| Helochares | |
|---|---|
| | |
| Helochares lividus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Suborder: | Polyphaga |
| Infraorder: | Staphyliniformia |
| Family: | Hydrophilidae |
| Subfamily: | Hydrophilinae |
| Tribe: | Hydrophilini |
| Genus: | Helochares Mulsant, 1844 |
| Diversity | |
| 158 species + 3 subspecies | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Helochares is a genus of water scavenger beetles in the family Hydrophilidae, represented by 161 described species. It is distributed across the Afrotropical, Australasian, Indo-Malayan, Nearctic, and Palearctic realms. [1]
As currently defined, Helochares contains small to medium-sized beetles (2–7 mm), which are yellowish to brown in coloration. There is a lot of variation in the impression of the elytral punctation, and the aedeagal forms are also highly variable (see Figure 37 in Girón and Short 2021). [1] A detailed diagnosis can be found in Girón and Short 2021. [1] Females carry their eggs in a cocoon anchored to the hind femora and held under the abdomen as in several other Hydrophilidae. [2]
Helochares is one of the largest and most taxonomically problematic genera within the Acidocerinae. It was originally described by Étienne Mulsant in 1844. [3]
For a long time Helochares contained five subgenera: Batochares (currently recognized as a separate genus [4] ), Helochares, Helocharimorphus (now synonymized under Helochares [1] ), Hydrobaticus (now synonymized under Helochares [1] ), and Sindolus (currently recognized as a separate genus [4] ).
Several taxa that used to be recognized as typical Helochares are now assigned to newly created genera (e.g., Colossochares , Novochares ) or re-assigned to exinsting genera (i.e., Peltochares ), based on a phylogenetic analysis based on molecular data. [4]