several species here and elsewhere included within the genus Anthia are occasionally referred to as belonging to the non-existent genus Thermophilum (e.g. Anthia fornasinii referred to as Thermophilum fornasinii[2]), because the spelling has experienced a range of errors; the spelling that is valid under the ICZN and currently accepted is Termophilum[3][4] but Thermophilum (an unjustified emendation of Termophilum) and Thermophila (a junior homonym of a valid genus name in the order Lepidoptera) have been variously used in the past, as well as the misspelling "Thermophilium".[5][6][7]

Species

Anthia cavernosa
Anthia cinctipennis
Anthia decemguttata
Anthia hexasticta
Anthia omoplata

The genus Anthia includes the following species:[8]

See also

  • Heliobolus lugubris (bushveld lizard), a southern African lizard where juveniles mimic the toxic Anthia beetles to avoid predators
  • Therea, a genus of cockroach where some species mimic the toxic Anthia beetles to avoid predators

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Anthia.
  1. ↑ C. H. Scholtz & E. Holm (1985). Insects of southern Africa. Butterworths. p. 195.
  2. ↑ Picker, Griffiths & Weaving (2004). Field Guide to Insects of South Africa, Struik
  3. ↑ Termophilum Basilewsky 1950 Bull. Soc. ent. Fr. 55 80.
  4. ↑ "Termophilum - Thermophila - search engine". Ubio.org. Retrieved 2012-10-21.
  5. ↑ Schmidt, A.D. & Gruschwitz, M. "Artenspektrum, Systematik, Verbreitung und biographische Zuordnung von Laufkaefern der Gattungen Anthia Weber und Thermophilium Basilewsky (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Anthiini) im suedlichen Afrika. pub:Naturwissenschaftlichen Museums der Stadt Aschaffenburg 2002.
  6. ↑ Urich, Klaus. ; Comparative animal biochemistry. Pub: Springer, 1994. ISBN 978-3-540-57420-0
  7. ↑ "Nomenclator Zoologicus". Ubio.org. Retrieved 2018-03-13.
  8. ↑ "Anthia Weber, 1801". Catalogue of Life. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  9. ↑ Kolbe, H. J. (1894). "Die Coleopteren-Fauna Central-Afrikas". Stettiner Entomologische Zeitung. 55 (4–6): 201.
  10. ↑ Kolbe, H. J. (1894). "Die Coleopteren-Fauna Central-Afrikas". Stettiner Entomologische Zeitung. 55 (4–6): 200.
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