Byrrhoidea is a superfamily of beetles belonging to Elateriformia that includes several families which are either aquatic or associated with a semi-aquatic habitat. Other than the superfamily Hydrophiloidea, most of the remaining Polyphagan beetles which are aquatic are in this superfamily.
The family Scraptiidae is a small group of tenebrionoid beetles sometimes called false flower beetles. There are about 400 species in 30 genera with a world-wide distribution. The adults are found on flowers, sometimes in large numbers, but are also found on foliage. The larvae are typically found under the bark of dead trees. The oldest fossils of the group date to the Eocene.
The Synchroidae are a small family of tenebrionoid beetles with no vernacular common name. The family consists of three extant genera, Mallodrya, Synchroa, and Synchroina, with a total of nine species., which are found in North America, East Asia and Southeast Asia. The larvae of species of Synchroa are known to feed on rotting cambium tissue found in deciduous trees, with adults being nocturnal. Most Synchroidae have been found to be within 10.0-13.00 mm in length.
Corylophidae is a family of minute hooded beetles, sometimes called minute fungus beetles, in the superfamily Coccinelloidea. There are about 18 genera and at least 120 described species in Corylophidae. They feed on microfungi such as molds, and are often found associated with bark, as well as in leaf litter and other decaying vegetation. In older literature, the family name was often given as Orthoperidae.
Scirtoidea is a superfamily of beetles. It is traditionally considered to consist of four families: Clambidae, Decliniidae, Eucinetidae and Scirtidae. However, genetic studies have suggested that Clambidae and Eucinetidae belong to a separate superfamily Clamboidea, which also includes Derodontidae. Scirtoidea and Clamboidea are the two earliest diverging lineages of living polyphagans.
Nosodendridae is a family of beetles, with less than a hundred species in three extant genera, which are found worldwide. Nosodendron, the largest genus, is found in forests and attracted to yeast generated slime on the wounds of trees, and likely consumes fermented substances as well as fungi and microorganisms. Several additional genera and species are known from the fossil record. Nosodendridae is considered to be an isolated lineage within Polyphaga, being the sister group to the clade containing Staphyliniformia, Bostrichoidea and Cucujiformia.
Trogossitidae, also known as bark-gnawing beetles, are a small family in the superfamily Cleroidea. Many taxa formerly within this family have been removed to other families, such as Lophocateridae, Peltidae, Protopeltidae, Rentoniidae, and Thymalidae. Members of the family are generally predatory and/or feed on fungi, both in adult and larval stages, and are generally associated with wood, being found under bark or inside bored tunnel galleries. There are about 400 species in 25 genera in the family under the new, restricted circumscription, as opposed to 600 species in over 50 genera in the old definition. The oldest fossil assignable to the modern, more restricted definition of the family is Microtrogossita from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber of Myanmar, which has close affinities to the Trogossitini, indicating that the family had already considerably diversified by this time.
Alexiidae is a family of beetles. It contains a single genus, Sphaerosoma, formerly included within the family Cerylonidae, with around 50 species which are native to the western Palearctic. Species of Sphaerosoma are very small, around 1 to 2 mm in length rounded beetles with clubbed antennae. They are fungivores, having been observed feeding on mushrooms, and have also been found in leaf litter and on decaying bark.
Cavognathidae is a family of beetles, in the superfamily Cucujoidea. It contains a single genus, Taphropiestes with around a dozen species known from South America, Australia and New Zealand. In Australian and New Zealand species adults and larvae have been found living in bird nests, but their ecology is unclear, but they are possibly scavengers.
Helotidae is a family of beetles, in the suborder Polyphaga. The family includes about five extant genera, Helota MacLeay, Neohelota Ohta, Afrohelotina Kirejtshuk, Metahelotella Kirejtshuk, and Strophohelota Kirejtshuk. Helotidae are found mainly in the Old World tropics and are absent from Australia and Madagascar. The antennae are clubbed on the final three segments and is retractable within grooves under the head. The wings have reduced venation with just 4 anal veins. Helotids are known to be associated with sap, fruit and flowers, and the larvae of some species are known to bore into wood in order to pupate.
