Pteryx

Pteryx is a genus of beetles that is typically found in northern bogs in the Northern Hemisphere. They belong to the family Ptiliidae which is referred to as feather-winged beetles as the hindwings are narrow and feather-like. Like most of the rest of the family, Pteryx are very small and live in rotting vegetative matter. They prefer rotting wood and are generally found under the bark of rotting logs or stumps.

This article is about the beetle. For other uses, see Pteryx (disambiguation).

Pteryx
Pteryx suturalis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Coleoptera
Family:
Ptiliidae
Subfamily:
Ptiliinae
Tribe:
Ptiliini
Genus:
Pteryx

Matthews, 1858
Species
  • Pteryx franzi[1]
  • Pteryx splendens
  • Pteryx suturalis

Description

The Pteryx are less than 1 mm in length. They are polymorphic, in that they frequently occur in two forms, a normal variety, and a neonate form that has only vestigial wings, pale body pigmentation, and no pigmentation in their smaller eyes.[2][3][4]

Distribution

Pteryx are found in Eurasia and as far south as the Canary Islands.[5] Pteryx are found in North America from Canada, to as far south as Georgia.[2] Although not restricted to bogs and swamps, they are found more abundantly in those locales.[2]

Notes
  1. "Pteryx franzi Israelson 1976" ION: Index to Organism Names (Thomson Reuters)
  2. Dybas, Henry S. (1978) "The Systematics, and Geographical and Ecological Distribution of Ptiliopycna, a Nearctic Genus of Parthenogenetic Featherwing Beetles (Coleoptera: Ptiliidae)" The American Midland Naturalist 99(1): pp. 83-100, page 96
  3. "Pteryx" Archived 2011-06-08 at the Wayback Machine The Probert Encyclopaedia
  4. Dybas, Henry S. (1978) "Polymorphism in Featherwing Beetles, with a Revision of the Genus Ptinellodes (Coleoptera: Ptiliidae)" Annals of the Entomological Society of America 71(5): pp. 695-714
  5. Israelson, Gunnar (1976) "Ptiliolum besucheti n. sp., Pteryx franzi n. sp., and Nephanes euphorbiicola n. sp. from the Canary Islands (Coleoptera: Ptilidae)" Entomologica Scandinavica 7(3): pp. 231-233

Further reading
  • Dybas, Henry S (1976) "The larval characters of featherwing and limulodid beetles and their family relationships in the Staphylinoidea (Coleoptera: Ptiliidae and Limulodidae)" Fieldiana Zoology 70(3): pp. 29–78


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