The Cupedidae are a small family of beetles, notable for the square pattern of "windows" on their elytra, which give the family their common name of reticulated beetles.
The telephone-pole beetle is a beetle native to the eastern United States and the only living representative of the otherwise extinct family Micromalthidae. Larvae of the beetle live in decaying wood and can be pests to wooden structures, lending them their common name, the 'telephone-pole beetle.'
The Archostemata are the smallest suborder of beetles, consisting of 50 living species in five families and over 200 described fossil species. They are an ancient lineage with a number of primitive characteristics. Antennae may be thread-shaped (filiform) or like a string of beads (moniliform). This suborder also contains the only beetles where both sexes are paedogenic, Micromalthus debilis. Modern archostematan beetles are considered rare, but were more diverse during the Mesozoic.
Jurodidae is a family of beetles that was originally described for the extinct genus Jurodes, known from the Middle-Late Jurassic of Asia. In 1996, a living species, Sikhotealinia zhiltzovae was discovered in the Sikhote-Alin mountains in southeastern Siberia, and assigned to this family. Their placement is uncertain, but are usually considered archostematans. In one study, Sikhotealinia and Jurodes were considered a sister group to all other archostematan beetles. However, other authors have considered their placement within beetles as a whole uncertain, due to their mix characteristics of typical Archostemata, as well as Polyphaga and Adephaga.
Adinolepis is a genus of beetles in the family Cupedidae containing four species, all endemic to Australia. A fifth species, Adinolepis scalena, was transferred to Ascioplaga in 2009.
Ascioplaga is a genus of beetles in the family Cupedidae, containing two species endemic to New Caledonia and one described from northern Queensland in Australia. The Australian species, Ascioplaga scalena, was originally described as a species of Adinolepis, and was transferred to Ascioplaga in 2009.
Cupes is a genus of beetles in the family Cupedidae. The Cupedidae are typical “reticulate” or “net-winged” beetles with incompletely sclerotized elytra that produce the characteristic reticulate appearance.
Priacma is a genus of beetles in the family Cupedidae. It contains a single extant species, Priacma serrata native to western North America and one fossil species, P. megapuncta from the Cenomanian aged Burmese amber. Species previously assigned to the genus from the Yixian Formation of China have been subsequently placed in the separate genus Apriacma.
Rhipsideigma is a genus of beetles in the family Cupedidae. It contains five species, four of which are endemic to Madagascar, the other being endemic to the northern coast of Tanzania. They vary in length from 13 mm to 20 mm, and are up to 6 mm wide.
Tenomerga is a genus of beetles in the family Cupedidae. This genus has about 17 extant species, which are native to the eastern Palearctic, Nearctic and Oriental regions.
Paracupes is a genus of beetles in the family Cupedidae, the reticulated beetles.
Crowsoniella is a genus of beetles in the order Archostemata. It contains only a single species, Crowsoniella relicta, and is the only member of the monotypic family Crowsoniellidae. It is known only from three male specimens collected in 1973 in the Lepini mountains of central Italy by Roberto Pace. In a degraded pasture, the beetles were found among the roots of a large hawthorn tree, in deep calcareous soil. No other specimens have been found since.
The Ommatidae are a family of beetles in the suborder Archostemata. The Ommatidae are considered the extant beetle family that has most ancestral characteristics. There are only seven extant species, confined to Australia and South America. However, the geographical distribution was much wider during the Mesozoic spanning across Eurasia and Australia, suggesting that they were widespread on Pangea. So far, over 26 extinct genera containing over 170 species of these beetles have been described. Three extant genera have been assigned to this family: Omma,Tetraphalerus and Beutelius. The family is considered to be a subfamily of Cupedidae by some authors, but have been found to be more closely related to Micromalthidae in molecular phylogenies. A close relationship with Micromalthidae is supported by several morphological characters, including those of the mandibles and male genitalia. Due to their rarity, their ecology is obscure, it is likely that their larvae feed on deadwood.
Phycosecidae is a family of beetles in the superfamily Cleroidea., containing the single genus Phycosecis found in Australia, New Caledonia, New Zealand and Vanuatu. The beetles are small, about 1.5–3.5 mm in length. They live in sandy coastal areas, and are saprophagous, feeding on faeces, carrion, and dead arthropods during the daytime.
Eurydictyon is an extinct genus of beetle in the family Ommatidae which contains a single species, Eurydictyon conspicuum. E. conspicuum lived during the Pliensbachian stage of the Early Jurassic, between 189.6 and 183.0 Ma. It measured 18 x 8 mm in length and is known only from specimens found in Kyrgyzstan. Eurydictyon may be closely related to the genus Notocupes.
Notocupoides is an extinct genus of beetles in the family Ommatidae, known from the Carnian Madygen Formation of Kyrgyzstan, containing the following species:
Rhabdocupes is an extinct genus of beetles in the family Ommatidae, known from the Late Triassic Madygen Formation of Kyrgyzstan, containing the following species:
Priacma serrata is a species of reticulated beetle in the family Cupedidae. It is native to western North America. It is the only extant species in the genus Priacma. Members of the species live in coniferous forests, and are found under loose tree bark. The species is sexually dimorphic, with the rarely collected females being much larger than males. Males vary in size between 9.6 and 12.5 mm. The males of the species are noted to be strongly attracted to the odor of bleach. Dissections of adult males have consistently found empty intestines, with the digestive tract so withered in places that no food could pass through regardless. Collections suggest that adult emergence is highly episodic, with large numbers of adults emerging in sporadic events.
Tenomerga cinerea is a species of reticulated beetle in the family Cupedidae. It is found in North America.
Beutelius is a small genus of ommatid beetles native to Australia. It is only one of three extant genera in the family, alongside Tetraphalerus and Omma. It currently contains four species, three of which were originally assigned to Omma, and it is distinguished from Omma by the presence of flattened, ribbed scales covering most areas, as well as longer maxillary and labial palps, and an anteriorly depressed gulamentum.
