The whirligig beetles are water beetles, comprising the family Gyrinidae that usually swim on the surface of the water if undisturbed, though they swim underwater when threatened. They get their common name from their habit of swimming rapidly in circles when alarmed, and are also notable for their divided eyes which are believed to enable them to see both above and below water. The family includes some 700 extant species worldwide, in 15 genera, plus a few fossil species. Most species are very similar in general appearance, though they vary in size from perhaps 3 mm to 18 mm in length. They tend to be flattened and rounded in cross section, in plain view as seen from above, and in longitudinal section. In fact their shape is a good first approximation to an ellipsoid, with legs and other appendages fitting closely into a streamlined surface. Whirligig beetles belong to the beetle suborder Adephaga, which also includes ground beetles and diving beetles.
A water beetle is a generalized name for any beetle that is adapted to living in water at any point in its life cycle. Most water beetles can only live in fresh water, with a few marine species that live in the intertidal zone or littoral zone. There are approximately 2000 species of true water beetles native to lands throughout the world.
The Adephaga are a suborder of beetles, and with more than 40,000 recorded species in 10 families, the second-largest of the four beetle suborders. Members of this suborder are collectively known as adephagans. The largest family is Carabidae which comprises most of the suborder with over 40,000 species. Adephaga also includes a variety of aquatic beetles, such as predaceous diving beetles and whirligig beetles.
Porrorhynchus is a genus of beetles in the family Gyrinidae, containing the following species:
Enhydrus is a genus of beetles in the family Gyrinidae, containing the following species:
Metagyrinus is a genus of beetles in the family Gyrinidae, containing the following species:
Mesodineutes amurensis is an extinct species of fossil beetle in the family Gyrinidae, the only species in the genus Mesodineutes.
Mesogyrus is an extinct genus of fossil beetles in the family Gyrinidae, containing the following species:
Spanglerogyrus albiventris is a species of beetle in the family Gyrinidae, the only species in the genus Spanglerogyrus. It is native to North America, and was described in 1979 from specimens found in southern Alabama. It is the only living member of the subfamily Spanglerogyrinae, the earliest diverging extant lineage of the gyrinids which also includes Angarogyrus from the Jurassic and Cretaceous of Asia.
Copelatus restrictus is a species of diving beetle. It is part of the genus Copelatus in the subfamily Copelatinae of the family Dytiscidae. It was described by Sharp in 1882.
Gyrininae is a subfamily of ground and water beetles in the family Gyrinidae. There are at least 740 described extant species in Gyrininae.
Dineutus carolinus is a species of whirligig beetle in the family Gyrinidae. It is found in the Caribbean Sea, Central America, and North America.
Dineutus ciliatus is a species of whirligig beetle in the family Gyrinidae. It is found in North America.
Gyrinus minutus is a species of whirligig beetle in the family Gyrinidae. It is found in North America and Europe.
Dineutus productus is a species of whirligig beetle in the family Gyrinidae. It is found in North America.
Dineutus emarginatus is a species of whirligig beetle in the family Gyrinidae. It is found in North America.
Gyrinus cavatus is a species of whirligig beetle in the family Gyrinidae. It is found in North America.
Chimerogyrus gigagalea is a fossil species of beetle in the family Gyrinidae, the only known species in the genus Chimerogyrus. It is known from a larval form found in Cenomanian aged Burmese amber of Myanmar. it was found to be a member of Gyrininae, sister to Dineutini + Orectochilini.
Gyrinus gibbus is a species of aquatic beetle in the family Gyrinidae. It is native to the Neotropics.
