Sphaerius

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Protostomia
Cladus: Ecdysozoa
Cladus: Panarthropoda
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Classis: Insecta
Cladus: Dicondylia
Subclassis: Pterygota
Ordo: Coleoptera
Subordo: Myxophaga
Superfamilia: Sphaeriusoidea

Familia: Sphaeriusidae
Genus: Sphaerius
Species: S. acaroides – S. africanus – S. alticola – S. coenensis – S. coomani – S. cribratus – S. favosus – S. gustavlohsei – S. hispanicus – S. humicola – S. laeviventris – S. madecassus – S. minutus – S. politus – S. obsoletus – S. ovensensis – S. papulosus – S. perlaevis – S. scutellaris – S. silvicola – S. spississimus – S. tesselatus – S. texanus – S. tropicus
Name

Sphaerius Waltl, 1838 [placed on the Official Index of Rejected and Invalid Generic Names in Zoology by Melville (1985), with the Name Number 2164; deleted and placed instead on the Official List of Generic Names in Zoology by ICZN (2000)]
Gender

masculine (ICZN, 2000)
Synonyms

Microsporus Kolenati, 1846 [placed on the Official List of Generic Names in Zoology by Melville (1985), with the Name Number 2272]
Neosphaerius Oke, 1954

Type species

Microsporus Kolenati: Microsporus obsidianus Kolenati, 1846 [=Sphaerius acaroides Waltl, 1838], by monotypy (Melville, 1985)
Neosphaerius Oke:
Sphaerius Waltl: Sphaerius acaroides Waltl, 1838, by monotypy (ICZN, 2000)

References
cited sources

ICZN 2000: Opinion 1957. Sphaerius Waltl, 1838 (Insecta, Coleoptera): conserved; and Sphaeriidae Erichson, 1845 (Coleoptera): spelling emended to Sphaeriusidae, so removing the homonymy with Sphaeriidae Deshayes, 1854 (1820) (Mollusca, Bivalvia). Bulletin of zoological nomenclature, 57: 182–184. ISSN: 0007-5167 BioStor
Melville, R.V. 1985: Opinion 1331. Sphaeriidae Jeffreys, 1862 (1820) (Mollusca, Bivalvia) and Microsporidae Reichardt, 1976 (Insecta, Coleoptera): placed on the official list. Bulletin of zoological nomenclature, 42: 230–232. ISSN: 0007-5167 BioStor
Oke, C.G. 1954: Australian species of Sphaeriidae. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria, 65: 57–59. ISSN: 0035-9211
Waltl, J. 1838: Beiträge zur nähem naturhistorischen Kenntniß des Unterdonaukreises in Bayern. Isis von Oken, 1838: 250–273. BHL

Additional references

Britton, E.B. 1966: On the larva of Sphaerius and the systematic position of the Sphaeriidae (Coleoptera). Australian journal of zoology, 14: 1193–1198. DOI: 10.1071/ZO9661193
Endrödy-Younga, S. 1997: Microsporidae (Coleoptera: Myxophaga), a new family for the African continent. Annals of the Transvaal Museum, 36: 309–311.
Jäch, M.A. 1999: Case 3052. Sphaerius Waltl, 1838 and Sphaeriusidae Erichson, 1845 (Insecta, Coleoptera): proposed conservation by the partial revocation of Opinion 1331. Bulletin of zoological nomenclature, 56: 117–120. ISSN: 0007-5167 BioStor
Liang, Z-L. & Jia, F-L. 2018. A new species of Sphaerius Waltl from China (Coleoptera, Myxophaga, Sphaeriusidae). Zookeys, 808: 115–121. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.808.30600 Reference page.
Löbl, I. 1995: New species of terrestrial Microsporus from the Himalaya (Coleoptera: Microsporidae). Entomologische Blätter für Biologie und Systematik der Käfer, 91: 129–138.

Links

Microsporus Kolenati, 1846 – Taxon details on Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).
ION search for Sphaerius
ION search for Microsporus

Sphaerius is a genus of beetles, comprising 23 species, which are the only living members of the family Sphaeriusidae. They are typically found along the edges of streams and rivers, where they feed on algae; they occur on all continents except Antarctica. Three species occur in the United States.

The overall form of the beetle is convex, glossy, dark brown or black with some markings possible. The head is prominent, with relatively large eyes set far apart, and capitate antennae. Total length ranges from 0.5–1.2 mm (0.020–0.047 in).

The beetles occur in a variety of damp environments, including mud, under stones, among plant roots and leaf litter, and in mosses in bogs. They store some air underneath their elytra.

Females produce a single large egg at a time.

The family used to be known as "Sphaeriidae", but the name was preoccupied by a family of freshwater clams. The name was inappropriately replaced with "Microsporidae" (by changing the genus name to Microsporus), but this act has been superseded by a return to the use of Sphaerius and a reformation of the family name as Sphaeriusidae.[1] The position of the family within Coleoptera has also changed a number of times.[2]

Species

Sphaerius acaroides
Sphaerius africanus
Sphaerius alticola
Sphaerius coenensis
Sphaerius coomani
Sphaerius cribratus
Sphaerius favosus
Sphaerius gustavlohsei
Sphaerius hispanicus
Sphaerius humicola
Sphaerius laeviventris
Sphaerius madecassus
Sphaerius politus
Sphaerius obsoletus
Sphaerius ovensensis
Sphaerius papulosus
Sphaerius perlaevis
Sphaerius scutellaris
Sphaerius silvicola
Sphaerius spississimus
Sphaerius tesselatus
Sphaerius texanus
Sphaerius tropicus

Fossil Sphaeriusidae

†Burmasporum Kirejtshuk 2009 Burmese amber, Myanmar, Cenomanian

References

ICZN 2000: Opinion 1957. Sphaerius Waltl, 1838 (Insecta, Coleoptera): conserved; and Sphaeriidae Erichson, 1845 (Coleoptera): spelling emended to Sphaeriusidae, so removing the homonymy with Sphaeriidae Deshayes, 1854 (1820) (Mollusca, Bivalvia). Bulletin of zoological nomenclature, 57: 182–184. ISSN 0007-5167 BioStor
Ross H. Arnett, Jr. and Michael C. Thomas, American Beetles (CRC Press, 2001)