Belinae
| Belinae | |
|---|---|
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Rhinotia brunnea (Belini). Note scutellum protruding above wings. |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Family: | Belidae |
| Subfamily: | Belinae |
| Tribes | |
Belinae are a Gondwanan subfamily of beetles which belong to the belids, primitive weevils of the family Belidae. Like in other belids, their antennae are straight, not elbowed as in the true weevils (Curculionidae). The Belinae make up the bulk of the diversity of living belid genera. They are found in the Australia-New Guinea-New Zealand and South America.
Of the three tribes placed here, the Pachyurini appear to hold the most primitive genera, while the Agnesiotidini might be the most advanced one. The overall delimitation of tribes is not entirely robust though, and particularly the placement of the diverse Belini in respect to the Agnesiotidini is somewhat uncertain. The belids as a whole are of Jurassic origin, and the Belinae must thus date from the Late Jurassic or at most Early Cretaceous, roughly some 150 million years ago.
Belinae typically have an elongated and cylindrical shape. They can be distinguished from the Oxycoryninae (including the former Aglycyderinae) by a few characters: The scutellum of the Belinae is tipped upwards, with the base hidden by a flange at the elytra bases and the distal end pointing out between the wing bases. The sternite of the metathorax is characteristically swollen. Microscopically, it can be seen that their spermatheca are sickle-shaped, well developed and darkly pigmented. The Agnesiotidini have a groove at the hind margin of the eye, which is missing in the other two tribes.
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