Overview
Hemiptera is an of insects, comprising around 80,000 species of cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, shield bugs, and others, collectively known as the true bugs. They range in size from 1 mm to around 15 cm, and share a common arrangement of sucking mouthparts 2].
Characteristics
The defining feature of hemipterans is their possession of mouthparts where the mandibles and maxillae have evolved into a proboscis, sheathed within a modified labium to form a "beak" or "rostrum" which is capable of piercing tissues (usually plant tissues) and sucking out the liquids — typically sap.
The name "Hemiptera" is from the Greek hemi ("half") and pteron ("wing"), referring to the forewings of many hemipterans which are hardened near the base, but membranous at the ends. These wings are termed hemelytra (singular: hemelytron), by analogy with the completely hardened elytra of beetles. They may be held "roofwise" over the body, or held flat on the back, with the ends overlapping. The hindwings are entirely membranous and are usually shorter than the forewings.
The antennae in Hemiptera are typically five-segmented, although they can still be quite long, and the tarsi of the legs are three-segmented or shorter [3].
Although hemipterans vary widely in their overall form, their mouthparts (formed into a "rostrum") are quite distinctive; the only orders with mouthparts modified in a similar manner are the Thysanoptera and some Phthiraptera, and these are generally easy to recognize as non-hemipteran for other reasons. Aside from the mouthparts, various insects can be confused with hemipterans, including cockroaches and psocids, both of which have longer many-segmented antennae, and some beetles, but these have fully-hardened forewings which do not overlap [4].
Classification
The present members of the order Hemiptera were historically placed into two orders, Homoptera and Heteroptera/Hemiptera, based on the differences in wing structure and the position of the rostrum. These two orders were then combined into the single order Hemiptera by many authorities, with Homoptera and Heteroptera classified as suborders. The order is presently more usually divided into four or more suborders, after it was established that the families grouped together as "Homoptera" are not as closely related ashad previously been thought (see paraphyly). Auchenorrhyncha contains the cicadas, leafhoppers, treehoppers, planthoppers, and froghoppers. The 12,500 species in the suborder Sternorrhyncha are the aphids, whiteflies and scale insects. The suborder Coleorrhyncha (comprising the single family Peloridiidae), contains fewer than 30 species of Gondwana-distributed bugs, and is sometimes grouped with the Heteroptera (to form the suborder Prosorrhyncha). Heteroptera itself is a group of 25,000 species of relatively large bugs, including the shield bugs, seed bugs, assassin bugs, flower bugs and the water bugs (see below).
The closest relatives of hemipterans are the thrips and lice, which collectively form the "Hemipteroid Assemblage" within the Exopterygota subclass of the Class Insecta [5].
Life Cycle and Ecology
Hemipterans are hemimetabolous, meaning that they do not undergo metamorphosis between a larval phase and an adult phase. Instead, their young are called nymphs, and resemble the adults to a large degree, the final transformation involving little more than the development of functional wings (if they are present at all) and functioning sexual organs, with no intervening pupal stage as in holometabolous insects. Hemiptera is the largest insect order that is hemimetabolous; the orders with more species all have a pupal stage (Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, Diptera and Hymenoptera).
Many aphids are parthenogenetic during part of the life cycle, such that females can produce unfertilized eggs, which are clones of themselves.
Most hemipterans are phytophagous, feeding on plant sap, such as aphids, scale insects and cicadas. Most of the remainder are predatory, feeding on other insects, or even small vertebrates. A few, however, are parasites, feeding on the blood of larger animals. These include bedbugs and the kissing bugs of the family Reduviidae, which can transmit potentially deadly Trypanosoma infections [6].
Several families of Hemiptera are water bugs, adapted to an aquatic lifestyle, such as the water boatmen and water scorpions. They are mostly predatory, and have legs adaptedas paddles to help the animal move through the water. The "pondskaters" or "water striders" of the family Gerridae are also associated with water, but use the surface tension of standing water to keep them above the surface; they include the genus Halobates which is the only group of insects to be truly marine [6].
Economic Significance
Many species of Hemiptera are significant pests of crops and gardens, including many species of aphid (such as whitefly, greenfly and blackfly) and various scale insects, including the cottony cushion scale, a pest whose infestation of American citrus crops sparked one of the earliest biological pest control programmes, when the Australian beetle Rodolia cardinalis was introduced asa natural enemy of the scale insect [7].
