Tropisternus lateralis

Tropisternus lateralis
Adult Tropisternus lateralis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Hydrophilidae
Genus: Tropisternus
Species: T. lateralis
Binomial name
Tropisternus lateralis
(Fabricius, 1775)

Tropisternus lateralis is a species of hydrophilid beetle that ranges across much of the Americas.[1]

Description

T. lateralis larva

Adult T. lateralis are distinguished by having uniformly dark elytra and pronotum with light-colored borders.[1]

Distribution

The range of T. lateralis includes North America as far north as southern Canada, South America south to northern Chile and Argentina, the Caribbean, and the Galápagos Islands.[1][2] T. lateralis humeralis has been accidentally introduced to Oahu.[3]

Behavior

Five T. lateralis egg cases with individual eggs visible inside one of the egg cases

T. lateralis exhibits stridulation during stress, calling, and courtship.[4] Eggs are deposited in cases under water, and larvae are fully aquatic. While adults are primarily aquatic, they breathe air and can fly.[1] Adult T. lateralis avoid colonizing and laying egg cases in ponds that contain fish, which are potential predators of all life stages of the beetles.[5]

Subspecies

There are five recognized subspecies of Tropisternus lateralis.[6]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tropisternus lateralis.
  1. 1 2 3 4 Spangler, Paul J. (1960). A revision of the genus Tropisternus (Coleoptera:Hydrophilidae) (Ph.D.). University of Missouri.
  2. ↑ "Tropisternus lateralis". Charles Darwin Foundation. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  3. ↑ Hansen, Michael (1995). "A review of the Hawaiian Hydrophilidae (Coleoptera)". Pacific Science. 49 (3): 266-288.
  4. ↑ Ryker, Lee C. (1976). "Acoustic behavior of Tropisternus ellipticus, T. columbianus, and T. lateralis limbalis in western Oregon (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae)". The Coleopterists Bulletin. 30 (2): 147-156.
  5. ↑ Resetarits, Jr., William J. (2001). "Colonization under threat of predation: avoidance of fish by an aquatic beetle, Tropisternus lateralis (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae)". Oecologia. 129: 155–160. doi:10.1007/s004420100704. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 17, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Tropisternus lateralis (Fabricius, 1775)". ITIS. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
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