# Mezium

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***Mezium*** is a genus of [beetles](/source/Beetle) in the subfamily [Ptininae](/source/Spider_beetle), the spider beetles. It is distributed throughout most of the world. There are two [centers of distribution](/source/Center_of_diversity): an area extending from the [Iberian Peninsula](/source/Iberian_Peninsula) to [Morocco](/source/Morocco), including the [Canary Islands](/source/Canary_Islands); and an area extending through central and southern [Africa](/source/Africa). Several species are recently described African [endemics](/source/Endemism).[1] They are most common in coastal areas, and in regions with a [Mediterranean climate](/source/Mediterranean_climate).[1]

Their most common natural habitat type is [caves](/source/Cave), where they feed on animal feces, especially [bat](/source/Bat) [guano](/source/Guano). They are adaptable to human-made structures such as [barns](/source/Barn) and [chicken coops](/source/Chicken_coop).[1]

Species include:[1][2]

- *[Mezium affine](/source/Mezium_affine)* – shiny spider beetle
- *[Mezium africanum](/source/Mezium_africanum)*
- *[Mezium americanum](/source/Mezium_americanum)* – American spider beetle, black spider beetle
- *[Mezium andreaei](/source/Mezium_andreaei)*
- *[Mezium giganteum](/source/Mezium_giganteum)*
- *[Mezium glabrum](/source/Mezium_glabrum)*
- *[Mezium gracilicorne](/source/Mezium_gracilicorne)*
- *[Mezium horridum](/source/Mezium_horridum)*
- *[Mezium namibiensis](/source/Mezium_namibiensis)*
- *[Mezium pseudafricanum](/source/Mezium_pseudafricanum)*
- *[Mezium pseudamericanum](/source/Mezium_pseudamericanum)*
- *[Mezium setosum](/source/Mezium_setosum)*
- *[Mezium sulcatum](/source/Mezium_sulcatum)*

## References

1. Borowski, J. (2009). [The spider beetles of the continental Africa (Coleoptera: Ptinidae). Part I – Genus *Mezium* Curtis.](http://www.fld.czu.cz/studiesandreports/pdf/2009/authors/1-10_borovski1.pdf) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20131004215200/http://www.fld.czu.cz/studiesandreports/pdf/2009/authors/1-10_borovski1.pdf) 2013-10-04 at the Wayback Machine *Studies and Reports of District Museum Pargue-East, Taxonomical Series* 5, 1-10.

1. [*Mezium*.](https://web.archive.org/web/20110604041641/http://www.faunaeur.org/full_results.php?id=100747) Fauna Europaea.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Mezium](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mezium) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mezium?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.