Zopherus
Encyclopedia
Zopherus is a genus of beetle
s comprising 19 species. They live in North
and Central America
and are adapted to wood-boring. Some species are used as living brooch
es.
Species of Zopherus only live in the Americas
, where they are distributed from Venezuela
to the southern United States
. Ten species live in the United States, five of them in California.
s. Indeed, the elytra are so thick that it is often necessary to drill a hole in them in order to mount specimens. Species living north of the Rio Grande
are almost all uniformly black in colour, while the tropical species are almost all strongly patterned in contrasting black and white. The animal's head is largely hidden by the thorax
. The elytra are fused together, rendering Zopherus species unable to fly. Some species are used as living brooch
es.
, some species even being reported to bore into sound wood, rather than only dead wood. Z. tristis lives under the bark of the desert tamarisk
in the Colorado Desert
, while Z. granicollis bores into the root crowns of Jeffrey pine
(Pinus jeffreyi) and single-leaf pine
(Pinus monophylla).
, using the spelling Zopheros. This was later emended by Laporte de Castelnau
to the more usual transliteration
Zopherus; the authorship should nonetheless ascribed to Gray, and not to Laporte, as many authors have done.
:
Beetle
Coleoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...
s comprising 19 species. They live in North
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
and are adapted to wood-boring. Some species are used as living brooch
Brooch
A brooch ; also known in ancient times as a fibula; is a decorative jewelry item designed to be attached to garments. It is usually made of metal, often silver or gold but sometimes bronze or some other material...
es.
Distribution
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
, where they are distributed from Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
to the southern United States
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
. Ten species live in the United States, five of them in California.
Description
Members of the genus are long and cylindrical, with very thick exoskeletonExoskeleton
An exoskeleton is the external skeleton that supports and protects an animal's body, in contrast to the internal skeleton of, for example, a human. In popular usage, some of the larger kinds of exoskeletons are known as "shells". Examples of exoskeleton animals include insects such as grasshoppers...
s. Indeed, the elytra are so thick that it is often necessary to drill a hole in them in order to mount specimens. Species living north of the Rio Grande
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande is a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes...
are almost all uniformly black in colour, while the tropical species are almost all strongly patterned in contrasting black and white. The animal's head is largely hidden by the thorax
Thorax (insect anatomy)
The thorax is the mid section of the insect body. It holds the head, legs, wings and abdomen. It is also called mesosoma in other arthropods....
. The elytra are fused together, rendering Zopherus species unable to fly. Some species are used as living brooch
Brooch
A brooch ; also known in ancient times as a fibula; is a decorative jewelry item designed to be attached to garments. It is usually made of metal, often silver or gold but sometimes bronze or some other material...
es.
Ecology
Zopherus species are adapted for boring into woodWoodboring beetle
The term woodboring beetle encompasses many species and families of beetles whose larval or adult forms eat and destroy wood . Larval stages of some are commonly known as woodworms.-Invasion and control:...
, some species even being reported to bore into sound wood, rather than only dead wood. Z. tristis lives under the bark of the desert tamarisk
Tamarix
The genus Tamarix is composed of about 50-60 species of flowering plants in the family Tamaricaceae, native to drier areas of Eurasia and Africa...
in the Colorado Desert
Colorado Desert
California's Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert, which extends across southwest North America. The Colorado Desert region encompasses approximately , reaching from the Mexican border in the south to the higher-elevation Mojave Desert in the north and from the Colorado River in...
, while Z. granicollis bores into the root crowns of Jeffrey pine
Jeffrey Pine
The Jeffrey Pine, Pinus jeffreyi, named in honor of its botanist documenter John Jeffrey, is a North American pine related to Ponderosa Pine.-Distribution and habitat:...
(Pinus jeffreyi) and single-leaf pine
Single-leaf Pinyon
The Single-leaf Pinyon, ', is a pine in the pinyon pine group, native to the United States and northwest Mexico. The range is in southernmost Idaho, western Utah, Arizona, southwest New Mexico, Nevada, eastern and southern California and northern Baja California.It occurs at moderate altitudes from...
(Pinus monophylla).
Taxonomy
The genus Zopherus encompasses species previously referred to three other genera: Megazopherus, Zopherinus and Zopherodes. Many of the species have also been known by a number of taxonomic synonyms. The genus was initially erected in 1832 by George Robert GrayGeorge Robert Gray
George Robert Gray FRS was an English zoologist and author, and head of the ornithological section of the British Museum, now the Natural History Museum, in London for forty-one years...
, using the spelling Zopheros. This was later emended by Laporte de Castelnau
François Louis de la Porte, comte de Castelnau
François Louis Nompar de Caumont LaPorte, comte de Castelnau was a French naturalist, known also as François Laporte or Francis de Castelnau.-Life:Born in London, he studied natural history in Paris...
to the more usual transliteration
Transliteration
Transliteration is a subset of the science of hermeneutics. It is a form of translation, and is the practice of converting a text from one script into another...
Zopherus; the authorship should nonetheless ascribed to Gray, and not to Laporte, as many authors have done.
Etymology
The name Zopherus is from the , meaning "dusky" or "gloomy".Species
Charles A. Triplehorn recognised 19 species in his 1972 monographMonograph
A monograph is a work of writing upon a single subject, usually by a single author.It is often a scholarly essay or learned treatise, and may be released in the manner of a book or journal article. It is by definition a single document that forms a complete text in itself...
:
- Zopherus chilensis Gray, 1832
- Zopherus nervosus Solier, 1841
- Zopherus nodulosus Solier, 1841
- Zopherus jourdani Sallé, 1849
- Zopherus jansoni Champion, 1884
- Zopherus mexicanus Gray, 1832
- Zopherus angulicollis Champion, 1884
- Zopherus laevicollis Colier, 1841
- Zopherus xestus Triplehorn, 1972
- Zopherus solieri Triplehorn, 1972
- Zopherus championi Triplehorn, 1972
- Zopherus tristis LeConte, 1851
- Zopherus concolor LeConte, 1851
- Zopherus gracilis Horn, 1867
- Zopherus uteanus (Casey, 1907)
- Zopherus granicollis Horn, 1885
- Zopherus opacus Horn, 1867
- Zopherus elegans Horn, 1870
- Zopherus sanctaehelenae (Blaisdell, 1931)