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.

Derodontidae

Derodontus maculatus, copyright Bonnie Ott.

Belongs within: Scirtoidea.

The Derodontidae are a group of small beetles with paired ocelli that feed on fungi. Members of the genus Peltastica, found in northeastern Asia and North America, are distinguished by broadly flattened and explanate sides on the prothorax (Bouchard 2014).

Characters (from Lawrence & Britton 1991): Head with paired ocelli and series of canals and bridges; antenna eleven-segmented with three-segmented club; pronotum divided into several cells by longitudinal ridges and transverse elevations; elytra with number of deep pits at bases of striae; fore coxae projecting, trochantins concealed, fore coxal cavities externally closed, internally open; mid coxal cavities narrowly separated, partly closed laterally by metepisterna; metasternum with transverse suture; tarsi pentamerous; hind coxal plates well developed; abdomen with five ventrites, none connate, a pair of longitudinal carinae near middle of ventrite I. Larva elongate, slightly tapered posteriorly, with dorsal surfaces granulate, tuberculate and usually with paired processes on all segments except 10th, which is cylindrical and posteroventrally oriented. Head transverse, with no epicranial stem and contiguous frontal arms, and spiracles borne on tubular processes.

Derodontidae B14
    |  i. s.: Peltastica [Peltasticinae] B14
    |           |--P. amurensis Reitter 1879 B14
    |           `--P. tuberculata B14
    |--Laricobius Rosenhauer 1846 MW15, JH01
    |    |--L. loebli Jelínek & Háva 2001 JH01
    |    |--L. mirabilis Háva & Jelínek 1999 JH01
    |    `--L. schawalleri Háva & Jelínek 2000 JH01
    `--+--Nothoderodontus MW15
       |    |--N. darlingtoni LB91
       |    `--N. gourlayi LB91
       `--Derodontus [Derodontinae] MW15
            |--D. esotericus B14
            |--D. japonicus B14
            |--D. macularis (Fuss 1850) B14
            |--D. maculatus B14
            `--D. trisignatus 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).

[JH01] Jelínek, J., & J. Háva. 2001. A new species of Laricobius (Coleoptera: Derodontidae) from Nepal. Revue Suisse de Zoologie 108 (1): 149–152.

[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).

[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.

Last updated: 16 December 2020.