Conversely, some predatory hemipterans are themselves biological pest control agents, such as various nabids[1] and even some members of families that are primarily phytophagous, such as the genus Geocoris in the family Lygaeidae[2]. Other hemipterans have positive uses, such as in the production of the dyestuffs cochineal and crimson, or shellac.
- See also Use of DNA in forensic entomology
Photos
Taxonomy
The Order Hemiptera is further organized into finer groupings including:
- Suborder (4): Auchenorrhyncha · Coleorrhyncha · Heteroptera · Sternorrhyncha
- Infraorder (11): Aphidomorpha · Cicadomorpha · Cimicomorpha · Dipsocoromorpha · Enicocephalomorpha · Fulgoromorpha · Gerromorpha · Leptopodomorpha · Nepomorpha · Pentatomorpha · Psyllomorpha
- Family (161): Acanaloniidae · Acanthosomatidae · Achilidae · Achilixiidae · Aclerdidae · Adelgidae · Aetalionidae · Aleyrodidae · Alydidae · Anthocoridae · Aphalaridae · Aphelocheiridae · Aphididae · Aphrodidae · Aphylidae · Apiomorphidae · Aradidae · Archescytinidae · Archiconiopterygidae · Asterolecaniidae ·
- Species: ZipcodeZoo has pages for 26,360 species and subspecies in the Order Hemiptera.
Families
Acanaloniidae
Acanthosomatidae
The Acanthosomatidae is a small family in the order commonly known as shield bugs. They are distinguished from related families in that they have only two tarsal segments. There are over 30 genera in three subfamilies, distributed worldwide. [more]
Achilidae
Achilixiidae
Aclerdidae
Aclerdidae are a family of , the scale insects. They are usually found on plants, sucking sap. [more]
Adelgidae
The Adelgidae is a small family of the closely related to the aphids, and often traditionally included in the Aphidoidea. Adelgids are often known as "woolly conifer aphids". The family is composed largely of species associated with pine or spruce, known respectively as "pine aphids" or "spruce aphids". This family includes the former family Chermesidae, or "Chermidae", the name of which was declared invalid by the ICZN in 1955. There is still considerable debate as to the number of genera within the family, and the classification is still unstable and inconsistent among competing authors. [more]
Aetalionidae
Aleyrodidae
The whiteflies, comprising only the family Aleyrodidae, are small . More than 1550 species have been described. Whiteflies typically feed on the underside of plant leaves. [more]
Alydidae
Alydidae, commonly known as broad-headed bugs, is a of true bugs very similar to the closely related Coreidae (leaf-footed bugs and relatives). There are about 40 genera with 250 species altogether. Distributed in the temperate and warmer regions of the Earth, most are tropical and subtropical animals; for example Europe has a mere 10 species, and only 2 of these occur outside the Mediterranean region. [more]
Anthocoridae
The Anthocoridae are a family of , commonly called minute pirate bugs or flower bugs. [more]
Aphalaridae
Aphelocheiridae
Aphididae
Aphrodidae
Aphylidae
Apiomorphidae
Aradidae
Aradidae bear the appropriate common name, flat bugs, in reference to their (usually) extremely flattened body. With few exceptions, the often cryptic insects are of no economic importance. Common temperate include Aradus, Mezira, Neuroctenus, and Aneurus. [more]
Archescytinidae
Archiconiopterygidae
Asterolecaniidae
Beesoniidae
Belostomatidae
Belostomatidae is a of insects in the Order Hemiptera, known as giant water bugs or colloquially as toe-biters. They are the largest insects in the order Hemiptera, and occur worldwide, with most of the species in North America, South America and East Asia. They are typically encountered in freshwater streams and ponds. Most species are relatively large (2 cm or more) with some of the largest, such as Lethocerus, exceeding 12 cm, and nearly reaching the dimensions (length and mass) of some of the larger beetles in the world. Giant water bugs are a popular food in Thailand. [more]
Berytidae
Berytidae is a of bugs, commonly called stilt bugs. [more]
Biturritiidae
Calophyidae
Canopidae
Carayonemidae
Ceratocombidae
Cercopidae
Cerococcidae
Cicadellidae
Leafhopper is a common name applied to any species from the Cicadellidae. Leafhoppers, also known as hoppers, are minute plant-feeding insects in the superfamily Membracoidea in the order Hemiptera. Recent classification within the Hemiptera has placed the members of the archaic "Homoptera" into two new suborders: Sternorrhyncha (aphids, whiteflies, scales, psyllids...) and Auchenorrhyncha (cicadas, leafhoppers, treehoppers, planthoppers...). The name Auchenorrhyncha is itself likely to be replaced, as research indicates it is not a monophyletic group. [more]
