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Lineatopaussus lineatus
Life > Eukaryotes > Opisthokonta > Metazoa (animals) > Bilateria > Ecdysozoa > Panarthropoda > Tritocerebra > Arthopoda > Mandibulata > Atelocerata > Panhexapoda > Hexapoda
> Insecta
(insects) > Dicondyla > Pterygota > Metapterygota > Neoptera > Eumetabola >
Holometabola > Coleoptera (beetles)
> Suborder: Adephaga > Family:
Carabidae (ground beetles) > Subfamily:
Paussinae
Falls in the subfamily Paussinae, which contains species that live in ants'
nests. This particular species lives in nests of the ant Lepisiota
capensis. Peringuey (1886) discusses various
species of paussids found mainly in the Cape, including Paussus lineatus (now
Lineatopaussus lineatus), which he
confirms is only found in Acantholepis (now Lepisiota) capensis nests. He observed paussid adults feeding on the ant larvae: "I saw the Paussi
deliberately seize the larvae between their jaws and devour them, using often their fore
legs to hold the prey to the ground; they would abandon it when thoroughly mangled and
begin with another".
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Lineatopaussus lineatus (body length = 5.8 mm) in
nest of the ant Lepisiota
capensis under rock. Photographed in mesic mountain fynbos. [image H.
Robertson, Iziko ©]. |
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References
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