Ochodaeidae Explained

Ochodaeidae, also known as the sand-loving scarab beetles,^[1] is a small family of scarabaeiform beetles occurring in many parts of the world.^[2]

These beetles are small, ranging from 3–. Their bodies are elongate and convex, with black and brown colors including yellowish- and reddish-brown shades.

As of 2012, the biology and habits of Ochodaeidae beetles is still mostly unknown. Most types have been collected in sandy areas at night, while some of their species are active during the day.

Taxonomy

Ochodaeidae beetles belong to the infraorder Scarabaeiformia, which contains only one superfamily, the Scarabaeoidea.^[3] The most striking feature of the Scarabaeoidea are the ends of their antennae, that are divided into several lamellae, thus resembling a fan. Another distinguishing feature are their legs, that possess teeth and are adapted for digging.^[4]

Ochodaeidae is divided into two subfamilies containing five tribes and 15 genera:^{[5] [6]}

• Subfamily Ochodaeinae Mulsant & Rey, 1871

• Tribe Enodognathini Scholtz, 1988

Enodognathus Benderitter, 1921

Odontochodaeus Paulian, 1976

• Tribe Ochodaeini Mulsant & Rey, 1871

Codocera Eschscholtz, 1818

Cucochodaeus Paulsen, 2007

Neochodaeus Nikolayev, 1995

Notochodaeus Nikolajev, 2005

Ochodaeus Dejean, 1821

Parochodaeus Nikolayev, 1995

Xenochodaeus Paulsen, 2007

• Subfamily Chaetocanthinae Scholtz in Scholtz, D'Hotman, Evans & Nel, 1988

• Tribe Chaetocanthini Scholtz in Scholtz, D'Hotman, Evans & Nel, 1988

Chaetocanthus Péringuey, 1901

Mioochodaeus Nikolajev, 1995

Namibiotalpa Scholtz & Evans, 1987

• Tribe Pseudochodaeini Scholtz, 1988

Pseudochodaeus Carlson & Richter, 1974

• Tribe Synochodaeini Scholtz, 1988

Synochodaeus Kolbe, 1907

Gauchodaeus Paulsen, 2012

Literature about Ochodaeidae

• 2006: A review of the family-group names for the superfamily Scarabaeoidea (Coleoptera) with corrections to nomenclature and a current classification. Coleopterists Society monograph, 5: 144–204.; / PDF on the web site of the Zoological Institute of St. Petersburg: PDF
• ; 2009: Catalogue of type specimens of beetles (Coleoptera) deposited in the National Museum, Prague, Czech Republic. Scarabaeoidea: Bolboceratidae, Geotrupidae, Glaphyridae, Hybosoridae, Ochodaeidae and Trogidae. Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae, 49: 297–332. PDF
• 2009: Ochodaeidae species of the Palaearctic's Asia. Euroasian entomological journal, 8(2): 205–211. [not seen]
• ; 2010: The oldest fossil Ochodaeidae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) from the Middle Jurassic of China. Zootaxa, 2553: 65–68. Preview
• 1988: Phylogeny and systematics of the Ochodaeidae (Insecta: Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea). Journal of the Entomological Society of Southern Africa, 51: 207–240.
• 2006: Catalogue of Palearctic Coleoptera. Vol. 3, Apollo Books, Stenstrup, Denmark,, p. 95

Notes and References

1. Web site: Family sand-loving scarab beetles Ochodaeidae Mulsant & Rey, 1871. Taxon profile . Zicha . Ondřej . BioLib . Ondřej Zicha . Jaroslav Hrb . Michal Maňas . 3 . Jiří Novák . 26 August 2015 . 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150826085238/http://www.biolib.cz/en/taxon/id7891/ . 26 August 2015.
2. Web site: Ochodaeidae Mulsant & Rey, 1871 - Ochodaeid scarab beetles . Generic guide to New World Scarab Beetles . 26 August 2015 . Carlson . D.C. . Paulsen . M.J. . 2012 . University of Nebraska State Museum - Division of Entomology . https://web.archive.org/web/20130926185332/http://museum.unl.edu/research/entomology/Guide/Scarabaeoidea/Ochodaeidae/Ochodaeidae-Overview/OchodaeidaeO.html . 26 September 2013.
3. Web site: Superfamily Scarabaeoidea. Taxon profile . Zicha . Ondřej . BioLib . Ondřej Zicha . Jaroslav Hrb . Michal Maňas . 3 . Jiří Novák . 27 August 2015 . 2006 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070314162643/http://www.biolib.cz/en/taxon/id7838 . 14 March 2007.
4. Web site: Scarabaeiformia. Scarabaeoidea. Scarabs, stag beetles, dung beetles, rain beetles, etc. . Tree of Life Project . Browne . D. Jonathan . Scholtz . Clarke H. . 1995 . 27 August 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130921101142/http://tolweb.org/Scarabaeoidea . 21 September 2013.
5. Web site: BioLib . 27 August 2015 . Ondřej Zicha . Jaroslav Hrb . Michal Maňas . 3 . Jiří Novák . https://web.archive.org/web/20150826085238/http://www.biolib.cz/en/taxon/id7891/ . 26 August 2015.
6. Paulsen . M.J. . Ocampo . F.C. . 2012 . The Ochodaeidae of Argentina (Coleoptera, Scarabaeoidea) . ZooKeys . 174 . 7–30 . Sofia . Pensoft . 1313-2970 . 27 August 2015 . 10.3897/zookeys.174.2668 . 22451781 . 3307351. free . 2012ZooK..174....7P .