Tenebrio

Tenebrio Temporal range: 51 to 0 million years ago PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Ypresian - Recent[1]
Tenebrio molitor adult
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Suborder:	Polyphaga
Infraorder:	Cucujiformia
Family:	Tenebrionidae
Subfamily:	Tenebrioninae
Tribe:	Tenebrionini
Genus:	Tenebrio Linnaeus, 1758
Species
See text

Tenebrio is a genus of darkling beetles.^[2][3] Adults are 12–18 mm (0.47–0.71 in) long and can live for 1–2 years. The larvae are minor pests, but they are also widely reared and sold as pet food.^[3]

Species

The genus contains the following extant species:^[2][3][4]

• Tenebrio culinaris Linnaeus, 1758
• Tenebrio guineensis Imhoff, 1843
• Tenebrio giganteus (Gmelin, 1790)
• Tenebrio grandicollis (Fairmaire, 1897)
• Tenebrio molitor Linnaeus, 1758 – yellow mealworm
• Tenebrio obscurus Fabricius, 1792 – dark mealworm
• Tenebrio opacus Duftschmid, 1812
• Tenebrio patrizii Gridelli, 1958
• Tenebrio punctipennis Seidlitz, 1896
• Tenebrio zairensis Ferrer, 1998

Four species are known from fossils found in Germany and Canada:^[1][5]

• Tenebrio calculensis Scudder, 1895 - (Pleistocene, Leda Clay, Canada)
• Tenebrio effossus Germar, 1837 - (Oligocene, Rott Formation, Germany)
• Tenebrio primigenius Scudder, 1879 - (Ypresian, Allenby Formation, Canada)
• Tenebrio senex Von Heyden, 1859 - (Oligocene, Rott Formation, Germany)

Gallery

• 
  Tenebrio molitor
• 
  Tenebrio giganteus
• 
  Tenebrio opacus

References

1. "†Tenebrio Linnaeus 1758". Paleobiology Database. Fossilworks. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
2. "Tenebrio". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
3. Rees, David (21 July 2004). Insects of Stored Products. CSIRO Publishing. pp. 112–113. ISBN 978-0-643-10263-7.
4. "Genus Tenebrio". Insecta.pro. Insects catalog Insecta.pro, 2007—2022. 2017-08-16. Retrieved 2022-08-23.
5. Scudder, S. H (1895). "Canadian fossil insects, myriapods and arachnids, Vol II. The Coleoptera hitherto found fossil in Canada". Geological Survey of Canada Contributions to Canadian Palaeontology. 2: 5–26.