Elateridae or click beetles are a family of beetles. Other names include elaters, snapping beetles, spring beetles or skipjacks. This family was defined by William Elford Leach (1790–1836) in 1815. They are a cosmopolitan beetle family characterized by the unusual click mechanism they possess. There are a few other families of Elateroidea in which a few members have the same mechanism, but most elaterid subfamilies can click. A spine on the prosternum can be snapped into a corresponding notch on the mesosternum, producing a violent "click" that 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.
The Rhagophthalmidae are a family of beetles within the superfamily Elateroidea. Members of this beetle family have bioluminescent organs on the larvae, and sometimes adults, and are closely related to the Phengodidae, though historically they have been often treated as a subfamily of Lampyridae, or as related to that family. Some recent evidence suggested that they were the sister group to the Phengodidae, and somewhat distantly related to Lampyridae, whose sister taxon was Cantharidae, but more reliable genome-based phylogenetics placed as the sister group to the Lampyridae.
Semiotus ligneus is a species of click beetle from Central and South America.
Actenicerus siaelandicus is a species of click beetle belonging to the family Elateridae, subfamily Dendrometrinae.
Cidnopus pilosus is a species of click beetle belonging to the subfamily Dendrometrinae of the family Elateridae.
Denticollis linearis is a species of click beetle belonging to the family Elateridae subfamily Dendrometrinae.
Pyrophorus noctilucus, common name headlight elater, is a species of click beetle.
Pyrophorus punctatissimus is a species of click beetle.
Lanelater mastersii is a species of click beetle belonging to the family Elateridae.
Actenicerus is a genus of click beetle belonging to the family Elateridae, subfamily Dendrometrinae.
Tetralobus flabellicornis, the Giant Acacia Click Beetle, is a species of click beetle belonging to the family Elateridae.
Lacon punctatus is a species of click beetle belonging to the family Elateridae subfamily Agrypninae.
Athous vittatus is a species of beetle in the family Elateridae and the genus Athous.
Athous bicolor is a species of click beetles.
Amychus granulatus, commonly known as the Cook Strait click beetle, is a large flightless click beetle in the family Elateridae.
Elater ferrugineus, the rusty click beetle, is a species of click beetle belonging to the family Elateridae.
Prosternon tessellatum, the chequered click beetle, is a species of click beetle belonging to the family Elateridae.
Ctenicera virens is a species of click beetles.
Megathous nigerrimus is a species of click beetles in the family Elateridae.
Ampedus is a genus of click beetles in the family Elateridae. There are currently 461 recognized species of Ampedus beetles. It has a cosmopolitan distribution, but is found mostly in the Holarctic region, primarily in North America, Europe, and Asia. The oldest known fossil from this genus was found in Eocene Baltic amber, estimated to be from 38.0–33.9 million years ago.
