The Silphid Beetles (Coleoptera: Silphidae) of South Africa

compiled by Martin H. Villet

Departement of Zoology & Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstwon, 6140 South Africa

© Copyright of this page belongs to the author.

CONTENTS

Introduction

Silphidae

References

INTRODUCTION

The silphids are black or metalic blue-black carcass-breeding beetles. Their bodies are rather flattened, their antennae are 11-segmented, the last four segments weakly clubbed, and the head is slightly constricted behind the eyes. The larvae are blackish, flattened, and quite fast-moving. The biology of two species has been discussed by Prins (1984).

Information about beetles and their biology can be sought from

BIOSIS Internet Resource Guide - Coleoptera

The Coleoptera page of The Tree of Life

Family: SILPHIDAE

Subfamily: SILPHINAE

1. Genus: SILPHA
   1. S. punctulata Olivier, 1790

      Silpha punctulata Olivier, 1790: **

      = Silpha capicola Péringuey 1888: **

      = Silpha peringueyi Portevin 1922: **
      Western Cape, Eastern Cape. Apparently endemic to fynbos

      
      
   
   
2. Genus: THANATOPHILUS
   1. T. micans (Fabricius, 1794)

      Silpha micans Fabricius, 1794: 445

      = Silpha coeruleviridans Dohrn 1885: 138
      Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, Northern Province, Northwest Province, Northern Cape, to Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Yemen and Sierra Leone

      
      
   2. T. mutilatus (Castelneau, 1840)

      Silpha mutilata Castelneau, 1840: 6

      = Silpha capensis Boheman 1858: 36
      Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Free State, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, Northern Province, Northern Cape,

      
      
   
   

REFERENCES

Prins, A.J. 1984.

Morphological and biological notes on some South African arthropods associated with decaying organic matter. II: the predatory families Carabidae, Hydrophilidae, Histeridae, Staphylinidae and Silphidae (Coleoptera). Annals of the South African Museum 92: 295-356

Schawaller, W. 1981a.

Taxonomie und Faunistik der Gattung Thanatophilus (Coleoptera: Silphidae). Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde (A) 351: 1-21

Schawaller, W. 1981b.

Insects of Saudi Arabia Coleoptera: Fam. Silphidae. In: Fauna of Saudi Arabia. Vol. 3. Naturhistorisches Museum, Basel, 231-233

Schawaller, W. 1987.

Faunistische und systematische Daten zur Silphiden-Fauna Südafrikas (Coleoptera, Silphidae). Entomofauna 8, 277-286

Schweiger, H. 1960.

Coleoptera: Silphidae, Catopidae und Colonidae. In: South Afican animal life: results of the Lund University expedition in 1950-1951. Vol. 7. (Eds: Hanström, B., Brink, P. & Rudebeck, G.) Almqvist and Wiksell, Stockholm, 25-33.