Biology:Sagrinae

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Short description: Subfamily of leaf beetles

Sagrinae
Temporal range: Paleocene–Recent
Sagra.buqueti.edof.jpg
Sagra buqueti
Scientific classification e
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Infraorder: Cucujiformia
Family: Chrysomelidae
Subfamily: Sagrinae
Leach, 1815
Tribes[1]
  • Carpophagini
  • Diaphanopsidini
  • Megamerini
  • Sagrini

The Sagrinae are a subfamily of the leaf beetles, or Chrysomelidae.

Description

Beetles of this subfamily are also known as "frog-legged beetles" or "kangaroo beetles". They are very distinctive due to their metafemora, or third pair of legs, which are distinctly larger than other femora and generally sport some type of ridge or tooth on the ventral side. It is theorized that the evolutionary function of the large metafemora is to hold the beetle on vegetation for feeding.

These beetles grow to be 1-2 inches in length, and display sexual dimorphism, with the males of the subfamilies being almost twice the size of the females. Males also have significantly larger metafemora than females.

Other identifying features include deep sutural stria, a prognathous head without a median sulcus and with cruciform grooves, a narrow pronotum, and commonly deeply indented eyes. They also have functional wings that aren't used often.

Most beetles of the subfamily display bright colors.[2]

Distribution and Ecology

This subfamily is found in Asia and has been observed in Malaysia, Java, Sumatra, Borneo, and the Philippines. It prefers dense tropical jungles for its habitat.[2] There is fossil evidence that suggests these beetles lived in North America and Europe millions of years ago.[3]

Reproduction

There is not much known about reproduction and development in this subfamily, however species in the subfamily often sport large cocoons in the post-larval stage which are commonly found on vining plants.

The cocoons represent a phylogenetic relationship with a type of bacteria called Enterobacteriaceae because the bacteria play a role in the construction of the cocoons. This bacterium also functions as an intracellular symbiont with this subfamily of beetle, and lives in four large blind sacs at the larval foregut. The bacteria provide much needed nutrients throughout the beetle's life cycle.[4]

Genera

  • Ametalla Hope, 1840
  • Atalasis Lacordaire, 1845
  • Carpophagus MacLeay, 1827
  • Coolgardica Blackburn, 1899
  • Diaphanops Schönherr, 1845
  • Duboulaia Baly, 1871
  • Mecynodera Hope, 1840
  • Megamerus MacLeay, 1827
  • Neodiaphanops Blackburn, 1899
  • Polyoptilus Germar, 1848
  • Prionesthis Lacordaire, 1845 (synonym: Rhagiosoma Chapuis, 1878)[5]
  • Pseudotoxotus Blackburn, 1889
  • Sagra Fabricius, 1792
  • Eosagra Haupt, 1950Geiseltal, Germany, Middle Eocene
  • Gallopsis Legalov, Kirejtshuk & Nel, 2019[6]Menat Formation, France, Middle Paleocene
  • Palaeatalasis Legalov, 2021[7]Green River Formation, Utah, Eocene (Ypresian)
  • Pulchritudo Krell & Vitali, 2021[8] – Green River Formation, Colorado, Eocene (Ypresian)

References

  1. Bouchard, Patrice; Bousquet, Yves; Davies, Anthony E.; Alonso-Zarazaga, Miguel A.; Lawrence, John F.; Lyal, Chris H. C.; Newton, Alfred F.; Reid, Chris A. M. et al. (2011). "Family-group names in Coleoptera (Insecta)". ZooKeys (88): 1–972. doi:10.3897/zookeys.88.807. PMID 21594053. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 Hangay, George; Zborowski, Paul (2010). Guide to the Beetles of Australia. doi:10.1071/9780643100121. ISBN 9780643100121. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/9780643100121. 
  3. Legalov, Andrei A. (2021-05-12). "First record of the subfamily Sagrinae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) from the Eocene of North America". Fossil Record 24 (1): 135–139. doi:10.5194/fr-24-135-2021. ISSN 2193-0074. 
  4. Ossler, Julia N.; Heath, Katy D. (March 2018). "Shared Genes but Not Shared Genetic Variation: Legume Colonization by Two Belowground Symbionts". The American Naturalist 191 (3): 395–406. doi:10.1086/695829. ISSN 0003-0147. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/695829. 
  5. Sekerka, L.; Voisin, J.-F. (2014). "Types of Sagrinae in the collection of the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)". Annales de la Société Entomologique de France. N.S. 49 (4): 413–429. doi:10.1080/00379271.2014.893681. 
  6. Legalov, A. A.; Kirejtshuk, A. G.; Nel, A. (2019). "The oldest genus of the subfamily Sagrinae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) from the Paleocene of Menat (France)". Comptes Rendus Palevol 18 (2): 178–185. doi:10.1016/j.crpv.2018.10.003. 
  7. Legalov, A. A. (2021). "First record of the subfamily Sagrinae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) from the Eocene of North America". Fossil Record 24 (1): 135–139. doi:10.5194/fr-24-135-2021. 
  8. Krell, F.-T.; Vitali, F. (2021). "Attenborough's beauty: exceptional pattern preservation in a frog-legged leaf beetle from the Eocene Green River Formation, Colorado (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Sagrinae)". Papers in Palaeontology 7 (4): 2101–2112. doi:10.1002/spp2.1398. 

Wikidata ☰ Q19387363 entry