''Ophidius'' is a genus of

click beetle Elateridae or click beetles (or "typical click beetles" to distinguish them from the related families Cerophytidae and Eucnemidae, which are also capable of clicking) are a family (biology), family of beetles. Other names include elaters, sna ...

s in the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

Parablacinae Parablacinae is a subfamily of click beetles in the family Elateridae. There are about eight genera in Parablacinae. Genera These eight genera belong to the subfamily Parablacinae: * '' Metablax'' Candèze, 1869 * '' Ophidius'' Candèze, 1863 * ...

. It includes four species, all

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to eastern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Taxonomy and history

Belgian

entomologist Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...

Ernest Candèze Ernest Charles Auguste Candèze was a Belgian doctor and entomologist who was born 22 February 1827 at Liège and died in Glain, 30 June 1898. He studied in Liège under Jean Theodore Lacordaire (1801–1870), then studied medicine in Paris a ...

described the genus ''Ophidius'' and two new species, ''Ophidius dracunculus'' and the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

''Ophidius elegans'', in 1863. Alongside the descriptions of ''O. dracunculus'' and ''O. elegans'', Candèze transferred the species ''Elater histrio'' into the new genus, combining it as ''Ophidius histrio''. Over the following decades, three new species of ''Ophidius'' would be described: ''Ophidius brevicornis'' was described by

William John Macleay Sir William John Macleay (13 June 1820 – 7 December 1891) was a Scottish-Australian politician, naturalist, zoologist, and herpetologist. Early life Macleay was born at Wick, Caithness, Scotland, second son of Kenneth Macleay of Keiss and h ...

in 1872, ''Ophidius serricornis'' was described by Candèze in 1878, and ''Ophidius macleayi'' was described by Candèze in 1895. All three would later be excluded from ''Ophidius'' and transferred into other genera on the basis of morphological characteristics in a 1975 paper by Arturs Neboiss, then the

curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...

of insects at the

National Museum of Victoria National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ...

. Neboiss' paper also described the new species ''Ophidius vericulatus'', leaving four species in the genus. Candèze initially placed ''Ophidius'' in the elaterid

subtribe Subtribe is a taxonomic category ranking which is below the rank of tribe and above genus. The standard suffix for a subtribe is -ina (in animals) or -inae (in plants). The first use of this word dates back to the late 19th century. An example of ...

Crépidoménites alongside the genera ''

Crepidomenus ''Crepidomenus'' is a genus of beetles in the click beetle Elateridae or click beetles (or "typical click beetles" to distinguish them from the related families Cerophytidae and Eucnemidae, which are also capable of clicking) are a family ...

'' and ''Blax'' (now '' Metablax'') in 1863. This grouping would later be recharacterised as the subfamily Crepidomeninae by German entomologist

Sigmund Schenkling Sigmund Schenkling (11 July 1865, in Laucha an der Unstrut – 16 December 1946, in Eisleben) was a German entomologist who specialised in Coleoptera. Schenkling's collection is held by the German Entomological Institute. It is notable for C ...

in 1927, however, a 1986 analysis of the subfamily by Andrew A. Calder found that ''Ophidius'' was not a member of this group, leaving it unplaced until 1996, when Calder placed it within the subfamily

Elaterinae Elaterinae is a subfamily of click beetle, click beetles in the family Elateridae, containing 12 tribes worldwide.Robin Kundrata, Nicole L. Gunter, Dominika Janosikova & Ladislav Bocak (2018) Molecular evidence for the subfamilial status of Tetral ...

. A 2016

review A review is an evaluation of a publication, product, service, or company or a critical take on current affairs in literature, politics or culture. In addition to a critical evaluation, the review's author may assign the work a content rating, ...

of Elateridae would ultimately place ''Ophidius'' within the newly created subfamily

Distribution and habitat

''Ophidius'' is

to Australia. All species in this genus are native to eastern

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

and/or

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, ranging from the

Atherton Tableland The Atherton Tableland is a fertile plateau, which is part of the Great Dividing Range in Queensland, Australia. It has very deep, rich basaltic soils and the main industry is agriculture. The principal river flowing across the plateau is the B ...

in the north to Monaro in the south. They can be found in wet sclerophyll forests and at the edges of

rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

Description

Adults of this genus are brightly coloured, distinctive beetles with orange-brown and black markings, ranging in size from to long depending on species. The head is

convex Convex or convexity may refer to: Science and technology * Convex lens, in optics Mathematics * Convex set, containing the whole line segment that joins points ** Convex polygon, a polygon which encloses a convex set of points ** Convex polytop ...

with short antennae and the

pronotum The prothorax is the foremost of the three segments in the thorax of an insect, and bears the first pair of legs. Its principal sclerites (exoskeletal plates) are the pronotum (dorsal), the prosternum (ventral), and the propleuron (lateral) on e ...

is covered in fine hairs. The scutellum is vertically raised with a flat or slightly dome-shaped top. The legs are short, with four distinctly rounded pads on the tarsi.

Species

This genus includes the following species: *'' Ophidius dracunculus'' Candèze, 1863 *''

Ophidius elegans ''Ophidius'' is a genus of click beetles in the subfamily Parablacinae. It includes four species, all endemic to eastern Australia. Taxonomy and history Belgian entomologist Ernest Candèze described the genus ''Ophidius'' and two new species, ...

'' Candèze, 1863 *'' Ophidius histrio'' ( Boisduval, 1835) *'' Ophidius vericulatus'' Neboiss, 1975 Species formerly placed in this genus include: *''Ophidius brevicornis'' Macleay, 1872 – now '' Paranilicus brevicornis'' (Macleay, 1872) *''Ophidius serricornis'' Candèze, 1878 – now '' Yalganus serricornis'' (Candèze, 1878) *''Ophidius macleayi'' Candèze, 1895 – now '' Rangsia macleayi'' (Candèze, 1895)

References

{{taxonbar, from=Q4376645 Elateridae Elateridae genera Taxa described in 1863 Beetles of Australia Endemic fauna of Australia