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Laparocerus

{{Short description|Genus of weevil}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| image = Laparocerus lamellipes.jpg

| image_caption = Laparocerus (Atlantis) lamellipes

| display_parents = 2

| taxon = Laparocerus

| authority =Schönherr, 1834{{GBIF |title=Laparocerus Schoenherr, 1834 |id=1238953 |access-date=11 June 2023}}

| subdivision_ranks = Species

| subdivision = See text

}}

Laparocerus is a genus of weevils of the family Curculionidae with 264 species and subspecies practically exclusive to central Macaronesia: the archipelagos of Madeira, Salvages and the Canaries. The two species present in western Morocco are attributable to a retro-colonisation from the Canary Islands to Africa. Over some nine million years, this lineage of Entiminae has generated some twenty-four monophyletic branches (subgenera) as a result of successive adaptive and geographic radiations, which have been significantly influenced by the geological dynamics of construction and dismantling typical of volcanic islands.{{Cite journal |last1=Machado |first1=Antonio |last2=Rodríguez-Expósito |first2=Eduardo |last3=López |first3=Mercedes |last4=Hernández |first4=Mariano |date=2017-02-02 |title=Phylogenetic analysis of the genus Laparocerus, with comments on colonisation and diversification in Macaronesia (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Entiminae) |journal=ZooKeys |issue=651 |pages=1–77 |doi=10.3897/zookeys.651.10097 |issn=1313-2970 |pmc=5345357 |pmid=28331386 |doi-access=free }}

Laparocerus have colonised practically all available habitats: dunes, semi-arid steppes, spurge formations, sclerophyllous forests, evergreen cloud forests, pine forests, high mountain meadows and scrublands, as well as the subterranean environment and volcanic tubes. The morphological diversity correlates with this ample ecological spectrum, with bodies adapted to climbing trees, feeding on shrubs, dwelling in the leaf litter or adapted to subterranean life (some of which are large and blind). Size ranges from {{cvt|2.2 to 12.7|mm|1}}, excluding the rostrum.{{Cite book |last=Machado |first=Antonio |title=The Macaronesian Laparocerus (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Entiminae). Taxonomy, phylogeny, and natural history |publisher=Publicaciones Turquesa |year=2022 |isbn=978-84-16785-99-5 |location=Santa Cruz de Tenerife |pages=681 |language=EN}}

Adults are apterous and during the day they remain hidden, mostly buried. They come out at night to eat vegetation and copulate. The notches they leave in the leaves of trees and bushes are characteristic and serve to indicate the presence of these weevils, which are abundant and whose generic name in Spanish is "chascones". The females lay between 100 and 300 eggs (a record 1710 eggs) in clusters that they hide in crevices. Larval development lasts between 4 and 6 months but can continue up to a year if they enter diapause. The larvae are free-living and feed on plant roots. Adults live for 2 to 6 months{{Cite journal |last=Machado, Antonio |first=Agustín, Aguiar |date=2019 |title=Observaciones sobre la biología reproductora de Laparocerus Schoenherr, 1834 (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Entiminae) |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/360395661 |journal=Vieraea |volume=44 |pages=279–314 |doi=10.31939/vieraea.2019.46.tomo01.13 |s2cid=248600882 |via=ResearchGate|doi-access=free }}

Very few species occasionally leave natural habitats and cause damage to vines, peppers or other vegetables that are cultivated in their range. The survival of some very localised species is threatened, but in general and being so prolific, the conservation of most Laparocerus is not of concern.

This genus holds the record for biodiversity in Macaronesia and is an ideal model group for evolutionary studies.

List of species

The following species and subspecies are recognized in this genus, listed by subgenus.{{Cite book |editor-last=Alonso-Zarazaga |editor-first=Miguel Ángel |title=Cooperative catalogue of Palaearctic Coleoptera Curculionoidea |publisher=Sociedad entomológica aragonesa |year=2023 |isbn=978-84-126135-0-6 |edition=2nd |location=Zaragoza |pages=780 |language=EN}}

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Subgenus Amyntas:

Subgenus Anillobius:

Subgenus Aridotrox:

Subgenus Atlantis:

Subgenus Atlantodes:

Subgenus Belicarius

Subgenus Bencomius:

Subgenus Bentaygus:

Subgenus Canariotrox:

Subgenus Doramasius:

Subgenus Faycanius:

Subgenus Fernandezius:

Subgenus Fortunotrox:

Subgenus Guanchotrox:

Subgenus Guayre:

Subgenus Laparocerus:

Subgenus Lichenophagus:

Subgenus Machadotrox:

Subgenus Mateuius:

Subgenus Nanotrox:

Subgenus Pecoudius:

Subgenus Proteotrox:

Subgenus Pseudatlantis:

Subgenus Purpuranius:

Subgenus Wollastonius:

incertae sedis:

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References

{{reflist}}

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Category:Curculionidae genera

Category:Entiminae

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