Overview
Staphylinoidea is a of beetles. It is a very large and diverse group with worldwide distribution.
Characteristics
Most staphylinoids are middle-sized or small beetles with a pair of shortened elytra. The hind wings have no accessory posterior ridge (locking device), no wedge cell and apical cell. Abdominal 8th segment not entirely invaginated in the 7th. Head mostly without coronal suture. [1].
Systematics and Evolution
Staphylinoidea contains the following subgroups:[2]
- Agyrtidae C.G. Thomson 1859
- Hydraenidae Mulsant 1844
- Leiodidae Fleming 1821 = (Anisotomidae)
- Platypsyllinae Ritsema 1869 or Leptinidae
- Ptiliidae Erichson 1845
- Cephaloplectinae or Limulodidae Sharp 1883
- Scydmaenidae Leach 1815
- Silphidae Latreille 1807 (carrion beetles)
- Staphylinidae Latreille 1802 (rove beetles)
- Scaphidiinae or Scaphidiidae Latreille 1807
- Pselaphinae or Pselaphidae Latreille 1802
The unambiguous fossil record dates back to Triassic, and an early Mesozoic origin of the group is probable.[4]
Photos
Taxonomy
The Superfamily Staphylinoidea is further organized into finer groupings including:
- Family (11): Agyrtidae · Dasyceridae · Hydraenidae · Leiodidae · Leptinidae · Micropeplidae · Pselaphidae · Ptiliidae · Scydmaenidae · Silphidae · Staphylinidae
Families
Agyrtidae
Agyrtidae or primitive carrion beetles are a small family of beetles They are found in mostly temperate areas of the northern hemisphere and in New Zealand. They are feeding on decaying organic material. [more]
Dasyceridae
Hydraenidae
Hydraenidae is a family of very small beetles with a worldwide distribution. These beetles are generally 1-3 mm in length (although some species reach 7 mm) with clubbed antennae. They do not swim well and are generally found crawling in marginal vegetation. Most are phytophagous but a few saprophagous and predatory species are known. [more]
Leiodidae
Leiodidae is a family of with around 2000 described species found worldwide. Members of this family are commonly called round fungus beetles due to the globular shape of many species, although some are more elongated in shape. They are generally small or very small beetles (less than 10 mm in length) and many (but not all) species have clubbed antennae. [more]
Leptinidae
Micropeplidae
Pselaphidae
Pselaphinae is a subfamily of small (usually less than 2.5 mm long) . The group was originally regarded as a separate family, named Pselaphidae. Newton and Thayer (1995) placed them in the Omaliine group of the family Staphylinidae, based on shared morphological characters. [more]
Ptiliidae
Ptiliidae is a of very tiny beetles with a worldwide distribution. This family contains the smallest of all beetles, with a length of 0.5 mm, and even the largest members of the family do not exceed 2 mm. The weight is approximately 0.4 milligrams. [more]
Scydmaenidae
Scydmaenidae is a of small beetles, commonly called ant-like stone beetles or scydmaenids. These beetles occur worldwide, and the family includes some 4,500 species in about 80 genera. [more]
Silphidae
Staphylinidae
The rove beetles are a large (Staphylinidae) of beetles, primarily distinguished by their short elytra that leave more than half of their abdomens exposed. With over 46,000 species in thousands of genera, the group is the second largest family of beetles after the Curculionidae (the true weevils). It is an ancient group, with fossil rove beetles known from the Triassic, 200 million years ago. [more]
At least 6,274 species and subspecies belong to the Family Staphylinidae.
More info about the Family Staphylinidae may be found here.
References
- ^ M.Hansen. Phylogeny and classification of the staphyliniform beetle families (Coleoptera). Biologiske Skrifter 48, Copenhagen, 1997
- ^ Beutel, R. G. and Leschen, R.A.B. 2005. Phylogenetic analysis of Staphyliniformia (Coleoptera) based on characters of larvae and adults. Systematic Entomology
- ^ J. F. Lawrence and A. F. Newton, Jr. 1995. Families and subfamilies of Coleoptera (with selected genera, notes, references and data on family-group names). pp. 779-1006 In: J. Pakaluk & S. A. Slipinski (Eds.): Biology, Phylogeny, and Classification of Coleoptera: Papers Celebrating the 80th Birthday of Roy A. Crowson. Museum i Instytut Zoologii PAN, Warszawa
- ^ Grimaldi, D. and Engel, M.S. (2005). Evolution of the Insects. Cambridge University Press
Sources
- The text on this page is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It includes material from Wikipedia retrieved Thursday, August 13, 2009.
- Photographs on this page are copyrighted by individual photographers, and individual copyrights apply.
- The GMapImageCutter is used under license from the UCL Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis.
- The technology underlying this page, including the Image Browser and controls behind Keep Exploring, is owned by the BayScience Foundation. All rights are reserved.