Cleroidea is a small superfamily of beetles containing over 10,000 species. Most of the members of the group are somewhat slender, often with fairly soft, flexible elytra, and typically hairy or scaly.
Chaetosomatidae is a small family of beetles, in the superfamily Cleroidea. There are three extant genera, two of which are endemic to New Zealand with the other (Malgassochaetus) native to Madagascar. Members of this family are predaceous on wood-boring insects.
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.
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.
Acanthocnemus nigricans is a species of cleroid beetle, the only species in the genus Acanthocnemus and the family Acanthocnemidae. Originally native to Australia, the species has spread in modern times to numerous parts of the world, including Europe, Africa, India and Southeast Asia. The insects are pyrophilous, congregating around areas of recently burned wood, being attracted to chemicals found in wood smoke. They have specialised infrared receptors located on the thorax close to the head, used to detect heat. Their life cycle is poorly understood, though mating and egg-laying likely occurs within ash. The larvae are possibly saprophagous.
Carphurus is a genus of soft-wing flower beetles in the subfamily Malachiinae and tribe Carphurini. Species are found mainly in Australia, and in Papua-New Guinea.
Egoliinae is a subfamily of beetles in the family Trogossitidae. Members are native to South America and Australia. They are thought to be predatory.
Phloiophilus edwardsii is the sole known species of the beetle family Phloiophilidae in the superfamily Cleroidea. It is native to Europe. The larvae are mycophagous, and have been observed feeding on basidiomycetes of the genus Phlebia growing on dead oak branches. The larvae are active during the winter period, before entering the soil to pupate in late spring-early summer.
Agapytho is the only genus of beetles in the family Agapythidae. The genus contains a single species, Agapytho foveicollis, which is endemic to New Zealand. Larvae and adults are found on sooty mold growing on Nothofagus trees. Gut contents indicate that at least adult Agapytho consume the sooty mould as part of their diet.
Mauroniscidae is a family of cleroid beetles, formerly included in the family Melyridae. There are presently five or six genera and roughly 30 described species in Mauroniscidae, all of which are native to the Americas. Almost nothing is known about their biology.
Priasilphidae is a family of beetles in the superfamily Cucujoidea. They have a Gondwanan distribution, with the three known genera Chileosilpha, Priasilpha and Priastichus being native to Chile, New Zealand and Tasmania respectively. Most species are flightless, lacking wings. Priasilphids inhabit decaying wood and moss in forest habitats. They are likely mycophagous, feeding on fungi.
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.
Peltis is a genus of beetles found in North America and Europe, and the sole extant member of the family Peltidae, formerly included in the Trogossitidae. Members of this genus are dark, averaging from brown, to dark brown, to black. They are small, wide, and flat-bodied with wide, ridged elytra. Fossil species of this genus are known from the Eocene aged Florissant Formation of the United States, as well as the Baltic amber of Europe.
Lophocateridae is a family of beetles in the superfamily Cleroidea, formerly included in the Trogossitidae. Members of the group have a variety of ecologies, including as predators of other insects, as fungivores, or are phytophagous.
Calitys is a genus of beetles belonging to the family Trogossitidae. It is the only member of the subfamily Calityinae. The genus was first described by Thomson in 1859. The genus contains two unambiguous species Calitys scabra, which is native to Europe and North America, and Calitys minor, which is native to North America. Some species have been reported from South Africa, but these are disputed. The two unambiguous species live on and under the bark of coniferous trees, where they feed on fungi.
Lobonyx is a genus of soft-winged flower beetles in the family Prionoceridae. There are at least 11 described species in Lobonyx.
Protopeltis is a genus of beetles. It contains two species native to New Zealand. It was formerly considered a member of Trogossitidae, but is currently placed as the only member of the family Protopeltidae within the Cleroidea. The larvae have been collected from the fungus infested bark of dead Nothofagus trees. Adult gut contents indicate that they are mycophagous, feeding on probably Hymenochaete fungi. This is also presumably true for the larvae.
Rentoniidae is a family of beetles belonging to Cleroidea. The species were originally included in the family Trogossitidae. They are around 1–2 mm in length, with spherical bodies. Members of the family are native to the Southern Hemisphere, being found in Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia and South America. They have been found on flowers, under the bark of dead trees, and in leaf litter, and members are known to be pollenivorous or fungivorous.
Thymalidae is a family of beetles in Cleroidea. They were formerly included in Trogossitidae. Members of the subfamily Decamerinae are found in Central and South America, and are associated with flowers, while Thymalus, the only member of the subfamily Thymalinae is found across the Holarctic realm, as well as parts of the Oriental realm, like southern China and Thailand, where they are found associated with the bark of trees. It is assumed that Thymalus larvae feed on fungus in decomposing wood.
Nodopus is a genus of soft-winged flower beetles in the family Melyridae. There are at least three described species in Nodopus.
