Toramus

Toramus is a genus of pleasing fungus beetles (family Erotylidae) which is found in much of the world except the polar regions. At least some species of Toramus eat mainly zygote fungi, which other pleasing fungus beetles generally avoid.

Toramus
Adult of the type species Toramus pulchellus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Clade:	Pancrustacea
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Suborder:	Polyphaga
Infraorder:	Cucujiformia
Family:	Erotylidae
Tribe:	Toramini
Genus:	Toramus Grouvelle, 1916
Type species
Tomarus pulchellus LeConte, 1863
Synonyms
"Eudodactylus" (nomen nudum) Itomarus Reitter, 1920 Itotomarus (lapsus) Tomarus LeConte, 1861 (non Erichson 1847: preoccupied)

The present genus was originally established as Tomarus by John LeConte in 1861, but Wilhelm Erichson had used that name in 1847 already for a genus of rhinoceros beetles. In 1916, Antoine Grouvelle chose the replacement name Toramus, pre-empting Edmund Reitter whose proposed 1920 replacement name Itomarus thus immediately became a junior synonym.

Systematics

Some authors place this genus in tribe Toramini of subfamily Cryptophilinae, others accept fewer subfamilies in the Erotylidae and place the genus in tribe Cryptophilini in subfamily Xenoscelinae; neither approach may be correct, however. The genus Toramus is sometimes included in Cryptophilus but it also seems to be close to Triplax, which is placed in subfamily Tritominae, or – in taxonomic arrangements that reduce the number of erotylid subfamilies – in tribe Tritomini of the Erotylinae; however, this relationship was suggested by an analysis that did not include Cryptophilus. Earlier authors usually allied Toramus with the lizard beetles, at that time held to be a distinct family Languriidae but actually paraphyletic with Erotylidae and eventually merged into it.

About 45 species are placed in genus Toramus, including:

• Toramus acutus (Reitter, 1875) ^{b g}
• Toramus arundinaceum ⁱ
• Toramus bifasciatus (Kirsch, 1873) ^b
• Toramus bisignatus (Horn, 1895) ^{b g}
• Toramus chamaeropis (Schaeffer, 1904) ^{b g i}
• Toramus formosianus (Grouvelle, 1913) ^{b g i}
• Toramus glisonothoides ⁱ
• Toramus hirtellus (Schwarz, 1878) ^{b g i}
• Toramus obsoletus (Casey, 1900) ^{b g}
• Toramus pilifer ^{g i}
• Toramus pulchellus (LeConte, 1863) ^{b g i}
• Toramus quadriguttatus ⁱ
• Toramus quadrinotatus (Casey, 1924) ^{b g}
• Toramus uenoi ⁱ
• Toramus ventricosus (Casey, 1924) ^{b g}

Data sources: b = BioLib.cz, g = GBIF, i = iNaturalist,

Further reading

• Leschen, Richard A. B. (2003). Erotylidae (Insecta: Coleoptera: Cucujoidea) phylogey and review. Fauna of New Zealand. Vol. 47. Manaaki Whenua Press. ISBN 978-0-478-09350-6. ISSN 0111-5383.
• Lobl, I.; Smetana, A., eds. (2007). Catalogue of Palaearctic Coleoptera, Volume 4: Elateroidea - Derodontoidea - Bostrichoidea - Lymexyloidea - Cleroidea - Cucujoidea. Apollo Books. ISBN 978-8788757675.