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.
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.
Andogyrus is a subgenus of Macrogyrus, a genus of beetles in the family Gyrinidae. It was formerly considered a distinct genus, until a phylogenetic study in 2017 downgraded it in rank to a subgenus. It contains 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.
Gyrininae is a subfamily of ground and water beetles in the family Gyrinidae. There are at least 740 described extant species in Gyrininae.
Enochrus (Methydrus) esuriens, is a species of water scavenger beetle found in Indochina, Korea, China, Japan, Bhutan, Iran, Iraq, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Sunda Island, Saudi Arabia and Australia.
Regimbartia attenuata, commonly known as Japanese water scavenger beetle, is a species of water scavenger beetle widely distributed in the Old World, from northern Australia and Japan westward to the countries of Arabian Peninsula, including Oman and Yemen. It is the only species of the genus occurring in the Arabian Peninsula.
Sternolophus inconspicuus, is a species of water scavenger beetle. It ranges from India and Sri Lanka to Southeast Asia, north to Korea and Japan.
Gyrinus sericeolimbatus, is a species of whirligig beetle found in India, Sri Lanka, New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands.
Porrorhynchus indicans, is a species of whirligig beetle found in Sri Lanka.
Hydrovatus castaneus, is a species of predaceous diving beetle found in India, Myanmar, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and China.
Hydrovatus bonvouloiri, is a species of predaceous diving beetle found in India, Sri Lanka, Malayasia, Myanmar, China, Japan, Vietnam, Formosa, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, Taiwan, and Philippines.
Hydrovatus acuminatus, is a species of predaceous diving beetle found in Oriental and African regions.
Hydroglyphus flammulatus, is a species of predaceous diving beetle found in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Thailand, Cambodia, China, Taiwan, Korea, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Nepal.
Hydaticus vittatus, is a species of predaceous diving beetle found in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, China, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Cybister tripunctatus, is a species of predaceous diving beetle found in India, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Bhutan, China, Cyprus, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Russia, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Italy, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Europe.
Hydaticus ricinus, is a species of predaceous diving beetle found in India, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, China, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Hydrovatus picipennis, is a species of predaceous diving beetle found in India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Philippines, China and Thailand.
Hydrovatus subrotundatus, is a species of predaceous diving beetle found in India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, China, Indonesia, Laos, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Australian region.
Laccophilus uniformis, is a species of predaceous diving beetle found in India, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.
