Trachypachidae

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Trachypachidae
Temporal range: Changhsingian–Present
Trachypachus gibbsii LeConte - ZooKeys-245-001-g004.jpeg
Trachypachus gibbsii
Systolosoma breve.jpg
Specimen of Systolosoma breve
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Suborder: Adephaga
(unranked): Geadephaga
Superfamily: Caraboidea
Family: Trachypachidae
C. G. Thomson, 1857
Extan genera

Fossil genera, see text

The Trachypachidae (sometimes known as false ground beetles) are a family of beetles that generally resemble small ground beetles, but that are distinguished by the large coxae of their rearmost legs. There are only six known extant species in the family, with four species of Trachypachus found in northern Eurasia and northern North America, and two species of Systolosoma in Chile and Argentina. They were much more diverse in the past, with dozens of described species from the Mesozoic. [1]

Their habits are similar to those of the ground beetles; they are usually found in the leaf litter of conifer forests, and are thought to be mostly predators and scavengers, active during the day (diurnal). [2]

According to entomologist George Ball, "the most interesting thing about this small family is its uncertain phylogenetic relationships"; it has previously been classified as a subfamily of Carabidae, and as a family been placed in several different positions relative to other beetle families. [2] Recent molecular phylogenies have recovered as the sister group to the clade Carabidae+Cicindelidae as part of the Adephaga subgroup Geadephaga. [3] [4] The earliest fossils known of this family are of the genera Petrodromeus, Permunda and Apermunda from the Permian-Triassic boundary of Russia around 252 million years ago. [5] [6] Fossil genera of the family are classified in the subfamily Eodromeinae, while the two modern genera are placed in the subfamily Trachypachinae. The two subfamilies are distinguished by the shape and position of the sclerites that are jointed to the mesocoxae (the section where the middle pair of legs joins the body). [6]

Species

Related Research Articles

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The Cupedidae are a small family of beetles, notable for the square pattern of "windows" on their elytra, which give the family their common name of reticulated beetles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hybosoridae</span> Family of beetles

Hybosoridae, sometimes known as the scavenger scarab beetles, is a family of scarabaeiform beetles. The 690 species in 97 genera occur widely in the tropics, but little is known of their biology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ptychopteridae</span> Family of flies

The Ptychopteridae, phantom crane flies, are a small family of nematocerous Diptera. Superficially similar in appearance to other "tipuloid" families, they lack the ocelli of the Trichoceridae, the five-branched radial vein of the Tanyderidae, and the two anal veins that reach the wing margins of the Tipulidae. They are usually allied with the Tanyderidae based on similarities of the mesonotal suture, this group being called the Ptychopteromorpha.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Osmylidae</span> Family of insects

Osmylidae are a small family of winged insects of the net-winged insect order Neuroptera. The osmylids, also called lance lacewings, stream lacewings or giant lacewings, are found all over the world except North and Central America. There are around 225 extant species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hydrophiloidea</span> Superfamily of beetles

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coptoclavidae</span> Extinct family of beetles

Coptoclavidae is an extinct family of aquatic beetles in the suborder Adephaga. The Coptoclavidae lived from the Late Triassic to the Early Cretaceous. Coptoclavidae is a member of the adephagan clade Dytiscoidea, which contains other aquatic beetles. Suggested reasons for their extinction to include the rise of teleost fish, or competition with Gyrinidae and Dytiscidae, which possess defensive secretions and sucking channels in the mandibles of larvae, which coptoclavids likely lacked. It has been suggested that the genus Timarchopsis and the subfamily Timarchopsinae are only distantly related to other coptoclavids based on cladistic analysis, with Timarchopsis being more closely related to geadephagans like carabids and trachypachids instead. Another study also suggested similarly for Coptoclavisca and possibly other coptoclaviscines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ommatidae</span> Family of beetles

The Ommatidae are a family of beetles in the suborder Archostemata. The Ommatidae are considered the extant beetle family that has most ancestral characteristics. There are only seven extant species, confined to Australia and South America. However, the geographical distribution was much wider during the Mesozoic spanning across Eurasia and Australia, suggesting that they were widespread on Pangea. So far, over 26 extinct genera containing over 170 species of these beetles have been described. Three extant genera have been assigned to this family: Omma,Tetraphalerus and Beutelius. The family is considered to be a subfamily of Cupedidae by some authors, but have been found to be more closely related to Micromalthidae in molecular phylogenies. A close relationship with Micromalthidae is supported by several morphological characters, including those of the mandibles and male genitalia. Due to their rarity, their ecology is obscure, it is likely that their larvae feed on deadwood.

