Everything about The Oxypeltidae totally explained
The
Oxypeltidae are a small family belonging to the superfamily Chrysomeloidea, widespread in the Andean region of
Chile and
Argentina. They have traditionally been considered a group within the
Cerambycidae.
Description
The Oxypeltidae don't have any morphologic resemblance with the other Cerambycids. The body is massive and characterised by a nice metallic colour, bluish. or green on head and
prothorax and red on
elytra.
Antennae and legs have a blue metallic colour.
The head, round and small, has two robustly toothed antennae, the pronotum is furnished with longitudinal crests, and the elytra, covered by strong puncture, are bi-toothed at the apex.
The posterior wings, membranous, have an unusual violet colour, similar to that of the
Cetoniinae, while they're transparent in all other groups of Cerambycids.
Biology
The larvae, typically
xylophagous, attack trees of the genus
Nothofagus, the vicariant of beech in the southern hemisphere. The adults are diurnal and can often be found on leaves.
Systematics
They have always been a mystery for specialists since these insects don't show any strong resemblance with other Cerambycids.
At first placed in the
Prioninae due to the lateral ridge of the pronotum, the Oxypeltinae have been separated.
Saalas' study (1936) on the posterior wings of Cerambycids put into light the fact that the wings of the Oxypeltinae were unusually pigmented.
More recently, the research work done by Švácha, Wang & Chen (1997) on the larvae showed a far (and doubtful) relationship with the
Vesperidae.
Therefore, the group of Oxypeltinae has been recently considered as a different family (Napp, 1994).
The Oxypeltidae consist of only two genus and three species:
Oxypeltus Blanchard, 1851
Further Information
Get more info on 'Oxypeltidae'.
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