Agyrtidae

Necrophilus hydrophiloides, copyright Michael K. Oliver.

Belongs within: Leiodidae.

The Agyrtidae are a group of beetles found primarily in northern temperate regions, associated with decaying organic material (Peck 2001).

Characters (from Peck 2001): Oval to oblong-elongate, slightly flattened; brownish, usually shiny. Head projecting or deflexed; eyes conspicuous, usually protruding; frontoclypeal suture distinct. Antennae usually ending in distinct four- or five-segmented club, sometimes almost filiform or weakly clubbed; antennal sensilla usually located in apical grooves on club segments; antennal insertions more or less exposed. Thorax with pronotum larger than head. Pronotum with complete lateral edges, notosternal suture distinct. Prosternum short in front of coxae, bearing narrow but complete intercoxal process. Procoxae transverse, projecting, subcontiguous, with large, exposed trochantins; procoxal cavities narrowly open posteriorly and open internally. Mesocoxae narrowly separated. Elytra completely covering abdomen; punctation striate, as nine or ten longitudinal rows of punctures; epipleura well developed and complete, or extending to posterior four fifths. Metacoxae barely excavate mesally, contiguous, extending laterally to meet elytra. Hindwing with large, discrete jugal lobe, four anal veins, and simple, concave and convex, transverse folds; occasionally absent. Abdomen with five (or rarely six) visible abdominal sterna; lateral portions of sternum 2 present beneath the metacoxae. Intersegmental areas lacking pattern of microsclerites. Several basal terga membranous. Aedeagus may or may not have separate basal piece; parameres may be vestigial, fused, or absent. Larva campodeiform; with moderately sclerotised terga and sterna; mandibles bearing several apical teeth; prostheca narrow and acute, associated with brush of hairs; mandibles possessing large and tuberculate molar part with dorsal and ventral rows of denticles; maxilla with distinct galea and lacinia; galea usually fringed; labium with strongly bilobed ligula; six ocelli on each side of head; urogomphi two-segmented, often with multiannulate apical segment. Spiracles placed in posterolateral emarginations of terga. Abdomen segment ten elongate and cylindrical, with eversible membranous lobes bearing numerous minute hooks.

<==Agyrtidae P90
    |  i. s.: Mesecanus P01
    |         Zeanecrophilus P01
    |--Pterolomatinae P01
    |    |--Pteroloma Gyllenhal 1827 [incl. Adolus Fischer 1828, Holocnemis Schilling 1829] P01
    |    |    `--P. nebrioides Brown 1933 P01
    |    `--Apteroloma Hatch 1927 MW15, P90 (see below for synonymy)
    |         |--A. arizonicum P90
    |         |--A. caraboides P90
    |         |--A. tahoecum P90
    |         `--A. tenuicorne P90
    `--+--Necrophilus Latreille 1829 MW15, P90 (see below for synonymy)
       |    |--N. hydrophiloides Guérin-Méneville 1835 GN09
       |    |--N. pettitii Horn 1880 P01
       |    |--N. prolongatus R60
       |    `--N. subterraneus (Dahl 1807) B14
       `--Agyrtinae B14
            |--Ipelates Reitter 1884 MW15, P90 (see below for synonymy)
            |    `--I. latus P90
            |--Agyrtes Frölich 1799 [incl. Agyrtecanus Reitter 1901, Lendomus Casey 1924] P01
            |    |--A. longulus P90
            |    `--A. similis P90
            `--Lyrosoma Mannherheim 1953 B14, P90 [Lyrosominae]
                 |--L. opacum Mannerheim 1853 B14
                 `--L. pallidum B14

Apteroloma Hatch 1927 MW15, P90 [incl. Alloloma Semenov-Tian-Shanskij 1932 P01, Garytes Mroczkowski 1966 P01, Pterolorica Hlisnikovsky 1968 P01]

Ipelates Reitter 1884 MW15, P90 [incl. Brachyloma Portevin 1914 non Chambers 1878 P01, Necrophilodes Champion 1933 P01, Necrophiloides (l. c.) P01, Pelates Horn 1888 non Cuvier & Valenciennes 1829 P01, Pelatines Cockerell 1906 P01, Sphaeroloma Portevin 1905 P01]

Necrophilus Latreille 1829 MW15, P90 [incl. Necrobius Gistel 1834 P01, Paranecrophilus Shibata 1969 P01, Pseudosilpha Schawaller 1978 P01; Necrophilinae B14]

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[B14] Bouchard, P. (ed.) 2014. The Book of Beetles: A lifesize guide to six hundred of nature's gems. Ivy Press: Lewes (United Kingdom).

[GN09] Grebennikov, V. V., & A. F. Newton. 2009. Good-bye Scydmaenidae, or why the ant-like stone beetles should become megadiverse Staphylinidae sensu latissimo (Coleoptera). European Journal of Entomology 106: 275–301.

[MW15] McKenna, D. D., A. L. Wild, K. Kanda, C. L. Bellamy, R. G. Beutel, M. S. Caterino, C. W. Farnum, D. C. Hawks, M. A. Ivie, M. L. Jameson, R. A. B. Leschen, A. E. Marvaldi, J. V. McHugh, A. F. Newton, J. A. Robertson, M. K. Thayer, M. F. Whiting, J. F. Lawrence, A. Ślipiński, D. R. Maddison & B. D. Farrell. 2015. The beetle tree of life reveals that Coleoptera survived end-Permian mass extinction to diversify during the Cretaceous terrestrial revolution. Systematic Entomology 40 (4): 835–880.

[P90] Peck, S. B. 1990. Insecta: Coleoptera Silphidae and the associated families Agyrtidae and Leiodidae. In: Dindal, D. L. (ed.) Soil Biology Guide pp. 1113–1136. John Wiley & Sones: New York.

[P01] Peck, S. B. 2001. Agyrtidae C.G. Thomson, 1859. In: Arnett, R. H., Jr & M. C. Thomas (eds) American Beetles vol. 1. Archostemata, Myxophaga, Adephaga, Polyphaga: Staphyliniformia pp. 247–249. CRC Press: Boca Raton.

[R60] Richards, A. M. 1960. Observations on the New Zealand glow-worm Arachnocampa luminosa (Skuse) 1890. Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand 88 (3): 559–574.