Under Construction

Morion

Kipling Will
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Containing group: Morionini

Introduction

This pantropical genus includes 41 named species, though undoubtedly many more remain to be described. Individuals are generally found in rotten logs and under loose bark. They often come to lights and do fly. As far as known they are predatory. Adults produce a potent spray of formic acid from their pygidial glands.

Characteristics

Member taxa are typical of Morionini form, elongate, subpedunculate with moderately prominent temples. Morion species share the synapomorphic characteristics of Morionina but lack the more derived features found in Hyperion, Platynodes and Megamorio. More than half of the described species are treated in keys by Chaudoir (1880) and Allen (1968). Otherwise, regionally specific keys may used, e.g., those by Jeannel (1948), Darlington (1962) and Straneo (1958), but all lack some portion of the described taxa.

Discussion of Phylogenetic Relationships

The genus has been divided by into two subgenera (Jeannel 1948, Straneo 1952); Morion (s.str.) and Morion (Neomorion) Jeannel. A comprehensive study of this genus, especially the African and Oriental species, would be very beneficial. It seems likely that Morion will be found to be a grade at this level and Hyperion, Platynodes and Megamorio may be derived from it.

Title Illustrations
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Scientific Name Morion sp.
Specimen Condition Dead Specimen
Life Cycle Stage Adult
View Dorsal
Image Use creative commons This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License - Version 3.0.
Copyright © 2005 Kipling Will
About This Page

Kipling Will
University of California, Berkeley, California, USA

Correspondence regarding this page should be directed to Kipling Will at

Page: Tree of Life Morion. Authored by Kipling Will. The TEXT of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License - Version 3.0. Note that images and other media featured on this page are each governed by their own license, and they may or may not be available for reuse. Click on an image or a media link to access the media data window, which provides the relevant licensing information. For the general terms and conditions of ToL material reuse and redistribution, please see the Tree of Life Copyright Policies.

Citing this page:

Will, Kipling. 2006. Morion. Version 07 July 2006 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Morion/28918/2006.07.07 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

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