Scirtidae

Prionocyphon serricornis, copyright Udo Schmidt.

Belongs within: Scirtoidea.

The Scirtidae are a group of small to moderate-sized beetles mostly found in vegetation near water, with larvae mostly being aquatic detritivores (Lawrence & Britton 1991).

Characters (from Lawrence & Britton 1991): Moderate to small, oblong to ovoid beetles, usually somewhat flattened, with large, strongly deflexed head, pair of sharp genal ridges resting against fore coxae when head deflexed; antennae eleven-segmented, filiform; prothorax short and broad with large, projecting fore coxae and reduced sternal region, trochantins exposed, fore coxal cavities externally and internally open; mid coxal cavities contiguous, laterally open; elytral epipleura moderately broad and complete; tarsi five-segmented, fourth tarsal segments lobed; hind coxal plates often present; abdomen with five visible ventrites, none to two connate. Larvae elongate and somewhat flattened, with large head, multisegmented antennae, complex mouth-parts with maxillary comb-hairs and comb-like hypopharyngeal armature, a single pair of large spiracles at abdominal apex and a set of five anal papillae.

Scirtidae [Cyphonidae, Elodiidae, Helodidae, Scirtinae] B14
    |--Elodes Latreille 1802 MW15, L02
    |    |--E. griseus [=Cebrio (Elodes) griseus] G20
    |    |--E. haemisphaericus G20 [=Cebrio (Elodes) haemisphaericus G20, Cyphon haemisphericus L02]
    |    `--E. pallidus [=Cyphon pallidus] L02
    `--+--Cyphon MW15
       |    |--C. hilaris KB11
       |    |--C. padi C01
       |    |--C. paykulli C01
       |    `--C. variabilis C01
       `--+--Scirtes MW15
          |    |--S. exoletus Waterhouse 1880 M86
          |    |--S. hemisphericus KB11
          |    `--S. ruforotatus H02
          `--+--Veronatus MW15
             |    |--V. longicornis Sharp 1878 B14
             |    `--V. tricostellus B14
             `--Prionocyphon Redtenbacher 1858 MW15, W10
                  |  i. s.: P. caementum Watts 2010 W10
                  |         P. deanboltoi Watts 2010 W10
                  |         P. hamatus Watts 2010 W10
                  |         P. insolitus Watts 2010 W10
                  |         P. kurandaensis Watts 2010 W10
                  |         P. lamingtonensis Watts 2010 W10
                  |         P. latusmandibularis Watts 2010 W10
                  |         P. macroflavidus Watts 2010 [=P. australis Armstrong ms] W10
                  |         P. microflavidus Watts 2010 W10
                  |         P. monteithi Watts 2010 W10
                  |         P. niger Kitching & Allsopp 1987 B14
                  |         P. ocellatus Watts 2010 W10
                  |         P. quasichameleon Watts 2010 W10
                  |         P. storeyi Watts 2010 W10
                  |         P. tolgaensis Watts 2010 W10
                  |         P. warra Watts 2010 W10
                  |         P. yarraensis Watts 2010 W10
                  |--*P. (Prionocyphon) serricornis (Mueller 1821) [=Cyphon serricornis] W10
                  `--P. (Orientoprionocyphon Klausnitzer 2009) W10

Scirtidae incertae sedis:
  Macrohelodes B14
    |--M. crassus Blackburn 1892 B14 (see below for synonymy)
    |--M. lucidus L19
    |--M. montanus Lea 1919 L19
    `--M. princeps L19
  Ora troberti (Guérin-Méneville 1861) B14
  Pseudomicrocara LB91
  Macrocyphon LB91
  Microcara W10
  Macrodascillus W10
  Heterocyphon B70
  Eohelodites Hong 2002 H02
    `--*E. orbiculatus Hong 2002 H02

Macrohelodes crassus Blackburn 1892 B14 [incl. M. crassus gravis L19, M. crassus intricatus L19, M. crassus niger L19, M. crassus tasmanicus L19]

*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).

[B70] Britton, E. B. 1970. Coleoptera (beetles). In: CSIRO. The Insects of Australia: A textbook for students and research workers pp. 495–621. Melbourne University Press.

[C01] Csiki, E. 1901. Bogarak [Coleopteren]. In: Horváth, G. (ed.) Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazása [Dritte Asiatische Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] vol. 2. Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazásának Állattani Eredményei [Zoologische Ergebnisse der Dritten Asiatischen Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy], pp. 75–120. Victor Hornyánszky: Budapest, and Karl W. Hierseman: Leipzig.

[G20] Goldfuss, G. A. 1820. Handbuch der Naturgeschichte vol. 3. Handbuch der Zoologie pt 1. Johann Leonhard Schrag: Nürnberg.

[H02] Hong Y. 2002. Amber Insect of China. Beijing Scientific and Technological Publishing House.

[KB11] Kundrata, R., & L. Bocak. 2011. The phylogeny and limits of Elateridae (Insecta, Coleoptera): is there a common tendency of click beetles to soft-bodiedness and neoteny? Zoologica Scripta 40: 364–378.

[L02] Latreille, P. A. 1802. Histoire Naturelle, générale et particulière des crustacés et des insectes vol. 3. Familles naturelles des genres. F. Dufart: Paris.

[LB91] Lawrence, J. F., & E. B. Britton. 1991. Coleoptera (beetles). In: CSIRO. The Insects of Australia: A textbook for students and research workers 2^nd ed. vol. 2 pp. 543–683. Melbourne University Press: Carlton (Victoria).

[L19] Lea, A. M. 1919. Notes on some miscellaneous Coleoptera with descriptions of new species.—Part V. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 43: 166–261, pls 25–27.

[M86] Masters, G. 1886. Catalogue of the described Coleoptera of Australia. Part IV. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, series 2, 1 (2): 259–380.

[W10] Watts, C. H. S. 2010. Revision of Australian Prionocyphon Redtenbacher (Scirtidae: Coleoptera). Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 134 (1): 53–88.