Thylodrias [SEP] parent taxon
Thylodrias
Thylodrias is a monotypic genus of beetles in the family Dermestidae containing the single species Thylodrias contractus, known commonly as the odd beetle and tissue paper beetle. It is native to Asia and is a widespread introduced species in North America. It can be a pest at times.
Description.
"T. contractus" is an elongate beetle with slender legs. The male can be recognized by its yellowish-brown elytra and covering of silky, white hairs. The abdomen has seven sternal segments and the antennae are filamentous
Taxon in disguise
In bacteriology, a taxon in disguise is a species, genus or higher unit of biological classification whose evolutionary history reveals has evolved from another unit of similar or lower rank, making the parent unit paraphyletic. This happens when rapid evolution makes a new species appear radically different from the ancestral group, so that it is not (initially) recognised as belonging to the parent phylogenetic group, leaving the latter an evolutionary grade.
While the term is from bacteriology, parallel examples are found throughout the tree of