Cicadidae
A cicada is an of the order Hemiptera, suborder Auchenorrhyncha, in the superfamily Cicadoidea, with large eyes wide apart on the head and usually transparent, well-veined wings. There are about 2,500 species of cicada around the world, and many remain unclassified. Cicadas live in temperate to tropical climates where they are among the most widely recognized of all insects, mainly due to their large size and remarkable acoustic talents. Cicadas are sometimes colloquially called "locusts", although they are unrelated to true locusts, which are a kind of grasshopper. They are also known as "jar flies". Cicadas are related to leafhoppers and spittlebugs. In parts of the southern Appalachian Mountains in the United States they are known as "dry flies" because of the dry shell they leave behind. [more]
Cimicidae
A bedbug (or bed bug) is a small insect of the family Cimicidae that lives by hematophagy, or by feeding on the blood of humans and other warm-blooded hosts. [more]
Cixiidae
Cixiidae is a family of insects, one of many families commonly known as planthoppers, distributed worldwide and comprising more than 2,000 species from over 150 genera. [more]
Clastopteridae
Coccidae
Colobathristidae
Conchaspididae
Coreidae
Coreidae are a large of insects of the order Hemiptera (the "true bugs"), including some of the largest members (> 4 cm/nearly 2 inches) of that group. There are over 1,800 species in some 250 genera. They generally resemble shield bugs (Pentatomoidea) which are fairly, but not extremely close relatives, and include the insects known as leaf-footed bugs and squash bugs. These names do not refer to different taxa in this family, but strictly speaking "leaf-footed bugs" is the most unequivocal name. [more]
Corixidae
Corixidae is a family of aquatic in the order Hemiptera, commonly known as water boatmen. They inhabit ponds and slow moving streams, where they swim near the bottom. There are about 500 known species worldwide, in 33 genera. In the UK the common water boatman Notonecta glauca is of a different family, Notonectidae, whereas Corixa punctata is the "lesser water boatman". [more]
Cryptococcidae
Cydnidae
Cydnidae, the negro bugs, burrowing bugs or burrower bugs are a family of . [more]
Dactylopiidae
Delphacidae
Delphacidae is a family of containing about 2000 species, distributed worldwide. Delphacids are separated from other "hoppers" by the prominent spur on the tibia of the hindleg. All species are phytophagous, many occurring on various grasses, and some are important vectors for cereal pathogens. [more]
Deltocephalidae
Derbidae
Derbidae is a of bugs in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha. The nymphs of some species nymph feed on fungi while adults live by sucking sap. Many adults are recognizable by their habit of holding up their wings. The short apical segment of the rostrum is identifies the family. [more]
Diaspididae
Diaspididae is the largest family of with over 2650 described species in around 400 genera. As with all scale insects, the female produces a waxy protective scale beneath which it feeds on its host plant. Diaspidid scales are far more substantial than those of most other families: Incorporating the exuviae from the first two nymphal instars and sometimes faecal matter and fragments of the host plant, these can be complex and extremely waterproof structures rather resembling a suit of armour. For this reason these insects are commonly referred to as armoured scale insects. As it is so robust and firmly attached to the host plant, the scale often persists long after the insect has died. [more]
Dictyopharidae
Dinidoridae
Dipsocoridae
Drabescidae
Enicocephalidae
Enicocephalidae, also called unique-headed bug and gnat bug, are a of 130 species of the suborder heteroptera. They are typically 4 mm long, and found throughout the world. They have an elongated head, constricted in places, hence its head is 'unique'. [more]
Eriococcidae
Eumenotidae
Eurybrachidae
The Eurybrachyidae (sometimes misspelled "Eurybrachidae" or "Eurybrachiidae") is a small family of found in Asia, Australia and Africa; there are over 50 species described in some 20 genera. The frons of the head is characteristic in being broader than it is long. Their large forewings are often colorfully mottled as a means of camouflage, hiding the broad and sometimes colorful abdomen. [more]
Eurybrachyidae
Eurymelidae
Evacanthidae
Flatidae
Fulgoridae
