Aegithus is a neotropical genus of pleasing fungus beetles (family Erotylidae) in subfamily Erotylinae.
Description and systematics These beetles are rather large by their family's standards (about 7-17.5 mm long, 5-15.5 mm wide), and have a rounded "hump-backed" shape as adults; overall, they resemble a large plump species of ladybeetle. Their 11-segmented antennae form a "club" at the tips which consists of distinct segments. The head is stretched out and blunt-snouted, with compound eyes composed of small ommatidia. The prothorax is not strongly curved, with sharp-angled forward edges and a conspicuously indented front margin to fit the prominent head. The last segment of the maxillary palps is wider than long, the maxillary lacinia bear two small teeth, and the mouth-cavity sides are flattened lobes. On the legs' tarsi, the first three segments are increasingly widened.Deelder, C.L. (1942): Revision of the Erotylidae (Coleoptera) of the Leiden Museum. Zool. Meded. 24(3): 49-115. Fulltext
While many Aegithus species have the yellowish-and-black coloration often seen in pleasing fungus beetles, some show, more unusually for this subfamily, bright red colors. Among their subfamily, they seem to be a rather ancient lineage retaining many ancestral traits, such as a general lack of complicated color patterns (zigzag bands or eyespots) and larvae which feed singly on polypore fungi.Robertson, James A.; McHugh, Joseph V. & Whiting, Michael F. (2004): A molecular phylogenetic analysis of the pleasing fungus beetles (Coleoptera: Erotylidae): evolution of colour patterns, gregariousness and mycophagy. Syst.Entomol. 29(2): 173-187. PDF fulltext
Species
Aegithus contains some 75 described species:Alvarenga, Moacyr (1994): Catálogo dos Erotylidae (Coleoptera) Neotropicais. [Catalogue of Neotropical Erotylidae (Coleoptera). Portuguese with English abstract.] Revista Brasileira de Zoologia 11(1): 1-175. .
Aegithus abruptus Casey, 1916 Aegithus andreae Lacordaire, 1842 Aegithus armitagei Gorham, 1889 Aegithus assimilis Crotch, 1876 Aegithus bartletti Gorham, 1889 Aegithus bicolor Kirsch, 1865 Aegithus binarius Casey, 1916 Aegithus bourcieri Guérin-Méneville, 1855 Aegithus brunnipennis Lacordaire, 1842 Aegithus bulla Lacordaire, 1842 Aegithus burmeisteri Lacordaire, 1842 Aegithus cardinalis Chevrolat, 1834 Aegithus chalybeus (Duponchel, 1825) Aegithus cinctipennis (Duponchel, 1825) Aegithus circumfusus Kuhnt, 1908 Aegithus clathraticollis Mader, 1942 Aegithus clavicornis (Linnaeus, 1758) Aegithus consularis Guérin-Méneville, 1855 Aegithus cordatus Crotch, 1876 Aegithus cretaceus Guérin, 1956 Aegithus cribrosus Lacordaire, 1842 Aegithus cyanipennis Guérin-Méneville, 1841 Aegithus decoloratus Kuhnt, 1910 Aegithus dichrous Crotch, 1876 Aegithus dohrni Mader, 1942 Aegithus dubius Gorham, 1888 Aegithus duplicatus Gorham, 1888 Aegithus ecuadorianus Mader, 1942 Aegithus flavolineatus Mader, 1943 Aegithus geminatus Lacordaire, 1842 Aegithus globulus Achard, 1926 Aegithus gorhami Alvarenga, 1977 Aegithus grammicus Gorham, 1888 Aegithus hemisphaericus Lacordaire, 1842 Aegithus hogei Gorham, 1888 Aegithus inflatus Crotch, 1876 Aegithus jansoni Crotch, 1873 Aegithus lateritius Lacordaire, 1842 Aegithus leachi Lacordaire, 1842 Aegithus lebasi Lacordaire, 1842 Aegithus lineatus Guérin-Méneville, 1844 Aegithus lineola Lacordaire, 1842 Aegithus luridus Kuhnt, 1908 Aegithus luteus Erichson, 1847 Aegithus maculicollis (Duponchel, 1825) Aegithus melaspis Gorham, 1888 Aegithus meridionalis Crotch, 1873 Aegithus mesosternalis Kuhnt, 1908 Aegithus monochrous Lacordaire, 1842 Aegithus multistriatus Mader, 1942 Aegithus nigrocinctus Erichson, 1847 Aegithus olivaceipennis Mader, 1942 Aegithus ornaticollis Lacordaire, 1842 Aegithus pallidus Kuhnt, 1908 Aegithus politissimus Crotch, 1876 Aegithus politus Gorham, 1888 Aegithus punctatissimus (Fabricius, 1775) (= A.separandus) Aegithus quadrimaculatus Gistel, 1848 Aegithus quadrinotatus Chevrolat, 1834 Aegithus rhombifer Casey, 1916 Aegithus rubriventris Kuhnt, 1908 Aegithus rufipennis Chevrolat, 1834 Aegithus sanguinans Dohrn, 1880 Aegithus satellitius Lacordaire, 1842 Aegithus schenklingi Mader, 1942 Aegithus scurra Lacordaire, 1842 Aegithus stillatus Gorham, 1888 Aegithus striatellus Crotch, 1876 Aegithus strigicollis Gorham, 1888 Aegithus suturella Lacordaire, 1842 Aegithus torquatus Lacordaire, 1842 Aegithus trilineatus Kuhnt, 1908 Aegithus truncatus Crotch, 1876 Aegithus uva Lacordaire, 1842 Aegithus varicollis Lacordaire, 1842 Aegithus walkenaeri Lacordaire, 1842
A review of the UPN collection found 7 identifiable species represented among the 41 Aegithus specimens, with records from across the southeastern half of Colombia but none northwest of Boyacá and Valle del Cauca departments. Apart from the common A.clavicornis, all of the species seemed to be spottily distributed. And in addition, 4 specimens (about 10%) from Cundinamarca and Tolima departments in central Colombia could only be assigned to Aegithus, but not to a species known from the region.Torres-Pachón, Mónica; Gasca-Álvarez,; Héctor Jaime; Bustos-Martínez, Miller Felipe; Skelley, Paul E. & García-Sarmiento, Martha J. (2026): Erotylinae (Coleoptera: Erotylidae) de la colección entomológica del Museo de Historia Natural de la Universidad Pedagógica Nacional. ["Erotylinae (Coleoptera: Erotylidae) housed in Natural History Museum Entomological Collection of Universidad Pedagógica Nacional." Spanish with English abstract.] Revista UDCA Actualidad & Divulgación Científica 29(1): e3002.
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