Dascillidae

Dascillidae Temporal range: Aptian–Recent PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Dascillus cervinus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Suborder:	Polyphaga
Infraorder:	Elateriformia
Superfamily:	Dascilloidea
Family:	Dascillidae Guérin-Méneville, 1843
Subfamilies
Dascillinae Karumiinae

Dascillidae is a family of beetles within the clade Elateriformia. There are about 100 extant species in 11 genera, which are found worldwide. Dascillidae together with Rhipiceridae form the super family Dascilloidea. ^[1]

Taxonomy

The family was named by Guérin Méneville in 1843. ^[2] The family is divided up into two poorly defined subfamilies, Karumiinae and Dascillinae. ^[3]

Description

Adult Dascillidae are 4.5–25 mm long with an elongate body that is somewhat convex in cross-section. They are covered in dense grey/brown hairs. ^[4] Karumiines have highly modified soft-bodies, similar to some members of Elateroidea. ^[3]

Ecology

The adults can be found on grass during the springtime. The larvae occur in moist soil or under rocks. ^[4] The larvae are thought to feed on roots or decaying plant matter. ^[5] Some karumiines like Karumia are associated with termites. ^[3]

Genera

• Anorus LeConte, 1859
• Coptocera Murray, 1868
• Dascillus Latreille, 1796
• Drilocephalus Pic, 1918
• Emmita Escalera, 1914
• Genecerus Walker, 1871
• Karumia Escalera, 1913
• Metallidascillus Pic, 1914
• Notodascillus Carter, 1935
• Petalon Schoenherr, 1833
• Pleolobus Philippi, 1864
• Sinocaulus Deyrolle & Fairmaire, 1878
• † Baltodascillus Kundrata et al., 2021 ^[3] Baltic Amber, Eocene
• † Cretodascillus Jin et al, 2013 ^[6] Yixian Formation, China, Early Cretaceous (Aptian)
• † Lyprodascillus Zhang, 1989 Shanwang, China, Miocene (familial attribution uncertain ^[6] )
• † Parelateriformius Yan & Wang, 2010 ^[7] Daohugou Beds, China, Middle–Late Jurassic

References

1. ZHENYU JIN; HERMES E. ESCALONA; ADAM ŚLIPIŃSKI; HONG PANG (June 2013). "Phylogeny and Classification of Rhipicerinae (Coleoptera: Rhipiceridae) with a Review of the Australian Taxa". Annales Zoologici. 63 (2): 275–317. doi:10.3161/000345413X669577. ISSN   0003-4541. Archived from the original on 19 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
2. "Dascillidae Report". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2018-02-23.
3. Kundrata, R.; Gimmel, M. L.; Packova, G.; Bukejs, A.; Blank, S. M. (2021). "A new enigmatic lineage of Dascillidae (Coleoptera: Elateriformia) from Eocene Baltic amber described using X-ray microtomography, with notes on Karumiinae morphology and classification". Fossil Record. 24 (1): 141–149. Bibcode:2021FossR..24..141K. doi: 10.5194/fr-24-141-2021 .
4. "Dascillidae Family Information". BugGuide.net. Retrieved 2018-02-23.
5. Jin, Zhenyu; Ślipiński, Adam; Pang, Hong (December 2013). "Genera of Dascillinae (Coleoptera: Dascillidae) with a Review of the Asian Species of Dascillus Latreille, Petalon Schonherr and Sinocaulus Fairmaire" . Annales Zoologici. 63 (4): 551–652. doi:10.3161/000345413X676786. ISSN   0003-4541.
6. Jin, Zhenyu; Ślipiński, Adam; Pang, Hong; Ren, Dong (2013). "A new Mesozoic species of soft-bodied plant beetle (Coleoptera: Dascillidae) from the Early Cretaceous of Inner Mongolia, China with a review of fossil Dascillidae" . Annales Zoologici. 63 (3): 501–509. doi:10.3161/000345413X672492. ISSN   0003-4541.
7. Li, Yan-Da; Jin, Zhen-Yu; Ślipiński, Adam; Huang, Di-Ying; Cai, Chen-Yang (2022). "Parelateriformius from the Middle–Late Jurassic of China reinterpreted as the earliest Dascillidae (Coleoptera: Dascilloidea)". Palaeoentomology. 5 (6): 545–568. doi: 10.11646/palaeoentomology.5.6.6 . ISSN   2624-2834.