British insects: the families of Coleoptera
British insects: the families of Coleoptera |
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~Staphylinidae.
Shining Fungus-beetles.
General appearance. 1.7–6 mm long. Body length/maximum body width 1.6–2.15. Elytral length/pronotal length 1.4–1.95. Base of prothorax not or scarcely narrower than the combined elytral bases. Greatest prothoracic width not narrower or only slightly narrower than the greatest elytral width. Beetles oval to elongate-oval (‘pointed-oval’); stoutly dorsally strongly convex and cylindric; not necked; not waisted to somewhat waisted. Upper surfaces of body glabrous or subglabrous; not bristly; with neither scales nor scale-like setae.
Detailed morphology. Eyes not strongly protuberant; without bristles; finely facetted. Antennae short; 11 segmented; filiform to clubbed (i.e., to weakly clubbed). Antennal clubs 5 segmented. Antennal insertions visible from above, or hidden from above. Mandibular prosthecae well developed. Prothorax shorter than wide. Pronotal length/maximum pronotal width 0.55–0.85. Prothorax at its widest not markedly narrower than the adjoining part of the abdomen. Prothorax without notopleural sutures. Metaventrite without a transverse groove. Tarsal segmentation formula 5, 5, 5. The tarsi without bilobed segments; without ‘hidden’ segments. Front tarsi with as many segments as the mid-tarsi; 5-segmented. Mid-leg tarsi 5-segmented; pentamerous. The claws of the mid-leg tarsi not appendaged. The claws of the mid-leg tarsi simple. Hind tarsi with as many segments as the mid-tarsi; 5-segmented. Elytral length/maximum width across the elytra 0.86–1.28. Elytra meeting along the length of the mid-line; covering most to all of the abdomen to short, exposing several terminal abdominal tergites; exposing no more than part of the terminal tergite to at least one but fewer than three complete abdominal tergites (exposing the conical, pointed abdominal tip, but longer than in Staphylinidae); somewhat truncate (leaving the tip of the pygidium exposed); glossy. Scutellary striole absent. Elytra glabrous. Wings well developed. Exposed abdominal sternites 6 (first as long as 2–4 together); all articulated and movable. Abdominal segment 8 with apparently functional spiracles, or apparently without functional spiracles.
Adult habitat, ecology. Land-dwellers; not predacious (?); mycetophagous; in decaying plant material, in rotting wood, under bark, and associated with fungi.
Larvae. Larvae not predacious (?); mycetophagous; in decaying plant material, in rotting wood, in or under bark, and in fungi. The larvae fusiform and pigmented, with 3-segmented antennae.
Classification. Suborder Polyphaga; Infraorder Staphyliniformia; Superfamily Staphilinoidea.
Worldwide and British representation. About 1200 species worldwide. 5 species in Britain; genera in Britain 3; Scaphidium, Scaphisoma, Scaphium. E.g., Scaphidium quadrimaculatum (Orange-spotted Scaphidium).
General comments. The fore coxae with the trochanters hidden.
Illustrations. • Scaphidium quadrimaculatum (B. Ent. 379). • Scaphidium quadrimaculatum (details, B. Ent. 379). • Scaphidium quadrimaculatum: B. Ent. 379, legend+text. • Scaphidium quadrimaculatum: B. Ent. 379, text cont.. • Scaphidium quadrimaculatum and Scaphisoma agaricinum, with Cryptophagidae and Mycetophagidae: Fowler 3, 95 (1889). • Fowler 3, 95 (1889): original legend..
To view the illustrations with detailed captions, go to the interactive key. This also offers full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting or lacking specified attributes, and distributions of character states within any set of taxa.
Cite this publication as: ‘Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 2003 onwards. British insects: the families of Coleoptera. Version: 2nd January 2012. http://delta-intkey.com’.
