Metapion

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Metapion
Temporal range: Paleogene–Recent
File:Metapion squamosum (Faust 1884) JCR.jpg
Metapion squamosum, Libya
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Suborder: Polyphaga
Infraorder: Cucujiformia
Family: Brentidae
Genus: Metapion
Schilsky, 1906
Species

See text.

Metapion is a genus of beetles belonging to the family Brentidae.[1] The species of this genus are distributed only in the Palearctic zone and likely originate from deserts of Central Asia.[2] They are commonly found in Southern Europe, northern parts of the Middle East, Caucasus and in Central Asia. Some species also appear in northern zones of Africa (south to Sudan).

Species of this genus appear to be associated with plants in the family Rutaceae, particularly the genera Ruta and Haplophyllum. The larvae are believed to develop by mining the roots, necks, and stems of these plants.[3]

Description

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Body black, covered with oval, lance-shaped or fine, hair-like scales. The proboscis has a broadening that is either sharply pointed or bluntly angled.[4]

Species

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Currently, at least 20 species of Metapion are described[1][5] (though not all of them are well documented):

History

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In 1906, Schilsky separated a subgenus Metapion from previously heterogenous genus Apion. Metapion was then elevated to a genus by Korotyaev (1988) and fully established in 1991.[2]

References

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