The family Fulgoridae is a large group of insects, especially abundant and diverse in the tropics, containing over 125 genera world-wide. They are mostly of moderate to large size, many with a superficial resemblance to Lepidoptera due to their brilliant and varied coloration. Various genera and species (especially the genera Fulgora and Pyrops) are sometimes referred to as lantern flies, though they do not emit light. [more]
Gelastocoridae
The Gelastocoridae (toad bugs) is a family of about 100 species of in the suborder Heteroptera. They are reminiscent of toads both in their warty appearance and hopping movement. They are riparian insects, generally found at the margins of streams and ponds, where they are predators of small insects. Gelastocoridae catch their prey by leaping on top of them and grasping them with their modified front legs. Members of the family are found throughout the world, but their highest diversity is in the tropics. [more]
Gengidae
Gerridae
The family Gerridae contains insects commonly known as water striders, water bugs, magic bugs, pond skaters, skaters, skimmers, water scooters, water skaters, water skeeters, water skimmers or water skippers. These are insects which rely on surface tension to walk on top of water. They live on the surface of ponds, slow streams, marshes, and other quiet waters. They can move very quickly, up to 1.5 m/s. [more]
Halimococcidae
Hebridae
Velvet water bugs are members of the family Hebridae. They are semiaquatic insects that live among moss or ponds with an abundance of vegetation, in which they prey on small arthropods. Velvet water bugs are the smallest of the , and have an appearance of tiny veliids. Hebrids sometimes move across water surfaces, but walk or run rather than skate or scull on the surface. [more]
Helotrephidae
Hermatobatidae
Homotomidae
Hydrometridae
Hydrometridae is a family of insects, known as marsh treaders or water measurers. They have a characteristic elongated head and body which makes them resemble a yardstick for measuring the water surface. [more]
Hyocephalidae
Hypochthonellidae
Hypsipterygidae
Idioceridae
Idiostolidae
Isometopidae
Issidae
Jassidae
Leafhopper is a common name applied to any species from the Cicadellidae. Leafhoppers, also known as hoppers, are minute plant-feeding insects in the superfamily Membracoidea in the order Hemiptera. Recent classification within the Hemiptera has placed the members of the archaic "Homoptera" into two new suborders: Sternorrhyncha (aphids, whiteflies, scales, psyllids...) and Auchenorrhyncha (cicadas, leafhoppers, treehoppers, planthoppers...). The name Auchenorrhyncha is itself likely to be replaced, as research indicates it is not a monophyletic group. [more]
Joppeicidae
Kermesidae
The Kermesidae are a family of belonging to the superfamily Coccoidea. The typical genus, Kermes, includes the kermes scale insects, from which a red dye, also called kermes (a.k.a. crimson), is obtained. [more]
Kerridae
Kerriidae
Kinnaridae
Lalacidae
Largidae
Lecanodiaspididae
Ledridae
Leotichiidae
Leptopodidae
Lestoniidae
Lophopidae
Lygaeidae
The Lygaeidae are a family in the (true bugs), comprising twenty-one genera. The family includes insects commonly known as chinch bugs and also some of those known as seed bugs (the atypical seed bugs, Rhyparochromidae, were formerly placed herein too). Many of the species feed on seeds, although some are predators of other insects, some feed on sap (mucivory), and others feed on blood (hematophagy). [more]
Lygaiedae
Machaerotidae
Macroveliidae
Madeoveliidae
Malcidae
Margarodidae
Margarodidae is a family of within superfamily Coccoidea. Members of the family include cottony cushion scales (genus Icerya), giant coccids (various genera), Polish cochineal (genus Porphyrophora), and ground pearls (genus Margarodes). [more]
Medocostidae
Meenoplidae
Megarididae
Membracidae
Treehoppers and thorn bugs are members of the Membracidae, a group of insects related to the cicadas and the leafhoppers. There are about 3,200 species of treehoppers in over 600 genera. They are found on all continents except Antarctica, although there are only three species in Europe. [more]
Mesoveliidae
Micrococcidae
Microphysidae
Miridae
The large and diverse insect family Miridae contains the plant bugs, leaf bugs, and grass bugs, and may also be known as capsid bugs. It is the largest family of true bugs belonging to the suborder , with over 10,000 known species and new ones constantly being described. They are small, terrestrial insects, usually oval-shaped or elongate and measuring less than 12 mm in length. Some are brightly colored, others drab or dark. Some genera are ant mimics at certain stages of life. Most of the more well-known mirids have received attention because they are agricultural pests. They pierce plant tissues and feed on the juices. [more]