Brochocoleus is an extinct genus of beetles in the family Ommatidae, known from the Early Jurassic to the Early Late Cretaceous. 9 species are currently recognised, with many species being reassigned to other genera by Kirejtshuk's major systematic revision in 2020.

<i>Omma</i> Genus of beetles

Omma is a genus of beetles in the family Ommatidae. Omma is an example of a living fossil. The oldest species known, O. liassicum, lived during the final stage of the Triassic (Rhaetian), over 200 million years ago, though the placement of this species in Omma has been questioned. Numerous other fossil species are known from the Jurassic and Cretaceous of Europe and Asia. The only living species is Omma stanleyi, which is endemic to Australia. Three other extant species endemic to Australia that were formerly part of this genus were moved to the separate genus Beutelius in 2020.Omma stanleyi is strongly associated with wood, being found under Eucalyptus bark and exhibiting thanatosis when disturbed. Its larval stage and many other life details are unknown due to its rarity. Males are typically 14–20 mm in length, while females are 14.4-27.5 mm. Omma stanleyi occurs throughout eastern Australia from Victoria to Central Queensland.

<i>Tetraphalerus</i> Genus of beetles

Tetraphalerus is a genus of beetles in the family Ommatidae, It is currently known from two extant species native to South America and several fossil species from the Jurassic and Cretaceous of Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mesoraphidiidae</span> Extinct family of insects

Mesoraphidiidae is an extinct family of snakeflies in the suborder Raphidiomorpha. The family lived from the Late Jurassic through the Late Cretaceous and is known from twenty-five genera. Mesoraphidiids have been found as both compression fossils and as inclusions in amber. The family was first proposed in 1925 by the Russian paleoentomologist Andrey Vasilyevich Martynov based on Upper Jurassic fossils recovered in Kazakhstan. The family was expanded in 2002 by the synonymizing of several other proposed snakefly families. The family was divided into three subfamilies and one tribe in a 2011 paper, further clarifying the relationships of the included genera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Permocupedidae</span> Extinct family of beetles

Permocupedidae is a family of Protocoleopteran stem group beetles. They first appeared during the Early Permian, and were one of the dominant groups of beetles during the Middle Permian. They became rare in the Late Permian, with only one species known from the Triassic, Frankencupes ultimus from the Middle Triassic (Anisian) Röt Formation of Germany. They are thought to have been xylophagous, which is presumed to be the ancestral ecology of beetles.

The Progonocimicidae are an extinct family of true bugs in the suborder Coleorrhyncha. Progonocimicidae fossils have been found in Europe, Asia, Australia, and South America.

Liadytiscinae is a subfamily of extinct predaceous diving beetles in the family Dytiscidae. There are about 5 genera and 10 described species in Liadytiscinae. All currently known members of the subfamily are known from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota of China.

Ademosynidae is an extinct family of beetles, known from the Late Triassic to Early Cretaceous. There are at least six genera and 11 species in Ademosynidae. Members of the family were small oval beetles, with a length generally smaller than 1 cm. Characteristics of the family include a pronotum without anterior angles and a rounded anterior margin, and elytra with 9–12 punctate striae. The systematic position of the family within the order Coleoptera is currently uncertain: they can be considered early examples of the suborder Polyphaga, or unusual examples of Archostemata.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Permopsocida</span> Extinct genus of insects

