_____________Mun. Ent. Zool. Vol. 5, No. 1, January 2010__________ 163 WEEVILS (COLEOPTERA: CURCULIONIDAE) FROM IRANIAN RICE FIELDS AND SURROUNDING GRASSLANDS Hassan Ghahari*, Yury Genrikh’vich Arzanov**, Andrei Aleksandrovich Legalov***, Mehrdad Tabari**** and Hadi Ostovan***** * Department of Agriculture, Islamic Azad University; Shahre Rey Branch, Tehran, IRAN,
[email protected] ** South Scientific Centre of RAS, Chekhov str., 41, Rostov-on-Don 344006 RUSSIA,
[email protected] *** Siberian Zoological Museum, Institute of Animal Systematics and Ecology, SB RAS, Frunze street-11, Novosibirsk 630091 RUSSIA,
[email protected] **** Iran Rice Research Institute, Amol, Mazandaran, IRAN,
[email protected] ***** Department of Entomology, Islamic Azad University, Fars Science & Research Branch, IRAN,
[email protected] [Ghahari, H., Arzanov, Yu. G., Legalov, A.A., Tabari, M. & Ostovan, H. 2010. Weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) from Iranian rice fields and surrounding grasslands. Munis Entomology & Zoology, 5 (1): 163-169] ABSTRACT: In a total of 45 species of 22 genera including, Stenocarus, Tychius, Ceutorhynchus, Curculio, Archarius, Coniatus, Donus, Hypera, Limobius, Conorhynchus, Pachycerus, Cleonis, Coniocleonus, Chromoderus, Bothynoderes, Rhinocyllus, Bangasternus, Microlarinus, Eustenopus, Larinus, Lixus, Hypolixus, Otiorhynchus and 5 subfamilies including, Ceutorhynchinae, Curculioninae, Hyperinae, Lixinae and Entiminae were collected from Iranian rice fields and surrounding grasslands. KEY WORDS: Curculionidae, Fauna, Rice field, Iran The number of described beetle species is about 400,000 (Spangler, 1982; Hammond, 1992), with weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea) (62,000) comprising 15.5% of this number. Interestingly, this is about the same proportion encountered by Linnaeus 250 years ago, when barely 100 weevil species were known (Oberprieler et al., 2007). The most recent comprehensive tally of the number of Curculionoidea (Kuschel, 1995) yielded a total of 5,087 described genera and 56,920 species (status at about 1988).