Megymenum
| Megymenum | |
|---|---|
| Megymenum dentatum | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hemiptera |
| Suborder: | Heteroptera |
| Family: | Dinidoridae |
| Subfamily: | Megymeninae |
| Genus: | Megymenum Guérin-Méneville, 1831 |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Megymenum is a genus of Asian and Australian shield bugs in the family Dinidoridae and typical of the subfamily Megymeninae. It was erected by Félix Édouard Guérin-Méneville in 1831[2] and species have been recorded from India through to Japan, Indochina, Malesia, New Guinea and Australia.[1]
Description
Species in genus Megymenum have extended or greatly expanded pronotal margins (as in the type species M. dentatum) with a rounded scutellum: characteristic of the Dinidoridae. In most species the second valvifers are reduced, lightly sclerotised, and fused in the middle. Some species have reduced hemelytra and are flightless.[3] Female Megymenum gracilicorne has distinctive sexual dimorphism in the hind legs, and females have a broadened part on the inner hind tibia which was thought to be a tympanal organ (with the ability to hear sound), but in 2025 it was discovered that this organ has a layer of secretory cells and the cavity contains special fungi. These fungi, mostly in the family Cordycipitaceae, are transferred to eggs at the time of oviposition and the fungus is thought to provide protection to the eggs against parasitic wasps.[4]
Species
The following species are currently (as of July 2024) accepted in the genus:[1]
- Megymenum affine Boisduval, 1835
- Megymenum anacanthum Vollenhoven, 1868
- Megymenum aruense Kocorek & Danielczok, 2002
- Megymenum basale Walker, 1868
- Megymenum brevicorne (Fabricius, 1787)
- Megymenum confusum Kocorek & J.Lis, 2000
- Megymenum dentatum Guérin-Méneville, 1831 – type species
- Megymenum distanti Kocorek & Ghate, 2012
- Megymenum dohrni J.Lis, 1990
- Megymenum gracilicorne Dallas, 1851
- Megymenum lisi Kocorek, 2000
- Megymenum megaspinosum Kocorek, 2000
- Megymenum mekongum Distant, 1921
- Megymenum obliquum Schouteden, 1913
- Megymenum parallelum Vollenhoven, 1868
- Megymenum pratti Distant, 1911
- Megymenum quadratum Vollenhoven, 1868
- Megymenum rectangulatum Breddin, 1901
- Megymenum salebrosum J.Lis, 1992
- Megymenum semivestitum Vollenhoven, 1868
- Megymenum severini Bergroth, 1892
- Megymenum spinosum (Burmeister, 1834)
- Megymenum sumatranum Kocorek & J.Lis, 2008
- Megymenum tuberculatum Hemala, Kocorek & Lis, 2020
References
- ^ a b c "Megymenum Guérin-Méneville, 1831". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
- ^ Guérin FÉ (1831) Insectes, pls.12, 14bis. In: L.I. Duperrey, Voyage autour du monde, exécuté par ordre du Roi, sur la corvette de sa Majesté, La Coquille, pendant les années 1822, 1823, 1824 et 1825.; Histoire naturelle. Zoologie, par M. Lesson; Insectes, par F.-E. Guérin, planches 1-21 (1830-1831); text pp.57-302 (1838). Arthus Bertrand, Paris.
- ^ Randall T. Schuh; James Alexander Slater (1995). True Bugs of the World (Hemiptera:Heteroptera): Classification and Natural History. Cornell University Press. pp. 225–. ISBN 0-8014-2066-0.
- ^ Nishino, Takanori; Moriyama, Minoru; Mukai, Hiromi; Tanahashi, Masahiko; Hosokawa, Takahiro; Chang, Hsin-Yi; Tachikawa, Shuji; Nikoh, Naruo; Koga, Ryuichi; Kuo, Chih-Horng; Fukatsu, Takema (2025). "Defensive fungal symbiosis on insect hindlegs". Science. 390 (6770): 279–283. doi:10.1126/science.adp6699. ISSN 0036-8075.