Overview
Elateriformia is an infraorder of polyphagan beetles. The two largest families in this group are buprestids, of which there are around 15,000 described species, and click beetles, of which there are around 10,000 described species.
The infraorder consists of five superfamilies :
- Buprestoidea ? the metallic wood-boring beetles
- Byrrhoidea ? families including , moss beetles and mud-loving beetles
- Dascilloidea
- Elateroidea ? including the click beetles and soldier beetles
- Scirtoidea
List of subgroups of the order Coleoptera
Media related to Elateriformia at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Elateriformia at Wikispecies
Taxonomy
The Infraorder Elateriformia is a member of the Suborder Polyphaga. Here is the complete "parentage" of Elateriformia:
- Domain: Eukaryota
Whittaker & Margulis,1978 - eukaryotes
- Kingdom: Animalia
C. Linnaeus, 1758 - animals
- Subkingdom: Bilateria
(Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983 - bilaterians
- Branch: Protostomia
Grobben, 1908 - protostomes
- Infrakingdom: Ecdysozoa
A.M.A. Aguinaldo et al., 1997 ex T. Cavalier-Smith, 1998 - ecdysozoans
- Superphylum: Panarthropoda
Cuvier
- Phylum: Arthropoda
Latreille, 1829 - Arthropods
- Subphylum: Mandibulata
Snodgrass, 1938
- Infraphylum: Atelocerata
Heymons, 1901
- Superclass: Panhexapoda
- Class: Insecta
C. Linnaeus, 1758 - Insects
- Subclass: Dicondylia
- Infraclass: Pterygota
- Winged Insects
- Order: Coleoptera
C. Linnaeus, 1758 - Beetles
- Suborder: Polyphaga
Emery, 1886 - a genus of Blister Beetles (Meloidae)
- Infraorder: Elateriformia
- Suborder: Polyphaga
Emery, 1886 - a genus of Blister Beetles (Meloidae)
- Order: Coleoptera
C. Linnaeus, 1758 - Beetles
- Infraclass: Pterygota
- Winged Insects
- Subclass: Dicondylia
- Class: Insecta
C. Linnaeus, 1758 - Insects
- Superclass: Panhexapoda
- Infraphylum: Atelocerata
Heymons, 1901
- Subphylum: Mandibulata
Snodgrass, 1938
- Phylum: Arthropoda
Latreille, 1829 - Arthropods
- Superphylum: Panarthropoda
Cuvier
- Infrakingdom: Ecdysozoa
A.M.A. Aguinaldo et al., 1997 ex T. Cavalier-Smith, 1998 - ecdysozoans
- Branch: Protostomia
Grobben, 1908 - protostomes
- Subkingdom: Bilateria
(Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983 - bilaterians
- Kingdom: Animalia
C. Linnaeus, 1758 - animals
The Infraorder Elateriformia is further organized into finer groupings including:
- Family (12): Artematopidae · Buprestidae · Byrrhidae · Cebrionidae · Cerophytidae · Dascillidae · Elateridae · Eucnemidae · Perothopidae · Rhipiceridae · Schizopodidae · Throscidae
Families
Artematopidae
Buprestidae
Buprestidae is a family of beetles, known as jewel beetles or metallic wood-boring beetles because of their glossy iridescent colors. The family is among the largest of the beetles, with some 15,000 species known in 450 genera. In addition, almost 100 fossil species have been described. [more]
Byrrhidae
Byrrhidae, the pill beetles, is a family of beetles in the superfamily Byrrhoidea. [more]
Cebrionidae
Cerophytidae
Dascillidae
Elateridae
The family Elateridae is commonly called click beetles (or "typical click beetles" to distinguish them from the related Cerophytidae and ), elaters, snapping beetles, spring beetles or "skipjacks". They are a cosmopolitan beetle family characterized by the unusual click mechanism they possess. There are a few closely related families in which a few members have the same mechanism, but all elaterids can click. A spine on the prosternum can be snapped into a corresponding notch on the mesosternum, producing a violent "click" which can bounce the beetle into the air. Clicking is mainly used to avoid predation, although it is also useful when the beetle is on its back and needs to right itself. There are about 9300 known species worldwide, and 965 valid species in North America. [more]
Eucnemidae
Perothopidae
Rhipiceridae
Schizopodidae
Throscidae
At least 59 species and subspecies belong to the Family Throscidae.
More info about the Family Throscidae may be found here.
Sources
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