Physodera [SEP] parent taxon
Physodera
Physodera is a genus of beetles in the family Carabidae, found mainly in Asia, containing the following species:
The following species have become synonyms:
- "Physodera cupreomicans" : Synonym of "Diamella cupreomicans"
Description.
Members of this genus usually have wide mandibles, exhibit forelegs with a well developed cleaning spur, and lack the primary mid-lateral setae on the pronotum. The wing cases are short and broad. The prothorax is nearly globular with a raised tergum.
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