Agabus ramblae

Description

Agabus ramblae is a species of beetles belonging to the family Dytiscidae. It is found in Spain and North Africa. Agabus ramblae is named for the small, often temporary streams in the south eastern Iberian peninsula which it typically inhabits, known as "ramblas" in Murcia. Agabus ramblae can reach a length of 6.3–8 millimetres (0.25–0.31 inches) and a width of 3.8–4.8 millimetres (0.15–0.19 inches). The head is rusty dark red. The back is reddish brown, while the underside is black with reddish brown base of pronotum. Elytrae have irregular rows of punctures. It possesses well developed, membranous wings. Agabus ramblae has 43 chromosomal pairs, and has an X0 sex-determination system. It appears to breed in spring or summer, spending winter as an adult. This species is widely distributed throughout the eastern Iberian peninsula, as well as the Balearic islands. It is also present in Libya and Tunisia. The small streams and rivers in which it is typically found tend to be mineralized, with silt or clay substrate, and sparse riparian vegetation. It prefers shallow, slow moving, clean, well oxygenated water. It can occasionally be found in eutrophic waters. Agabus is a large genus of predatory aquatic beetles in the family Dytiscidae, proposed in 1817 by William Elford Leach and named after Agabus, an early follower of Christianity. The adult beetles are moderate-sized, 5 to 14 mm long. The genus is primarily Holarctic in distribution, with only a few species known from the Afrotropical and Neotropical realms. Three species of Agabus, namely A. clypealis, A. discicollis and A. hozgargantae are endangered according to the IUCN Red List. The division into subgenera is not widely accepted. However, a number of species groups are recognized after the works of David J. Larson and Anders N. Nilsson. The genus is probably polyphyletic or paraphyletic. In a recent study of mitochondrial DNA, Agabus was found paraphyletic with respect to several of the species groups of Platambus, a closely related genus in the tribe Agabini. Lately the taxonomy of the genus has been revised, and some groups of species were transferred from Agabus sensu stricto to other genera in the tribe Agabini.