Anthia is a genus of the ground beetle family, the Carabidae. Species of Anthia can spray a jet of formic acid up to 30 centimetres (12Â in), which if not treated, can cause blindness in cats and chickens.
In general the beetles are large, armored, fast-moving, with prominent, powerful, sharp mandibles. Some are diurnal predators in semi-arid habitats, some are nocturnal.
The genus is one of a group of similar taxa of predatory Carabidae that has been the subject of considerable taxonomic confusion. Several species here and elsewhere included within the genus Anthia are occasionally referred to as belonging to the genus Thermophilum (e.g. Anthia fornasinii referred to as Thermophilum fornasinii) Furthermore, the spelling has undergone a range of errors and disputes. The currently accepted spelling is Termophilum but Thermophilum and Thermophila have been variously used in the past, and even the outright misspelling "Thermophilium" has appeared in some books.
Species
The genus Anthia includes the following species:
- Anthia aemiliana Dohrn, 1881
- Anthia aequilatera Klug, 1853
- Anthia alternata Bates, 1978
- Anthia andersoni Chaudoir, 1861
- Anthia artemis Gerstaecker, 1884
- Anthia babaulti Benard, 1921
- Anthia biguttata Bonelli, 1813
- Anthia binotata Perroud, 1846
- Anthia brevivittata Obst, 1901
- Anthia bucolica Kolbe, 1894
- Anthia burchelli Hope, 1832
- Anthia calida Harold, 1878
- Anthia calva Sternberg, 1907
- Anthia capillata Obst, 1901
- Anthia cavernosa Gerstaecker, 1866
- Anthia cephalotes Guerin-Meneville, 1845
- Anthia cinctipennis Lequien, 1832
- Anthia circumscripta Klug, 1853
- Anthia costata Gory, 1836
- Anthia csikii Obst, 1906
- Anthia decemguttata (Linnaeus, 1764)
- Anthia discedens Sternberg, 1907
- Anthia duodecimguttata Bonelli, 1813
- Anthia ferox J. Thomson, 1859
- Anthia fornasinii Bertoloni, 1845
- Anthia galla J. Thomson, 1859
- Anthia hedenborgi Boheman, 1848
- Anthia hexasticta Gerstaecker, 1866
- Anthia ida Kolbe, 1894
- Anthia lefebvrei Guerin-Meneville, 1849
- Anthia limbata Dejean, 1831
- Anthia lunae J. Thomson, 1859
- Anthia machadoi (Basilewsky, 1955)
- Anthia mannerheimi Chaudoir, 1842
- Anthia massilicata Guerin-Meneville, 1845
- Anthia maxillosa (Fabricius, 1793)
- Anthia mima Peringuey, 1896
- Anthia mirabilis Sternberg, 1906
- Anthia namaqua Peringuey, 1896
- Anthia nimrod (Fabricius, 1793)
- Anthia oberthuri Obst, 1906
- Anthia omoplata Lequien, 1832
- Anthia ovampoa Peringuey, 1896
- Anthia orientalis (Hope, 1838)
- Anthia praesignis Bates, 1888
- Anthia prevoili Lucas, 1881
- Anthia principalis Sternberg, 1907
- Anthia promontorii Peringuey, 1899
- Anthia pulcherrima H. W. Bates, 1888
- Anthia sexguttata Fabricius, 1775
- Anthia sexmaculata Fabricius, 1787
- Anthia sulcata (Fabricius, 1793)
- Anthia tatumana White, 1846
- Anthia thoracica (Thunberg, 1784)
- Anthia venator (Fabricius, 1792)
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