Wikipedia

Cassidinae

The Cassidinae (tortoise and leaf-mining beetles) are a subfamily of the leaf beetles, or Chrysomelidae. The antennae arise close to each other and some members have the pronotal and elytral edges extended to the side and covering the legs so as to give them the common name of tortoise beetles. Some members, such as in the tribe Hispini, are notable for the spiny outgrowths to the pronotum and elytra.

Cassidinae
Platypria sp.
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Suborder: Polyphaga
Infraorder: Cucujiformia
Family: Chrysomelidae
Subfamily: Cassidinae
Gyllenhal, 1813
Tribes[1]

(m): monogeneric

Description

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The "cassidoids" have a rounded outline with the edges of the pronotum and elytra expanded, spreading out to cover the legs and head. They are often colourful and metallic, with ornate sculpturing; a few species have the ability to change colour due to water movements within the translucent cuticle. All members of the subfamily have the mouthparts reduced into a cavity in the head capsule, the legs have four segmented tarsi. The hispoids have larvae that are ecological diverse as leaf miners or cryptic exophagous feeders, while the cassidoids feed freely externally on the plant surfaces. Within cassidoids, the tortoise beetles are diagnosed by the larvae recycling their feces and cast exuviae into a discrete structure held on the caudal processes (or, urogomphi). Fecal shields are thought to provide protection from the sun, wind, heat, predators, parasites, and/or parasitoids though experimental evidence is mixed.[2][3]

A few species in two closely related tribes (Mesomphaliini and Eugenysini, putative sister taxa) show paternal care of larvae.[4][5] These species can be viewed as subsocial, with evidence pointing to there being two evolutionary origins of subsociality within this one lineage.[4][6]

Taxonomy

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Cassidinae includes both the former subfamily "Hispinae" (leaf-mining beetles), as well as the former more narrowly defined subfamily Cassidinae (familiar as tortoise beetles) which are now split into several tribes that include the tribe Cassidini, and in all include over 125 genera. The traditional separation of the two groups was based essentially on the habitats of the larvae and the general shapes of the adults. The name Cassidinae for the merged subfamily is considered to have priority.[7]

The former grouping of "Hispinae" (sometimes called leaf-mining beetles, or "hispoids") included the tribes Alurnini, Anisoderini, Aproidini, Arescini, Bothryonopini, Callispini, Callohispini, Cephaloleiini, Chalepini, Coelaenomenoderini, Cryptonychini, Cubispini, Eurispini, Exothispini, Gonophorini, Hispini, Hispoleptini, Hybosispini, Leptispini, Oediopalpini, Oncocephalini, Promecothecini, Prosopodontini, Sceloenoplini and Spilophorini.[1] Most members of these tribes are elongated, slightly flattened beetles with parallel margins, and antennal bases close together on their small heads. They often have punctate elytra and pronotum, sometimes with spines both on and along the edges. The former grouping of Cassidinae (sometimes called tortoise beetles, or "cassidoids") included the tribes Aspidimorphini, Basiprionotini, Cassidini, Delocraniini, Dorynotini, Eugenysini, Goniocheniini, Hemisphaerotini, Mesomphaliini, Notosacanthini, Omocerini and Physonotini.[1]

The subfamily names Cassidinae and Hispinae are both founded by Gyllenhal in the same 1813 book, but following the Principle of the First Reviser, Chen in this case,[8] priority is given to the name Cassidinae.[7]

Tribes and selected genera

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The following list of tribes and selected genera has been collated from BioLib[9] and Borowiec & Świętojańska (2014):[1]

Alurnini Chapuis, 1875
Anisoderini Chapuis, 1875
Aproidini Weise, 1911[1]
Aspidimorphini

Auth. Chapuis, 1875; selected genera:

Basiprionotini

Auth. Gressitt, 1952; selected genera:

Bothryonopini Chapuis, 1875
Callispini

Auth. Chapuis, 1875; selected genera:

Cassidini

Auth. Gyllenhal, 1813; selected genera:

Chalepini Weise, 1910 (= Uroplatini)[1]
Coelaenomenoderini

Auth. Weise, 1911; selected genera:

Cryptonychini Chapuis, 1875[1]
Cubispini Barber, 1946[1]
Delocranini Spaeth, 1929
  • Delocrania Guérin, 1844 - Caribean, South America

Dorynotini

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Auth: Monrós & Viana, 1949; genera:

Eugenysini

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Auth: Hincks, 1952; all genera:

Eurispini

Auth: Chapuis, 1875; selected genera:

Goniocheniini

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Auth: Spaeth, 1942; genera:

Gonophorini

Auth: Chapuis, 1875; selected genera:

Tribes H

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Selected genera:

Hemisphaerotini Monrós & Viana, 1951
Hispini Gyllenhal, 1813
Hispoleptini Chapuis, 1875

Imatidiini Hope, 1840

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Includes the Cephaloleiini; selected genera:

Ischyrosonychini Chapuis, 1875 (synonym Physonotini Spaeth, 1942)

Leptispini

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Auth. Fairmaire, 1868; genera:

