Metoponium is a North American genus of darkling beetles.[1][2][3]

Metoponium
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Phylum:
Class:
Order:
Family:
Tribe:
Genus:
Metoponium

Casey, 1907

Description

edit

Metoponium is one of several darkling beetle genera to have the ends of the protibia expanded dorsally.[1][3] It can be distinguished from related genera by the epistomal lobe (front edge of the head) being slightly concave and the presence of distinct carinae over the eyes.[1][3]

Ecology

edit

Beetles of this genus have been found to damage crops such as tomato[4] and watermelon.[5]

Species

edit

This genus comprises the two subgenera Metoponiopsis and Metoponium. Below are the described species as of 2018:[2]

Metoponiopsis

Metoponium

Identification

edit

The genus was first described by Thomas Lincoln Casey Jr. in 1907, who included a key to this genus and a key to the species known at the time.[6]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c "Genus Metoponium". bugguide.net. Retrieved 2023-08-23.
  2. ^ a b Bousquet, Yves; Thomas, Donald B.; Bouchard, Patrice; Smith, Aaron D.; Aalbu, Rolf L.; Johnston, M. Andrew; Steiner Jr., Warren E. (2018-01-15). "Catalogue of Tenebrionidae (Coleoptera) of North America". ZooKeys (728): 1–455. doi:10.3897/zookeys.728.20602. ISSN 1313-2970. PMC 5799738. PMID 29416389.
  3. ^ a b c Aalbu, R. L.; Triplehorn, C. A.; Campbell, J. M.; Brown, K. W.; Somerby, R. E.; Thomas, D. B. (2002-06-19). "106. TENEBRIONIDAE Latreille 1802". In Arnett, Ross H. Jr.; Thomas, M. C.; Skelley, P. E.; Frank, J. H. (eds.). American Beetles, Volume II: Polyphaga: Scarabaeoidea through Curculionoidea. CRC Press. ISBN 978-1-4200-4123-1.
  4. ^ Cooperative economic insect report. Vol. v. 10 (Jan.-June 1960). Hyattsville, MD. [etc.]: Plant Protection and Quarantine Programs Animal and Plant Health Service. 1960. pp. 311, 557.
  5. ^ Cooperative economic insect report. Vol. v. 9 (Jan.-June 1959). Hyattsville, MD. [etc.]: Plant Protection and Quarantine Programs Animal and Plant Health Service. 1959. p. 107.
  6. ^ Casey, T L (1907). "A revision of the American components of the tenebrionid subfamily Tentyriinae". Proceedings of the Washington Academy of Sciences. 9: 275–522. doi:10.5962/bhl.part.1929. ISSN 0363-1095.