Nabidae
The family Nabidae contains the damsel bugs. The terms damsel bug and nabid are synonymous. There are over 400 species. They are soft-bodied, elongate, winged terrestrial predators. Many damsel bugs catch and hold prey with their forelegs, similar to mantids. They are considered helpful species in agriculture because of their predation on many types of crop pests, such as cabbage worms, aphids, and lygus bugs. [more]
Naucoridae
Naucoridae is a small family of commonly known as the creeping water bugs. They are very similar in appearance and behavior to the giant water bugs (Belostomatidae), and also occur in ponds and other still waters. Occasionally, these insects can be found in damp places in a person's home, and are often mistaken for cockroaches. There are approximately 20 genera in 5 subfamilies, distributed worldwide. [more]
Nepidae
Nepidae is a family of in the order Hemiptera, suborder Heteroptera.[1] They are commonly called water scorpions for their superficial resemblance to a scorpion, due to the modification of the legs, of the anterior pair for predation, and to the presence of a long slender process, simulating a tail, at the posterior end of the abdomen. There are eight genera in the family, in two subfamilies, Nepinae and Ranatrinae. Members of the genus Ranatra are sometimes called needle bugs or water stick insects as they are more slender than Nepa and its relatives. The common British species (Nepa cinerea) lives in ponds and stagnant water, and feeds upon aquatic animal organisms principally of the insect kind. Respiration in the adult is effected by means of the caudal process, which consists of a pair of half-tubes capable of being locked together to form a siphon by means of which air is conducted to the tracheae at the apex of the abdomen when the tip of the tube is thrust above the surface of the water. In immature forms the siphon is undeveloped and breathing takes place through six pairs of abdominal spiracles. The eggs, laid in the stems of plants, are supplied with seven filamentous processes which float freely in the water. [more]
Nicomiidae
Nirvanidae
Nogodinidae
Notonectidae
Notonectidae is a cosmopolitan family of aquatic insects in the order , commonly called backswimmers because they swim upside down. They are all predators, up to nearly 2 cm in size. They are similar in appearance to corixidae (Water boatmen), but can be separated by differences in their dorsal-ventral coloration, front legs, and predatory behavior. Their dorsum convex is light colored without cross striations. Their front tarsi are not scoop-shaped and their hind legs are fringed for swimming. There are two subfamilies, Notonectinae and Anisopinae, each containing four genera. [more]
Ochteridae
Ochteridae is a family of commonly known as the velvety shore bugs. There are around 25 species. Their habit is the edge of ponds and other still waters. [more]
Omaniidae
Ortheziidae
Pachynomidae
Paraphrynoveliidae
Peloridiidae
Pentatomidae
Pentatomidae Greek: "pente" (five) + "tomos" (a section) is a family of that includes some of the stink bugs and shield bugs. [more]
Penthimiidae
Phenacoleachiidae
Phloeidae
Phoenicococcidae
Phyllocephalidae
Phylloxeridae
Phymatidae
Reduviidae is a large, cosmopolitan of predatory insects in the suborder Heteroptera. It includes assassin bugs (genera include Melanolestes, Psellipus, Rasahus, Reduvius, Rhiginia, Sinea, Triatoma, and Zelus), wheel bugs (Arilus cristatus), and thread-legged bugs (the subfamily Emesinae, including the genus Emesaya). There are about 7000 species altogether, making it one of the largest families in the Hemiptera. [more]
Piesmatidae
Piesmatidae is a small of true bugs, commonly called ash-grey leaf bugs. It contains a mere three living genera with about 40 described species altogether. The Piesmatidae are distributed mostly in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, with some occurring in Africa, Australia and South America. A common species found throughout the Americas is Piesma cinereum. [more]
Plataspidae
Pleidae
Plokiophilidae
Polyctenidae
Protopsyllidiidae
Pseudococcidae
Mealybug is the common name of insects in Pseudococcidae, a of unarmored scale insects found in moist, warm climates. They are considered pests as they feed on plant juices of greenhouse plants, house plants and subtropical trees. [more]
