Aquatic Coleoptera Of Singapore: Species Richness, Ecology And Conservation #
Author
Hendrich, Lars
Author
Balke, Michael
text
Raffles Bulletin of Zoology
2004
52
1
97
145
journal article
10.5281/zenodo.13244881
2345-7600
13244881
Spercheus stangli
Schwarz & Barber, 1917
(
Fig. 26
)
Spercheus Stangli
Schwarz & Barber, 1917: 133
.
Spercheus stangli
Schwarz & Barber
- D’Orchymont, 1919: 70;
Hebauer, 1997: 22
;
Hansen, 1999: 67
, and references therein.
Material examined. –
2 specimens
-
Other areas -
2 ex.
,
Kranji
fish pond near
Neo Tiew Road
,
12 Oct.1990
, coll.
C. M. Yang
(
ZRC
)
.
Distribution
. –
Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Thailand, Brunei, Philippines [Luzon] (
Hebauer, 1997
). First record for the Malaysian Peninsula and
Singapore
!
Ecology. –
A lentic species which occurs in shallow and exposed swamps and ponds, rich in aquatic vegetation and plant debris.
FAMILY
HYDROPHILIDAE
This rather large family comprises about 2400 described species. Around 400 species in 60 genera are reported from the
Oriental
realm (
Hansen, 1999
). Adult and larval hydrophilids have very different habits; the former are phytophagous or saprophagous, while the latter are predacious. Most members of the subfamily
Sphaeridiinae
are strictly terrestrial (except for the aquatic genus
Coelostoma
), living in decaying vegetable matter, dung, carrion, damp soil and ant or termite nests (
Hansen, 1999
). Like the
Dytiscidae
, the aquatic hydrophilids inhabit all kinds of freshwater habitats. Most of the aquatic species are oval to globose, smooth and glabrous, often resembling
Dytiscidae
, from which they differ in having short and clubbed antennae and long maxillary palps. A ventral plastron, which communicates with a small subelytral air reservoir, is also present. When the beetle rises to the surface, it breaks the surface film using its specialised antennal club, allowing communication between atmosphere and plastron (Lawrence & Britton, 1991). The plastron is held by a fine, golden setation, or hydrofuge pubescence, which covers the major part of the beetle’s venter.
SUBFAMILY
HYDROPHILINAE
TRIBE
BEROSINI