''Cryptophilus'' is a genus of
pleasing fungus beetle
file:Ischyrus quadripunctatus P1390172a.jpg, ''Ischyrus quadripunctatus''
Erotylidae, or the pleasing fungus beetles, is a family (biology), family of beetles belonging to Cucujoidea containing over 100 genus, genera. In the present circumscrip ...
s in the family
Erotylidae
''Ischyrus quadripunctatus''
Erotylidae, or the pleasing fungus beetles, is a family of beetles belonging to Cucujoidea containing over 100 genera. In the present circumscription, it contains 6 tribes ( Tritomini, Dacnini, Megalodacnini, Er ...
. There are about nine described species in ''Cryptophilus''.
[
]
Identification
''Cryptophilus'' adults are brown and slightly hairy beetles, 1.6-2.3 mm long and with 3-segmented antennal clubs.Cryptophagidae
Cryptophagidae is a family of beetles with representatives found in all biogeographic realms. Members of this family are commonly called silken fungus beetles and both adults and larvae appear to feed exclusively on fungi although in a wide vari ...
.Monotomidae
Monotomidae is a family of beetles in the superfamily Cucujoidea. The family is found worldwide, with approximately 240 species in 33 genera. The ecological habits of the family are diverse, with different members of the group being found under t ...
) or ''Epuraea
''Epuraea'' is a genus of sap-feeding beetles in the family Nitidulidae, first described in 1843 by Wilhelm Ferdinand Erichson. There are at least 40 described species in ''Epuraea''. Their most notable food source is sap but these beetles also ...
'' (Nitidulidae
The sap beetles, also known as Nitidulidae, are a family of beetles.
They are small (2–6 mm) ovoid, usually dull-coloured beetles, with knobbed antennae. Some have red or yellow spots or bands. They feed mainly on decaying vegetable ma ...
), which occur in similar habitats. ''Cryptophilus'' larvae can be recognised by their mandibles
In jawed vertebrates, the mandible (from the Latin ''mandibula'', 'for chewing'), lower jaw, or jawbone is a bone that makes up the lowerand typically more mobilecomponent of the mouth (the upper jaw being known as the maxilla).
The jawbone i ...
, which lack a sub-apical accessory tooth and have a large, subtriangular prostheca.
Ecology
''Cryptophilus'' occur in decaying plant matter (e.g. leaf litter
Plant litter (also leaf litter, tree litter, soil litter, litterfall, or duff) is dead plant material (such as leaves, bark, needles, twigs, and cladodes) that has fallen to the ground. This detritus or dead organic material and its constituen ...
, wood debris, compost
Compost is a mixture of ingredients used as plant fertilizer and to improve soil's physical, chemical, and biological properties. It is commonly prepared by Decomposition, decomposing plant and food waste, recycling organic materials, and man ...
heaps, grass cuttings, straw
Straw is an agricultural byproduct consisting of the dry wikt:stalk, stalks of cereal plants after the grain and chaff have been removed. It makes up about half of the crop yield, yield by weight of cereal crops such as barley, oats, rice, ry ...
) and also in stored food products (e.g. cereals
A cereal is a grass cultivated for its edible grain. Cereals are the world's largest crops, and are therefore staple foods. They include rice, wheat, rye, oats, barley, millet, and maize (Corn). Edible grains from other plant families, suc ...
, beans
A bean is the seed of some plants in the legume family (Fabaceae) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are often preserved through drying (a ''pulse''), but fresh beans are also sold. Dried beans are tradition ...
, flour
Flour is a powder made by Mill (grinding), grinding raw grains, List of root vegetables, roots, beans, Nut (fruit), nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredie ...
, dried fruit
Dried fruit is fruit from which the majority of the original water content has been removed prior to cooking or being eaten on its own. Drying may occur either naturally, by sun, through the use of industrial dehydrators, or by freeze drying. ...
, nuts
Nut often refers to:
* Nut (fruit), fruit composed of a hard shell and a seed
* Nut (food), a dry and edible fruit or seed, including but not limited to true nuts
* Nut (hardware), fastener used with a bolt
Nut, NUT or Nuts may also refer to:
A ...
).mould
A mold () or mould () is one of the structures that certain fungi can form. The dust-like, colored appearance of molds is due to the formation of spores containing fungal secondary metabolites. The spores are the dispersal units of the fungi ...
.
Species
These species belong to the genus ''Cryptophilus'':
* '' Cryptophilus angustus'' (Rosenhauer, 1856)
* '' Cryptophilus cryptophagoides'' Grouvelle, 1916
* '' Cryptophilus hiranoi'' Sasaji, 1984
* '' Cryptophilus kurbatovi'' Lyubarsky, 2010)
* '' Cryptophilus minimus'' Grouvelle, 1914
* '' Cryptophilus mirus'' Grouvelle, 1914
* '' Cryptophilus obliteratus'' Reitter, 1874 878?/small>
* '' Cryptophilus propinquus'' Reitter, 1874 (including synonym '' Cryptophilus fluminalis'' Casey, 1924).
* '' Cryptophilus quadrisignatus'' Motschulsky, 1860
* '' Cryptophilus seriatus'' Casey, 1924
(see also '' Cryptophilus integer'' (Heer, 1841) as a junior synonym of ''Micrambe abietis'' (Paykull, 1798) per Esser 2016, & Esser 2017, contra ''"integer" sensu auct.'' as '' Cryptophilus propinquus'' or '' Cryptophilus angustus''.
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
*
Erotylidae
Articles created by Qbugbot
{{erotylidae-stub