Abstract:
Members of the family Erotylidae and especially of the subfamily Erotylinae possess a whole arsenal of compound integumentary glands. Their external pores are located in several parts of the body, mainly in the corners and along the lateral margins of the pronotum, beside the compound eyes (periocular glands), on the subgenal braces (subocular glands), on the abdominal ventrites, and more rarely on the prosternal and mesoventral intercoxal processes, the mentum and the mandibles. To evaluate the evolution of the various exocrine glands their occurrence is described for 55 species of Erotylidae (including the former Languriidae), and data from the literature are included for nine further species and two subfamilies. In some phylogenetically crucial cases, the glandular nature was verified by internal inspection (search for glandular ducts), and in some critical species or genera an extended sample was studied. Gland characters and their phylogenetic implications are discussed and mapped on a previously published erotylid phylogeny. |