Mezium Explained

Mezium is a genus of beetles in the subfamily Ptininae, the spider beetles. It is distributed throughout most of the world. There are two centers of distribution: an area extending from the Iberian Peninsula to Morocco, including the Canary Islands; and an area extending through central and southern Africa. Several species are recently described African endemics.^[1] They are most common in coastal areas, and in regions with a Mediterranean climate.^[1]

Their most common natural habitat type is caves, where they feed on animal feces, especially bat guano. They are adaptable to human-made structures such as barns and chicken coops.^[1]

Species include:^{[1] [2]}

• Mezium affine  - shiny spider beetle
• Mezium africanum
• Mezium americanum  - American spider beetle, black spider beetle
• Mezium andreaei
• Mezium giganteum
• Mezium glabrum
• Mezium gracilicorne
• Mezium horridum
• Mezium namibiensis
• Mezium pseudafricanum
• Mezium pseudamericanum
• Mezium setosum
• Mezium sulcatum

Notes and References

1. Borowski, J. (2009). The spider beetles of the continental Africa (Coleoptera: Ptinidae). Part I  - Genus Mezium Curtis. Studies and Reports of District Museum Pargue-East, Taxonomical Series 5, 1-10.
2. https://web.archive.org/web/20110604041641/http://www.faunaeur.org/full_results.php?id=100747 Mezium.