Permopsocida is an extinct order of insects known from the Early Permian to the Mid-Cretaceous. It is part of Paraneoptera, alongside bark lice, bugs and thrips. Within Paraneoptera it is considered to be closer to the clade containing bugs and thrips rather than bark lice, with an estimated divergence during the Late Carboniferous. The group was first named as a suborder by Robert John Tillyard in 1926, and was raised to a full order by Huang et al. in 2016. It is currently divided up into three families, Psocidiidae which is known from the Permian to Liassic. Permopsocidae which is only known from the Permian, and Archipsyllidae, which is known from the Late Triassic to mid-Cretaceous (Cenomanian). While most members of the group are known from compression fossils, several members of Archipsyllidae are 3 dimensionally preserved in Burmese amber, which has helped clarify the morphology and phylogenetic position of the group. The morphology of the mouthparts suggests that they were capable of suction feeding and chewing, with preserved angiosperm pollen grains in the gut of Psocorrhyncha suggesting that at least some members of the group were pollenivorous.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mesopsychidae</span> Extinct family of insects

Mesopsychidae is an extinct family of scorpionflies known from the Late Permian to Mid Cretaceous. It is part of Mesopsychoidea, a group of scorpionflies with siphonate proboscis. They are suggested to have been nectarivores, feeding off the liquid pollination drops and acting as pollinators for now extinct insect pollinated gymnosperms such as Bennettitales.

Lophioneurida is an extinct order of Thysanoptera, dating from the Carboniferous to the Cretaceous. It is likely paraphyletic, with modern thrips having evolved from members of the group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taldycupedidae</span> Extinct family of beetles

Taldycupedidae is an extinct family of beetles primarily known from the Permian period.

Geinitziidae is an extinct family of polyneopteran insects, known from the Permian to Cretaceous. They are currently considered to be members "Grylloblattida" a poorly defined group of extinct insects thought to be related to modern ice crawlers (Grylloblattidae). Other authors place them in the extinct order Reculida. Unlike modern ice crawlers, which are wingless, they had large wings, bearing a superficial resemblance to cockroaches, and are thought to have been day-active above ground predators.

References

  1. Wang, Bo; Zhang, Haichun; Ponomarenko, Alexandr G. (2012). "Mesozoic Trachypachidae (Insecta: Coleoptera) from China". Palaeontology. 55 (2): 341–353. Bibcode:2012Palgy..55..341W. doi: 10.1111/j.1475-4983.2012.01128.x . ISSN   0031-0239.
  2. 1 2 George E. Ball, "Trachypachidae", in Ross H. Arnett, Jr. and Michael C. Thomas, American Beetles (CRC Press, 2001), vol. 1
  3. Vasilikopoulos, Alexandros; Balke, Michael; Kukowka, Sandra; Pflug, James M.; Martin, Sebastian; Meusemann, Karen; Hendrich, Lars; Mayer, Christoph; Maddison, David R.; Niehuis, Oliver; Beutel, Rolf G.; Misof, Bernhard (October 2021). "Phylogenomic analyses clarify the pattern of evolution of Adephaga (Coleoptera) and highlight phylogenetic artefacts due to model misspecification and excessive data trimming". Systematic Entomology. 46 (4): 991–1018. Bibcode:2021SysEn..46..991V. doi: 10.1111/syen.12508 . ISSN   0307-6970. S2CID   237486696.
  4. Baca, Stephen M.; Gustafson, Grey T.; Alexander, Alana M.; Gough, Harlan M.; Toussaint, Emmanuel F. A. (October 2021). "Integrative phylogenomics reveals a Permian origin of Adephaga beetles". Systematic Entomology. 46 (4): 968–990. Bibcode:2021SysEn..46..968B. doi:10.1111/syen.12506. ISSN   0307-6970. S2CID   237486703.
  5. Ponomarenko, A. G.; Volkov, A. N. (2013). "Ademosynoides asiaticus Martynov, 1936, the earliest known member of an extant beetle family (Insecta, Coleoptera, Trachypachidae)". Paleontological Journal. 47 (6): 601–606. Bibcode:2013PalJ...47..601P. doi:10.1134/S0031030113060063. ISSN   0031-0301. S2CID   84935456.
  6. 1 2 3 Kirejtshuk, Alexander G.; Ansorge, Jörg (2022-05-17). "An extraordinarily preserved new genus and species of Trachypachidae (Coleoptera, Adephaga) from the Early Jurassic of Germany and a review of fossil trachypachid genera". Historical Biology. 35 (6): 958–975. doi:10.1080/08912963.2022.2071709. ISSN   0891-2963. S2CID   248869983.