Phloeostichidae is a family of beetles in the superfamily Cucujoidea. They are typically found under the bark of dead trees. Larvae have been found to consume plant tissue and some fungi, while the adults appear to be exclusively fungivores. The family contains four extant genera, Phloeostichus is native to the Palearctic, Rhopalobrachium is native to central-southern South America and eastern Australia, Hymaea is native to southeastern Australia, and Bunyastichus is found in Tasmania.
Protocucujidae is a family of beetles, in the superfamily Cucujoidea. It has a single known genus, Ericmodes. Species of Ericmodes are native to southern South America and Eastern Australia. Little is known of their biology, though adults and larvae probably live on vegetation, with adults having also been found in leaf litter and in flight.
Salpingidae or narrow-waisted bark beetles is a family of beetles in the superfamily Tenebrionoidea. The species are small, about 1.5 – 7 mm in length. The family is globally distributed and consists of about 45 genera and 300 species, which are generally found in the temperate regions of both hemispheres. The family is mainly associated with plants as well as with ascomycete and hyphomycete fungi. Some members of the family are associated with unusual habitats, like Aegialites and Antarcticodomus, which are found in coastal areas including the intertidal zone, with former feeding on algae.
Trachelostenus is a genus of darkling beetles in the family Tenebrionidae. It is native to the Valdivian forests of Chile, and has at least two species, T. inaequalis (Solier) and T. fascicularis (Philipp). It was historically considered the only member of the family Trachelostenidae, but a 2015 study sunk the genus into the tenebrionid subfamily Tenebrioninae.
The Ulodidae are a family of beetles belonging to Tenebrionoidea. They are native to the Southern Hemisphere, with species found in Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia and Chile. Larvae and adults are generally found on dead wood or fungus associated with rotting wood, and are mycophagous. There are approximately 40 species in 16 genera.
Rhinorhipus is a genus of beetles that contains a single species, Rhinorhipus tamborinensis from southern Queensland, Australia. It is the sole member of the family Rhinorhipidae and superfamily Rhinorhipoidea. It is an isolated lineage not closely related to any other living beetle, estimated to have split from other beetles at least 200 million years ago, with studies either considering them the earliest diverging member of Elateriformia, or a basal lineage within Polyphaga. They exhibit feigning death (thanatosis) when disturbed. Their ecology is poorly known. It is likely that they are fossorial based on their morphology.
Magnocoleus is an extinct genus of beetles from the Early Cretaceous of China, between 130.0 and 125.45 Mya. The genus contains a single species, Magnocoleus huangjiapuensis, and is the only member of the family Magnocoleidae in the suborder Archostemata. Magnocoleus was first described by Chinese palaeoentomologist Hong Youchong in 1998, based on fossils of isolated elytra from the Qingshila Formation in Huangjiapu, near the Nantianmen village of Zhangjiakou in Hebei. Recent phylogenetic analyses have suggested that Magnocoleus is closely related to or placed within either Cupedidae or Ommatidae.
Myrabolia is the only genus in the beetle family Myraboliidae in the superfamily Cucujoidea. It has about 13 species, found in Australia. Adults and possibly larvae live under the bark of Eucalyptus trees.
Promecheilidae is a family of beetles in the superfamily Tenebrionoidea. Perimylopidae is considered a synonym. They are found in southern South America and associated archipelagos like South Georgia and the Falklands, New Zealand and Tasmania. Some species are associated tree ferns and moss-covered dead wood, and other forested habitats, while others are associated with peat bogs, grasslands and coastal habitats. They are probably phytophagus, feeding on lichen, moss, and other plant material.
Tasmosalpingus is the only genus in the beetle family Tasmosalpingidae. There are two species in Tasmosalpingus, found in Australia in Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales. Adults have been collected using malaise traps, while a possible larval specimen was found under the bark of the podocarp Phyllocladus aspleniifolius. Gut contents indicate that they are mycophagous, feeding on fungal hyphae.