Mesomphaliini

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Auth. Hope, 1840 (synonym Stolaini Hincks, 1952)[11]

  1. Acromis Chevrolat, 1836
  2. Amythra Spaeth, 1913
  3. Anacassis Spaeth, 1913
  4. Anepsiomorpha Spaeth, 1913
  5. Botanochara Dejean, 1836
  6. Chelymorpha Chevrolat, 1836
  7. Convexocoleus Shin, 2013
  8. Cyrtonota Chevrolat, 1836
  9. Echoma Chevrolat, 1836
  10. Elytrogona Chevrolat, 1836
  11. Eutheria Spaeth, 1909
  12. Hilarocassis Spaeth, 1913
  13. Mesomphalia Hope, 1839
  14. Nebraspis Spaeth, 1913
  15. Ogdoecosta Spaeth, 1909
  16. Omaspides Chevrolat, 1836
  17. Paraselenis Spaeth, 1913
  18. Phytodectoidea Spaeth, 1909
  19. Poecilaspidella Spaeth, 1913
  20. Stoiba Spaeth, 1909
  21. Stolas Billberg, 1820
  22. Terpsis Spaeth, 1913
  23. Trilaccodea Spaeth, 1902
  24. Xenicomorpha Spaeth, 1913
  25. Zatrephina Spaeth, 1909

Notosacanthini

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Auth. Gressitt, 1952

Omocerini Hincks, 1952

Selected genera:

Oncocephalini Chapuis, 1875

Promecothecini

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Auth. Weise, 1911

Sceloenoplini

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Auth. Uhmann, 1930

Spilophorini Chapuis, 1875 (= Oediopalpini)
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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Borowiec, L.; Świętojańska, J. 2014: 2.7.2 Cassidinae Gyllenhal, 1813. Pp. 198–217 in: Leschen et al., 2014
  2. ^ Chaboo, C.S., S. Adam, K. Nishida, L. Schletzbaum. 2023. Architecture, construction, retention, and repair of fecal shields in three tribes of tortoise beetles (Insecta: Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae Cassidinae: Cassidini, Mesomphaliini, Spilophorini). ZooKeys Special Issue, Research on Chrysomelidae 9. ZooKeys 1177:87–146. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1177.102600
  3. ^ Bottcher, A; Jorge Paulo Zolin; Flávia Nogueira-de-Sá; José Roberto Trigo (2009). "Faecal shield chemical defence is not important in larvae of the tortoise beetle Chelymorpha reimoseri (Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae: Stolaini)". Chemoecology. 19 (1): 63–66. Bibcode:2009Chmec..19...63B. doi:10.1007/s00049-009-0006-x. S2CID 23072397.
  4. ^ a b Chaboo, C.S., F.A. Frieiro-Costa, J. Gómez-Zurita, R. Westerduijn. 2014. Subsociality in leaf beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae, Chrysomelinae). Journal of Natural History 48: 1–44.
  5. ^ Flowers, RW (2008). "Leaf beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)". In Capinera, JL (ed.). Encyclopedia of Entomology (2 ed.). Springer. p. 2148.
  6. ^ Leocádio, Michele; Simões, Marianna V. P.; Sekarka, Lukas; Shrago, Carlos G.; Mermudes, José R. M.; Windsor, Donald M. (2020). "Molecular systematics reveals the origins of subsociality in tortoise beetles (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Cassidinae)". Systematic Entomology. 45 (4): 894–910. Bibcode:2020SysEn..45..894L. doi:10.1111/syen.12434. S2CID 219450159.
  7. ^ a b Chaboo, CS (2007). "Biology and phylogeny of the Cassidinae Gyllenhal sensu lato (tortoise and leaf-mining beetles) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 305: 1–250. doi:10.1206/0003-0090(2007)305[1:BAPOTC]2.0.CO;2. S2CID 83469991.
  8. ^ Chen, S. H. (1940). "Attempt at a new classification of the leaf beetles". Sinensia. 11: 451–481.
  9. ^ BioLib.cz: subfamily Cassidinae Gyllenhal, 1813 (retrieved 11 August 2025)
  10. ^ Chaboo, C.S., V.E. Sandoval-Gómez, M. Hopper, & G.B. Monteith. 2024. Biology of Aproida balyi Pascoe, 1863 (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae: Aproidini) on its host plant, Eustrephus latifolius R. Rr. ex Ker-Gawl (Asparagaceae) in Australia. Insecta Mundi 1074: 1-28.
  11. ^ Borowiec L (1999) A world catalogue of the Cassidinae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Biologica Silesiae, Wrocław, 476 pp.
  12. ^ Monteith, Geoff B., Sandoval-Gómez, Vivian E., & Caroline S. Chaboo. 2021. Natural history of the Australian tortoise beetle Notosacantha dorsalis (Waterhouse, 1877) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae: Notosacanthini) with summary of the genus in Australia. The Australian Entomologist 48(4): 329–354.
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  •  
     Media related to Cassidinae at Wikimedia Commons
  • Hispines of the world
  • Photo atlas and interactive key to world Cassidinae
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