Niponiinae
Michael S. Caterino
- Niponius andrewesi
- Niponius bicolor
- Niponius canalicollis
- Niponius foveicollis
- Niponius furcatus
- Niponius himalayensis
- Niponius impressicollis
- Niponius interstitialis
- Niponius obtusiceps
- Niponius osorioceps
- Niponius parvulus
- Niponius piceae
- Niponius polinae
- Niponius punjabensis
- Niponius simplicipygus
- Niponius striaticeps
- Niponius substriatus
- Niponius tamanukii
- Niponius unidentatus
- Niponius unistrius
- Niponius yamasakii
- Niponius variabilis
Introduction
The Niponiinae is a very enigmatic group of histerids, containing only the single genus Niponius, with 22 known species (Mazur, 1997). As the name implies, a large proportion of the known species are Japanese in distribution. However, species are also known from scattered locations throughout southeastern Asia, from India to tropical Australia. The species are similar ecologically to the Trypanaeinae/Trypeticinae lineage. All are cylindrical in shape and are apparently specialized bark beetle predators (Gardner, 1930; Lewis, 1885), although Lewis asserts that they do not enter transverse galleries, but rather tunnel under bark.
Characteristics
While several other groups of histerids have cylindrical members, those of Niponius can easily be recognized by the large, elongate head bearing prolonged frontal processes and ventrally deflexed mandibles.
Discussion of Phylogenetic Relationships
Relationships among the species of Niponius have not been examined.
References
Caterino, M. S., and A. P. Vogler. 2002. The phylogeny of the Histeroidea. Cladistics 18(4):394-415.
Gardner, J. C. M. 1930. The early stages of Niponius andrewsi. Bulletin of Entomological Research 21:15-17 +1 plate.
Lewis, G. 1885. On a new genus of Histeridae. Transactions of the Entomological Society of London 1885:331-334.
Ohara, M. 1994. A revision of the superfamily Histeroidea of Japan. Insecta Mastumurana (N.S.) 51:1-283.
Information on the Internet
Masahiro Ohara’s Histeridae home page: NiponiinaeTitle Illustrations
| Scientific Name | Niponius andrewsi |
|---|---|
| Location | India |
| Specimen Condition | Dead Specimen |
| Image Use |
 This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License - Version 3.0.
|
| Copyright |
© 2002
|
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Niponiinae.
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- First online 07 March 2002
Citing this page:
Caterino, Michael S. 2002. Niponiinae. Version 07 March 2002 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Niponiinae/9382/2002.03.07 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/
