Hydrophilidae, also known colloquially as water scavenger beetles, is a family of beetles. Aquatic hydrophilids are notable for their long maxillary palps, which are longer than their antennae. Several of the former subfamilies of Hydrophilidae have recently been removed and elevated to family rank; Epimetopidae, Georissidae, Helophoridae, Hydrochidae, and Spercheidae. While the majority of hydrophilids are aquatic, around a third of described species are terrestrial, mostly belonging to the subfamily Sphaeridiinae.
Hydrophiloidea, known as water scavenger beetles, is a superfamily of beetles. Until recently it included only a single family, the Hydrophilidae, but several of the subfamilies have been removed and raised to family rank. Hydrophiliidae remains by far the largest member of the group, with nearly 3,000 described species. The other families have no more than 400 species. The Histeroidea are closely related and sometimes considered part of a sensu lato Hydrophiloidea. The majority of the clade is aquatic, which is thought to be the ancestral ecology of the group, with some lineages like Sphaeridiinae becoming secondarily terrestrial. Modern representatives of the group first appeared during the Late Jurassic.
Histeroidea is a superfamily of beetles in the infraorder Staphyliniformia.
Helophorus ís the only genus in the beetle family Helophoridae within the Hydrophiloidea. They are small insects, found mainly in the Holarctic region, but two or three species also live in the Afrotropical region, Central America and one in the Indomalayan region.
Hydrochus is the only living genus of beetle in the family Hydrochidae, which belongs to the superfamily Hydrophiloidea. Hydrochus includes about 180 species, which are found worldwide. Hydrochus has also been used for a fly genus in the family Dolichopodidae. This junior homonym is a junior subjective synonym of the genus Rhaphium.
Hydrophilus is a genus of beetles in the family Hydrophilidae, the water scavenger beetles. There are 53 species in three subgenera in the genus: Hydrophilus, Dibolocelus, and Temnopterus.
Hydrophilinae is a subfamily of Hydrophilidae that contains five tribes in 33 genera after the classification was revised by Short and Fikáček in 2013.
Berosus is a genus of beetles in the family Hydrophilidae, the water scavenger beetles. The genus contains 273 species. It is distributed worldwide.
Tropisternus is a genus of hydrophilid beetles with 63 species in five subgenera in North and South America.
Hydrochara is a genus of hydrophilid beetles with 23 species in North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Acidocerinae is a subfamily in the family Hydrophilidae of aquatic beetles, and it contains over 500 species in 23 genera.
Chaetarthriinae is a subfamily in the family Hydrophilidae of aquatic beetles, and it contains 92 species in 8 genera.
Cymbiodyta bifidus is a species of hydrophilid beetle. The species was formerly the sole member of the genus Helocombus.
Hydrobiomorpha is a genus of water scavenger beetles in the family Hydrophilidae. There are 56 extant described species in Hydrobiomorpha, along with several fossil species.
Horelophus walkeri is a small water scavenger beetle that is endemic to New Zealand. It is found in the South Island in the West Coast, Nelson, Buller and Marlborough regions. The preferred habitat of this species are the moss and crevices within the splash zone of waterfalls sourced from fast flowing, clear, cool waterways. The larvae of this species are carnivorous while the adults are herbivores or scavengers. In 2012 the Department of Conservation classified this beetle as Nationally Endangered.
Epimetopidae is a family of semi-aquatic beetles belonging to the Hydrophiloidea. They are found in sand and gravel at the edges of streams, rivers and shallow freshwater ponds. These beetles are shorter than half a centimeter long and have a pronotum with a central projection forming a shelf above the head. On the underside of the abdomen only four sternites are visible. There are approximately 72 described species in three genera, Epimetopus which is restricted to the New World, mostly Neotropical, Eupotemus with two Afrotropical species and Eumetopus with some Oriental species. Females carry their eggcases on the underside of the abdomen. The larvae are probably carnivorous based on their mouthparts and likely live in the same habitats as the adults.
Coelostoma is a genus of beetles belonging to the family Hydrophilidae. The genus was first described by Brullé in 1835. The genus has cosmopolitan distribution, with 111 described species, representing one of the most diverse genera of Hydrophilidae.
Colossochares is an Afrotropical genus of water scavenger beetle in the family Hydrophilidae represented by two described species.
Peltochares is a genus of water scavenger beetles in the family Hydrophilidae represented by eight described species. It is distributed across the Afrotropical, Australasian, Indo-Malayan, and Palaearctic realms.
Amphiopini is a tribe in the subfamily Hydrophilinae of aquatic beetles, which was first described in 1890 by August Ferdinand Kuwert, and which has been synonymised with Chaetarthriini.
