| Ephistemus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Ephistemus globulus | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Infraorder: | Cucujiformia |
| Family: | Cryptophagidae |
| Genus: | Ephistemus Stephens, 1829 |
Ephistemus is a genus comprising several species of beetles. It is contained in the family Cryptophagidae. Species within this genus include the silken fungus beetle ( Ephistemus globulus ) [1] and E. reitteri . [2]
Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera, in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 described species, is the largest of all orders, constituting almost 40% of described insects and 25% of all known animal species; new species are discovered frequently, with estimates suggesting that there are between 0.9 and 2.1 million total species. Found in almost every habitat except the sea and the polar regions, they interact with their ecosystems in several ways: beetles often feed on plants and fungi, break down animal and plant debris, and eat other invertebrates. Some species are serious agricultural pests, such as the Colorado potato beetle, while others such as Coccinellidae eat aphids, scale insects, thrips, and other plant-sucking insects that damage crops.
Tiger beetles are a family of beetles, Cicindelidae, known for their aggressive predatory habits and running speed. The fastest known species of tiger beetle, Rivacindela hudsoni, can run at a speed of 9 km/h, or about 125 body lengths per second. As of 2005, about 2,600 species and subspecies were known, with the richest diversity in the Oriental (Indo-Malayan) region, followed by the Neotropics. While historically treated as a subfamily of ground beetles (Carabidae) under the name Cicindelinae, several studies since 2020 indicated that they should be treated as a family, the Cicindelidae, which are a sister group to Carabidae within the Adephaga.
Passalidae is a family of beetles known variously as "bessbugs", "bess beetles", "betsy beetles" or "horned passalus beetles". Nearly all of the 500-odd species are tropical; species found in North America are notable for their size, ranging from 20 to 43 mm, for having a single "horn" on the head, and for a form of social behavior unusual among beetles.
The rove beetles are a family (Staphylinidae) of beetles, primarily distinguished by their short elytra that typically leave more than half of their abdominal segments exposed. With over 66,000 species in thousands of genera, the group is the largest family in the beetle order, and one of the largest families of organisms. It is an ancient group, with fossilized rove beetles known from the Triassic, 200 million years ago, and possibly even earlier if the genus Leehermania proves to be a member of this family. They are an ecologically and morphologically diverse group of beetles, and commonly encountered in terrestrial ecosystems.
The longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae), also known as long-horned or longicorns, are a large family of beetles, with over 35,000 species described.
Darkling beetle is the common name for members of the beetle family Tenebrionidae, comprising over 20,000 species in a cosmopolitan distribution.
Sphaerites is a genus of beetles, the only genus in the family Sphaeritidae, sometimes called the false clown beetles. There are five known species, which are widespread in temperate areas of the Northern Hemisphere, found in forested or upland areas.
The Cucujidae, "flat bark beetles," are a family of distinctively flat beetles found worldwide under the bark of dead trees. The family has received considerable taxonomic attention in recent years and now consists of 70 species distributed in five genera. It was indicated Cucujus species are scavengers, only feeding on pupae and larvae of other insects and on other subcortical beetles such as their own. Since the Cucujidae prey on larvae of potentially tree damaging beetles that spread fungal diseases, they are considered to be beneficial to the health of living trees.
Derodontidae is a family of beetles, in its own superfamily, Derodontoidea, sometimes known as the tooth-necked fungus beetles. Beetles of this family are small, between 2 and 6 mm in length, typically with spiny margins on their pronotum that give them their name, though the genus Laricobius lacks these spines. Unusual among beetles, they have two ocelli on the top of their heads.
Cryptophagidae is a family of beetles with representatives found in all biogeographic realms. Members of this family are commonly called silken fungus beetles and both adults and larvae appear to feed exclusively on fungi although in a wide variety of habitats and situations, such as rotting wood and shed animal fur and feathers. These beetles vary from about 1 to 11 millimeters long, and usually have an oval body shape with a slight "waist".
Syntelia is a genus of beetles. It is the only genus in the family Synteliidae. There are seven known species, which are native to high-elevation regions in southern North America from central Mexico to Guatemala, and in eastern Asia, from India to Japan and eastern Russia. They are generally associated with rotting logs, typically found under bark, though the Mexican species S. westwoodi has been found inside large decaying columnar cacti. Adults and larvae are predatory, feeding on insect larvae. A fossil species, Syntelia sunwukong, is known from the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) aged Burmese amber of Myanmar. Adults are around 1–3.5 centimetres (0.39–1.38 in) in length. The characteristics of the family and genus include geniculate antennae with 3-segmented club, elongate body, narrowly separated coxae and tarsi with bisetose empodia. Only one abdominal segment is exposed behind elytra. The genus described by John O. Westwood in 1864, while the family was erected by George Lewis in 1882. They are members of Histeroidea, which also includes clown beetles (Histeridae).
Georissus, also called minute mud-loving beetles, is the only genus in the beetle family Georissidae. They are tiny insects living in wet soil, often near water. They are found on every continent except Antarctica.
The minute tree-fungus beetles, family Ciidae, are a sizeable group of beetles which inhabit Polyporales bracket fungi or coarse woody debris. Most numerous in warmer regions, they are nonetheless widespread and a considerable number of species occur as far polewards as Scandinavia for example.
Lepicerus is a genus of myxophagan beetles containing three described species in the family Lepiceridae; it is the only extant genus in the family, with another genus, Lepiceratus only known from fossils. Extant species occur in the Neotropics, from Mexico south to Venezuela and Ecuador. Fossils referrable to the genus are known from the early Late Cretaceous of Southeast Asia.
Silvanidae, "silvan flat bark beetles", is a family of beetles in the superfamily Cucujoidea, consisting of 68 described genera and about 500 described species. The family is represented on all continents except Antarctica, and is most diverse at both the generic and species levels in the Old World tropics.
Byturidae, also known as fruitworms, are small family of cleroid beetles with over 15 described species, primarily distributed in the Holarctic and Southeast Asia. The larvae of at least some genera feed on fruit, such as Byturus, a notable commercial pest of Rubus consuming both the fruit and seeds, while others like Xerasia are associated with catkins. The adults are known to feed on developing leaves, flowers and pollen.
Smicripidae is a family of beetles, in the superfamily Cucujoidea. The common name for this family is palmetto beetles. The family only has one extant genus, Smicrips, with six extant species native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas and extinct species from the Eocene of Europe and one extinct genus, Mesosmicrips, known from the mid Cretaceous aged Burmese amber. Smicrips larvae are usually found amongst decaying vegetation, while adults are typically found on inflorescences, especially those of Arecaceae (palms), although associations with flowers of Fabaceae (legumes), Passifloraceae, Bombacaceae and Cactaceae (cactus) have also been recorded. Their diet is unknown.
Atomariinae is a subfamily of silken fungus beetles in the family Cryptophagidae. There are about 8 genera and more than 170 described species in Atomariinae.
Cyclaxyridae are a family of beetles in the superfamily Cucujoidea. The only living genus is Cyclaxyra, with two species endemic to New Zealand. Other species have been named from fossils. They are also known as sooty mould beetles due to the association of Cyclaxyra with sooty mould. The extant species are mycophagous, feeding on spores, conidia, and hyphae.
Jurasaidae is a family of elateroid beetles known from around a half-dozen species in two genera found the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest including drier transitional areas bordering the Caatinga. All known species have neotenic larva-like females and normal males, similar to some other elateroids. They occur in the soil horizon immediately under leaf litter, with the larvae likely being fungivorous, consuming the fluids of fungal hyphae.