Psyllidae
Psyllids or jumping plant lice are small plant-feeding insects that tend to be very "host specific", i.e. they only feed on one plant species (monophagous) or feed on a few related plants (oligophagous). Together with , phylloxerans, scale insects and whiteflies they form the group called Sternorrhyncha, which is considered to be the most "primitive" group within the "true bugs" (Hemiptera). They have traditionally been considered a single family, Psyllidae, but recent classifications divide the group into six families; the present restricted definition still includes 71 genera in the Psyllidae. [more]
Pyrrhocoridae
Pyrrhocoridae is a family of with more than 300 species world-wide. A common species in parts of Europe is the firebug. They are part of the order Hemiptera which are also known as the 'true bugs'. A few are important crop pests. They are called cotton stainers because their red bodies get crushed along with the cotton they eat when it is harvested, and these stains are difficult to remove. Their feeding mechanism also cuts the fibres and hence affects the growth of the cotton ball. They caused massive problems in the United States during the industrial revolution. [more]
Reduviidae
Reduviidae is a large, cosmopolitan of predatory insects in the suborder Heteroptera. It includes assassin bugs (genera include Melanolestes, Psellipus, Rasahus, Reduvius, Rhiginia, Sinea, Triatoma, and Zelus), wheel bugs (Arilus cristatus), and thread-legged bugs (the subfamily Emesinae, including the genus Emesaya). There are about 7000 species altogether, making it one of the largest families in the Hemiptera. [more]
Rhopalidae
Ricaniidae
The Ricaniidae is a group of hemipteran insects, containing over 40 genera and 400 species world-wide. Thus, they are one of the smaller families in the planthopper superfamily (Fulgoroidea). The highest diversity is in tropical Africa and Asia and in Australia, with a few species occurring the Palearctic. [more]
Saldidae
Saldidae, also known as shore bugs, are a family of in the order Hemiptera (true bugs). They are oval-shaped and measure 2–8 mm when mature. Typically they are found near shorelines or the marginal growths near water. They can flee by leaping or taking flight. [more]
Schizopteridae
Scutelleridae
Scutelleridae are otherwise known as shield-backed bugs, a reference to the fact that their shield is continuous, not divided. Because bugs in this family are usually brightly colored, they are also known as Jewel bugs. These insects feed on plant juices, and are closely related to . [more]
Stemmocryptidae
Stenocephalidae
Stictococcidae
Tachardiidae
Termitaphididae
Tessaratomidae
Tettigometridae
Thaumastellidae
Thaumastocoridae
Thyreocoridae
Tibicinidae
Tingidae
Triozidae
Tropiduchidae
Typhlocybidae
Ulophidae
Urostylidae
Veliidae
Veliidae is a of predatory insects in the suborder Heteroptera. They are commonly known as riffle bugs,smaller water striders or broad-shouldered water striders because the segment immediately behind the head is wider than the rest of the abdomen, unlike in the typical water striders (Gerridae), close relatives which are also in superfamily Gerrioidea. Unlike some Gerridae, riffle bugs are small, typically about 4.5 mm. [more]
Velocipedidae
Vianaididae
More info about the Family Vianaididae may be found here.
References
- ^ Hemiptera (TSN 103359). Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
- ^ "Hemiptera: bugs, aphids and cicadas". CSIRO. Retrieved on 2007-05-08.
- ^ John L. Foltz (2003-01-23). "ENY 3005 Families of Hemiptera". University of Florida.
- ^ Michael Chinery (1993). Insects of Britain and Northern Europe, 3rd edition, Collins. ISBN 0-00-219918-1.
- ^ "Hemipteroid Assemblage". Tree of Life Web Project (1995).
- ^ a b Jon Martin & Mick Webb. "Hemiptera: It's a Bug's Life". Natural History Museum.
- ^ David L. Green (2003-08-10). "Cottony cushion scale: The pest that launched a revolution in pest control methods".
Sources
- The text on this page is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It includes material from Wikipedia retrieved Friday, November 14, 2008.
- The distribution map on the Distribution tab comes from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and is used with permission.
- Photographs on this page are copyrighted by individual photographers, and individual copyrights apply.
- The GMapImageCutter is used under license from the UCL Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis.
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