- Belinae
__NOTOC__Taxobox
name = Belinae
image_width = 240px
image_caption = "Rhinotia brunnea " (Belini ). Note scutellum protruding above wings.
regnum =Animal ia
phylum =Arthropod a
subphylum =Hexapoda
classis =Insect a
subclassis =Pterygota
infraclassis =Neoptera
superordo =Endopterygota
ordo = Coleoptera
subordo =Polyphaga
infraordo =Cucujiformia
superfamilia =Curculionoidea
familia =Belidae
subfamilia = Belinae
subfamilia_authority =
subdivision_ranks = Tribes
subdivision =Agnesiotidini Belini Pachyurini Belinae are a
Gondwana nsubfamily ofbeetle s which belong to the belids, primitiveweevil s of the familyBelidae . Like in other belids, their antennae are straight, not elbowed as in the true weevils (Curculionidae ). The Belinae make up the bulk of the diversity of living belidgenera . They are found in theAustralia -New Guinea -New Zealand andSouth America .Of the three tribes placed here, the
Pachyurini appear to hold the most primitivegenera , while theAgnesiotidini might be the most advanced one. The overall delimitation of tribes is not entirely robust though, and particularly the placement of the diverseBelini in respect to the Agnesiotidini is somewhat uncertain. The belids as a whole are ofJurassic origin, and the Belinae must thus date from theLate Jurassic or at mostEarly Cretaceous , roughly some 150million years ago . [Marvaldi "et al." (2006), Ming "et al." (2006)]Description and ecology
Belinae typically have an elongated and cylindrical shape. They can be distinguished from the
Oxycoryninae (including the formerAglycyderinae ) by a few characters: The scutellum of the Belinae is tipped upwards, with the base hidden by a flange at theelytra bases and thedistal end pointing out between the wing bases. Thesternite of themetathorax is characteristically swollen.Microscopic ally, it can be seen that theirspermatheca are sickle-shaped, well developed and darkly pigmented. TheAgnesiotidini have a groove at the hind margin of the eye, which is missing in the other two tribes.Marvaldi "et al." (2006)]In the
larva e, theposterior margin of thepronotum is enlarged, with a more (Agnesiotidini andBelini ) or less (Pachyurini ) strongly thickened hind margin. In the Pachyurini, the larvae has an open and dividedoccipital foramen with ridges on thedorsal emargination and thelabrum andepipharynx have paired anddivergent paramesal sclerotization s. These are also present but curved in the Agnesiotidini; the labrum-epipharynx of the Belini is unsclerotized. Themaxillary mala e are densely covered withseta e in the Agnesiotidini, it has only a few setae in the others.Their
larva e feed onwood , mostly ofAraucariaceae . Certain Belini larvae also feed on the wood ofFabaceae , while some Agnesiotidini take the wood ofMyrtaceae . Some Pachyurini larvae eat the developing fruits ofNothofagaceae . Like all Belini, they prefer diseased or dying plants or deadwood to healthy plants.elected genera
* "Agathobelus "
* "Agnesiotis "
* "Apagobelus "
* "Araiobelus "
* "Arhinobelus "
* "Atractuchus "
* "Basiliobelus "
* "Belus"
* "Callirhynchinus "
* "Cyrotyphus "
* "Dicordylus "
* "Habrobelus "
* "Hadrobelus "
* "Homalocerus "
* "Isacantha "
* "Isacanthodes "
* "Macrobelus "
* "Pachybelus "
* "Pachyura "
* "Pachyurinus "
* "Rhinotia "
* "Rhinotoides "
* "Sphinctobelus "
* "Stenobelus "
* "Trichophthalmus "Footnotes
References
* (2006): Phylogeny of the Oxycoryninae sensu lato (Coleoptera: Belidae) and evolution of host-plant associations. "Invertebrate Systematics" 20: 447–476. doi|10.1071/IS05059 (HTML abstract)
* (2006): A new fossil weevil (Coleoptera, Curculionoidea, Belidae) from the Yixian Formation of western Liaoning, China. "Progress in Natural Science" 16 (8): 885-888. doi|10.1080/10020070612330084 (HTML abstract)
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