Antennaeantennae:
paired, segmental appendages, borne one on each side of head, functioning as sense organs and bearing a large number of sensilla.
10-segmented with a 2-segmented club. Antennal setation sparse. Eyes well-developed, elongate-oval, somewhat reniformreniform:
kidney-shaped.
, coarsely faceted, extending well onto dorsal portion of head. Lateral margins of pronotumpronotum:
dorsal portion of the pronotum, lying above the lateral pronotal carinae when these are present.
arcuate to sinuatesinuate:
wavy, applying specifically to edges and margins.
, without distinct lobes. Pronotal discpronotal disc:
the area of the pronotum which is visible dorsally and usually delimited laterally by the two lateral carinae. Contrasted with the paired pronotal hypomera, which extend onto the ventral surface.
with several raised ridges. Apicalapical:
an adjective (or adverb) denoting position near or movement toward the apex of a body part. The apex of the head or pronotum is at the anterior end while that of the abdomen or an elytron is at the posterior end; on the legs or antennae, apical and distal are synonymous.
margin of hypomeronhypomeron:
that portion of the pronotum which is visible from the ventral side; when there is a lateral pronotal carina, this is the portion below that carina (the pronotal disc being above it).
with short, arcuatearcuate:
arched or bowlike.
depression. ProsternumProsternum:
used for the entire ventral plate lying in front of and between the procoxae and between the notosternal or pleurosternal sutures.
without distinct transverse groove. Procoxal cavitiesprocoxal cavities:
external closure: Externally closed when the postcoxal processes of the hypomera meet the prosternal process or meet one another.
closed. Metacoxaemetacoxae:
the coxae of the metathorax.
widely separated, separation as wide or wider than metacoxal length. Scutellumscutellum:
posterior portion of mesotergum. Often referring only to that portion of the scutellum which is visible between the bases of the elytra (see Scutellar Shield).
greatly reduced or absent from view. Abdominal ventriteabdominal ventrite:
visible ventral abdominal sclerite. Ventrite number does not correspond to true sternite number except in rare cases where sternite 1 is visible. Also called ventrite.
5 with a narrow arcuatearcuate:
arched or bowlike.
preapical groove. Apicalapical:
an adjective (or adverb) denoting position near or movement toward the apex of a body part. The apex of the head or pronotum is at the anterior end while that of the abdomen or an elytron is at the posterior end; on the legs or antennae, apical and distal are synonymous.
–5–4. Dorsal surface tomentosetomentose:
covered with a form of pubescence composed of short, matted, woolly hair.
. Ventral surface with puncturespuncture:
a small impression on the cuticle, like that made by a needle.
from which a single setaseta:
a sclerotized, hairlike (or scalelike) projection of cuticula arising from a single trichogen cell and surrounded at the base by a small cuticular ring.
arises. Dorsal and ventral surfaces commonly encrusted with dirt and debris.
The genus Sesaspis is similar to the genera Phloeodes, Phellopsis, and Zopherus. Sesaspis is most similar to Phloeodes, but can be distinguished by antennomereantennomere:
antennal segment; including scape, pedicel and flagellomeres. NOTE: the flagellum is composed of all antennal segments proceeding the scape and pedicel. Any individual antennal segment is commonly called an antennomere.
3 only slightly longer than 4 (in Phloeodes, antennomereantennomere:
antennal segment; including scape, pedicel and flagellomeres. NOTE: the flagellum is composed of all antennal segments proceeding the scape and pedicel. Any individual antennal segment is commonly called an antennomere.
3 distinctly longer than 4) and the pronotal discpronotal disc:
the area of the pronotum which is visible dorsally and usually delimited laterally by the two lateral carinae. Contrasted with the paired pronotal hypomera, which extend onto the ventral surface.
with more well-defined raised ridges (in Phloeodes, mostly flat, bearing small, round tuberclestubercle:
a small knoblike or rounded protuberance.
). Phellopsis can immediately be distinguished by the 11-segmented antennaeantennae:
paired, segmental appendages, borne one on each side of head, functioning as sense organs and bearing a large number of sensilla.
with a 3-segmented club, narrowly open procoxal cavitiesprocoxal cavities:
external closure: Externally closed when the postcoxal processes of the hypomera meet the prosternal process or meet one another.
, hypomeronhypomeron:
that portion of the pronotum which is visible from the ventral side; when there is a lateral pronotal carina, this is the portion below that carina (the pronotal disc being above it).
with lack of depression/antennal cavity, and a small but visible scutellumscutellum:
posterior portion of mesotergum. Often referring only to that portion of the scutellum which is visible between the bases of the elytra (see Scutellar Shield).
. The genus Zopherus can immediately be distinguished by the 9-segmented antennaeantennae:
paired, segmental appendages, borne one on each side of head, functioning as sense organs and bearing a large number of sensilla.
with a 1-segmented club composed of 3 fused segments, the deep antennal cavitiesantennal cavity:
a prothoracic cavity for housing the whole antenna or a portion of the antenna (usually the club).
on the prothoracic hypomerahypomeron:
that portion of the pronotum which is visible from the ventral side; when there is a lateral pronotal carina, this is the portion below that carina (the pronotal disc being above it).
, and the paired rows of fine golden setaeseta:
a sclerotized, hairlike (or scalelike) projection of cuticula arising from a single trichogen cell and surrounded at the base by a small cuticular ring.
on all femorafemur:
the third and usually the stoutest segment of the beetle leg, articulated proximally with trochanter (or if the latter is absent, then the coxa) and distally with the tibia.
and tibiaetibia:
the fourth and often the longest segment of the beetle leg, articulated proximally with the femur and distally with the first tarsomere.
.
Sesaspis emarginatus (Horn, 1878)
Southcentral (TX), Southwest (NM) USA.
Sesaspis has been collected from under loose bark of pine and oak.
Abundance: Uncommon.
Members of this genus are frequently encrusted with dirt and other debris which may conceal the diagnostic characters.
Foley and Ivie (2008b)Foley and Ivie (2008b):
Foley IA and Ivie MA. 2008b. A phylogenetic analysis of the tribe Zopherini with a review of the species and generic classification (Coleoptera: Zopheridae). Zootaxa 1928: 1-72., Horn (1878)Horn (1878):
Horn, G.H. 1878. Synopsis of the Colydiidae of the United States. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 17: 555-592., Ivie (2002c)Ivie (2002c):
Ivie, M.A. 2002c. 129. Zopheridae, pp. 457-462 In: R. H. Arnett, Jr., Jr. and M. C. Thomas (eds.), American Beetles. CRC Press, Gainesville, Florida., Ślipiński and Lawrence (1999)Ślipiński and Lawrence (1999):
Ślipiński, S.A. and J.F. Lawrence. 1999. Phylogeny and classification of Zopheridae sensu novo (Coleoptera: Tenebrionoidea) with a review of the genera of Zopherinae (excluding Monommatini). Annales Zoologici (Warszawa), 49: 1-53.
Authors: Lord NP, Nearns EH, Miller KB. 2011–2015.
Content updated Apr 2015; taxonomy updated Feb 2026
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