Anthia

For the saint, see Eleutherius and Antia.
Anthia
Anthia sexguttata
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Carabidae
Subfamily: Anthiinae
Tribe: Anthiini
Genus: Anthia
Weber, 1801

Anthia is a genus of the ground beetle family, the Carabidae. Species of Anthia can spray a jet of formic acid up to 30 centimetres (12 in), which if not treated, can cause blindness in cats and chickens.[1]

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

The genus is one of a group of similar taxa of predatory Carabidae that has been the subject of considerable taxonomic confusion. Several species here and elsewhere included within the genus Anthia are occasionally referred to as belonging to the genus Thermophilum (e.g. Anthia fornasinii referred to as Thermophilum fornasinii[2]) Furthermore, the spelling has undergone a range of errors and disputes. The currently accepted spelling is Termophilum[3][4] but Thermophilum and Thermophila have been variously used in the past, and even the outright misspelling "Thermophilium" has appeared in some books.[5][6]

Species

Anthia cavernosa
Anthia cinctipennis
Anthia decemguttata
Anthia hexasticta
Anthia omoplata

The genus Anthia includes the following species:[7]

References

  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. ↑ "Anthia Weber, 1801: 17". Carabidae of the World. 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Anthia.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, April 25, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.