Cryptophagus is a genus of beetles in the family Cryptophagidae, the silken fungus beetles. It is distributed across all the biogeographic realms of the world.Lyubarsky, G. Y. and E. E. Perkovsky. (2011). Third contribution on Rovno amber silken fungus beetles: a new Eocene species of Cryptophagus (Coleoptera, Clavicornia, Cryptophagidae). ZooKeys (130), 255-61. Like most of the other beetles in the family, these are fungivores, feeding on fungal spores and hyphae.Cryptophagus spp. Canadian Grain Commission. 2013.
Description and ecology These beetles are flattened and oval in shape, and are generally 2 to 3 millimeters long. They are reddish to dark brown, sometimes with yellowish patterns on the elytra. The thorax is often sculptured with teeth, angles, or other projections. Some are hairy. The larva is usually yellow-brown and cylindrical but flattened, with visible legs.
Some species are considered pests when they inhabit stores of grain, flour, bread, dried fruit, and other products, however, the beetles feed on fungi growing on the food product rather than the product itself. They also breed in the fungi, laying eggs in the hyphae. They are more common in products that are damp and moldy. The beetles can transmit fungal spores to products, encouraging mold growth. In Canada the beetles are common in the grain-producing prairie regions.
These beetles can be found in other habitats where fungi are available, such as beehives, the nests of other hymenopterans such as wasps and ants, rodent nests, and wool.Lyubarsky, G. Y. and E. E. Perkovsky. (2012). The first Eocene species of the genus Cryptophagus (Coleoptera, Clavicornia, Cryptophagidae). Vestnik Zoologii 46(1), 83-87.
Selected species
Species include:Cryptophagus. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).
Cryptophagus acuminatus Coombs & Woodroffe, 1955 Cryptophagus acutangulus – acute-angled fungus beetle Cryptophagus affinis Sturm, 1845 Cryptophagus amoenus Thomas Broun, 1912 Cryptophagus amfidoxus Bruce, 1963 Cryptophagus anatolicus Bruce, 1963 Cryptophagus archangelicus Cryptophagus arctomyos Sainte-Claire Deville, 1927 Cryptophagus ariadne Otero & González, 1980 Cryptophagus aurelii Otero & López, 2011 Cryptophagus axillaris Reitter, 1875 Cryptophagus badius Cryptophagus baldensis Cryptophagus bedeli Cryptophagus bidentatus (= C.punctatissimus) Cryptophagus bipedes Cryptophagus blasi Otero & González, 1982 Cryptophagus boulderanus Casey, 1924 Cryptophagus brisouti Reitter, 1875 Cryptophagus brucki Reitter, 1875 Cryptophagus bussi Esser, 2017 Cryptophagus cellaris – cellar fungus beetle (= C.angustatus, C.rupimontis) Cryptophagus confertus Cryptophagus confusus Cryptophagus coombsi Esser, 2018 Cryptophagus corticinus (= C.depressulus) Cryptophagus croceus Cryptophagus croaticus Reitter, 1879 Cryptophagus cylindrus Cryptophagus demarzoi Otero & Angelini, 1981 Cryptophagus dentatus (= C.quadridentatus) Cryptophagus denticulatus Cryptophagus deubeli Cryptophagus difficilis (= C.contractus) Cryptophagus discedens Cryptophagus distinguendus Cryptophagus dorsaliformis Reitter, 1879 Cryptophagus dorsalis Cryptophagus durus Reitter, 1878 Cryptophagus ellipticus Cryptophagus erichsoni Reitter, 1877 Cryptophagus escolai Cryptophagus falcozi Cryptophagus fallax Cryptophagus fasciatus Cryptophagus freyi Cryptophagus friwaldszkyi Cryptophagus fumidulus Cryptophagus fuscicornis Cryptophagus fusiformis Cryptophagus grahammontanus Esser, 2018 Cryptophagus hauseri Reitter, 1890 Cryptophagus hebes Cryptophagus hexagonalis Cryptophagus histricus Cryptophagus hongguanus Esser, 2017 Cryptophagus hupalupae Cryptophagus impressus Cryptophagus inaequalis Reitter, 1878 Cryptophagus inmixtus Cryptophagus intermedius Cryptophagus jakowlewi Cryptophagus jaloszynskii Otero & Pereira, 2018 Cryptophagus jemeniticus Esser, 2021 Cryptophagus jemezmontanus Esser, 2018 Cryptophagus kamtschaticus Cryptophagus labilis Cryptophagus lapidicola Reitter, 1878 Cryptophagus lapponicus Cryptophagus latens Cryptophagus latus Cryptophagus laticollis (= C.cribricollis, C.inscitus) Cryptophagus lecontei Cryptophagus lemonchei Cryptophagus lycoperdi Cryptophagus lysholmi Cryptophagus magdalenamontanus Esser, 2017 Cryptophagus mainensis Cryptophagus maximus Cryptophagus micaceus Cryptophagus minotaurus Cryptophagus montanus Cryptophagus montemurroi Otero & Angelini, 1984 Cryptophagus nitidulus Cryptophagus nobilis Cryptophagus obsoletus Reitter, 1879 Cryptophagus okalii Cryptophagus oromii Cryptophagus outereloi Cryptophagus pallidus Cryptophagus parallelus Cryptophagus peloponnesicus Esser, 2021 Cryptophagus peregrinus Cryptophagus pilosus (= C.punctipennis) Cryptophagus plenus Cryptophagus politus Cryptophagus populi Cryptophagus porrectus Cryptophagus posticus Reitter, 1888 Cryptophagus pseudodentatus Cryptophagus pseudoschmidti Cryptophagus pubescens Cryptophagus puetzi Esser, 2017 Cryptophagus quadrihamatus Cryptophagus quadrimaculatus Reitter, 1877 Cryptophagus quercinus Cryptophagus redondoensis Esser, 2018 Cryptophagus reflexicollis Reitter, 1876 Cryptophagus reflexus Cryptophagus reichardti Cryptophagus rotundatus Cryptophagus ruficornis Cryptophagus rutae Cryptophagus saginatus Cryptophagus sanmateomontanus Esser, 2018 Cryptophagus scanicus Cryptophagus schmidti Cryptophagus schroetteri Reitter, 1912 Cryptophagus schuelkei Esser, 2017 Cryptophagus scutellatus Cryptophagus setulosus (= C.antennatus, C.grossulus) Cryptophagus simplex Cryptophagus skalitzkyi Reitter, 1875 Cryptophagus spadiceus Cryptophagus sporadum Cryptophagus stephani Esser, 2018 Cryptophagus straussi Cryptophagus stromus Cryptophagus subdepressus Cryptophagus subfumatus Cryptophagus subvittatus Reitter, 1887 Cryptophagus thomsoni Reitter, 1875 Cryptophagus tuberculosus Cryptophagus uralensis Cryptophagus valens Cryptophagus varus – sigmoid fungus beetle Cryptophagus versicolor Cryptophagus vestigialis Cryptophagus vseteckai Cryptophagus wachteli Esser, 2013
Some fossil species have been discovered in amber and as compression fossils in rock: †Cryptophagus alexagrestis Lyubarsky & Perkovsky, 2011 †Cryptophagus bassleri †Cryptophagus harenus †Cryptophagus petricola †Cryptophagus suncholensis
References