Opatrini

Brullé, 1832

darkling beetles

Tribe Guides

Opatrini is a tribe of darkling beetles (Tenebrionidae) comprising approximately 281 and about 4,000 , representing one of the most species-rich lineages within the . The tribe was historically placed in Tenebrioninae but was transferred to the resurrected subfamily Blaptinae in 2021 based on phylogenetic analyses. The fossil genus Eupachypterus from Eocene Oise amber demonstrates that Opatrini-like has persisted for over 50 million years. The tribe includes several subtribes, with molecular studies supporting the monophyly of Blapstinina and revealing complex relationships among geographically distributed genera.

Opatrini by (c) Ken-ichi Ueda, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Ken-ichi Ueda. Used under a CC-BY license.

Blapstinus by (c) Will Linnard, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Will Linnard. Used under a CC-BY license.

Opatrina by (c) Don Loarie, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Don Loarie. Used under a CC-BY license.

Pronunciation

How to pronounce Opatrini: /oʊˈpætrɪnaɪ/

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Images

Distribution

Worldwide distribution with particular diversity in arid and semi-arid regions. The subtribe Blapstinina is to North and South America. The subtribe Opatrina has an amphi-Atlantic distribution following the taxonomic transfer of Ephalus. The fossil Eupachypterus is known from Ypresian deposits in France.

Similar Taxa

AmmobiinaPreviously considered to include Ammodonus, Ephalus, and Pseudephalus; molecular has reclassified these , with Ammodonus now placed within Blapstinina and Ephalus transferred to Opatrina

More Details

Taxonomic Reclassification

In 2021, Kamiński et al. moved Opatrini and six other tribes from Tenebrioninae to the resurrected Blaptinae, a classification followed by Bouchard et al. the same year. This reorganization affected approximately 50% of former Tenebrioninae .

Fossil Record

The fossil Eupachypterus from Eocene Oise amber (Ypresian, >50 million years ago) shows morphological similarity to extant genera Neopachypterus and Pseudolamus, indicating long-term morphological stasis in this lineage.

Molecular Phylogenetics

Studies using five molecular markers (28S, COII, ArgK, CAD, wg) support the monophyly of Blapstinina and have resulted in taxonomic revisions including the synonymy of Mecysmus with Blapstinus and Pseudephalus with Ephalus.