The Cucujidae, or flat bark beetles, are a family of distinctively flat beetles found worldwide under the bark of dead trees. The family has received considerable taxonomic attention in recent years and now consists of 70 species distributed in five genera. It was indicated Cucujus species are scavengers, only feeding on pupae and larvae of other insects and on other subcortical beetles such as their own. Since the Cucujidae prey on larvae of potentially tree damaging beetles that spread fungal diseases, they are considered to be beneficial to the health of living trees.
The family Mycteridae is a small group of tenebrionoid beetles with no vernacular common name, though recent authors have coined the name palm and flower beetles. The family Mycteridae is distributed worldwide. There are about 30 genera and 160 species in three subfamilies Mycterinae, Hemipeplinae and Lacconotinae (=Eurypinae). These 3 subfamilies are extremely diverse in appearance and are sometimes difficult to have a present diagnosis of the adults at the family level. About 20 species are found in Australia, species of three genera are found in North America The larvae are generally flattened and typically inhabit the spaces between leaves or the bases of fronds, where they appear to consume fungi.
Prostomidae is a family of beetles with no vernacular common name, though recent authors have coined the name jugular-horned beetles. They are often found in dead wood. The family consist of two extant genera with about 20 species. Prostomis americanus is known from North America. Other species of Prostomis are found in Europe, Africa, the Pacific region and East Asia. Species of Dryocora are known from New Zealand, Australia and Tasmania.
Jacobsoniidae are a family of tiny beetles belonging to Staphylinoidea. The larvae and adults live under bark, in plant litter, fungi, bat guano and rotten wood. There are around 28 described species in three genera:
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.
Cavognathidae is a family of beetles, in the superfamily Cucujoidea. It contains a single genus, Taphropiestes with around a dozen species known from South America, Australia and New Zealand. In Australian and New Zealand species adults and larvae have been found living in bird nests, but their ecology is unclear, but they are possibly scavengers.
Lamingtonium is the only genus in the family Lamingtoniidae, of the beetle superfamily Cucujoidea. It contains three species endemic to Australia. The holotype of the type species was collected on at Lamington National Park, Binna Burra, Queensland under the bark of a dead tree. The adults and larvae of two species have been found associated with basidiocarps of fungi belonging to the family Polyporaceae.
The Chalcodryidae are a family of beetles in the superfamily Tenebrionoidea. It contains at least five species in two genera Chalcodrya and Philpottia, which are endemic to New Zealand. They are generally found associated with moss or lichen covered branches, with the larvae having been found to be associated with dead twigs. They are likely noctural, feeding on lichen and other plant material at night. The genera Sirrhas and Onysius, formerly placed in this family, have subsequently been transferred to Promecheilidae.
The Mycetophagidae or hairy fungus beetles are a family of beetles in the superfamily Tenebrionoidea. The different species are between 1.0 and 6.5 mm in length. The larvae and adults live in decaying leaf litter, fungi, and under bark. Most species feed on fungi. Worldwide, the 18 genera contain around 200 species.
Stenotrachelidae, commonly called false longhorn beetles is a family of beetles in the superfamily Tenebrionoidea. They are native to the Holarctic region. The larvae feed on heavily decomposed wood, while the adults are likely short lived and probably feed on pollen.
The Trictenotomidae are a small family of beetles in the superfamily Tenebrionoidea, containing fifteen species in two genera. Most species are found in the Oriental realm where they live in montane forest habitats. The family is considered, based on larval characters as well as sequence-based studies, to be closely related to the Salpingidae.
Melandryidae is a family of beetles in the superfamily Tenebrionoidea. Members of the family are found worldwide, with around 420 species in 60 genera. Larvae and adults are generally associated with rotting wood and wood-decomposing fungi.
Trachelostenus is a genus of darkling beetles in the family Tenebrionidae. It is native to the Valdivian forests of Chile, and has at least two species, T. inaequalis (Solier) and T. fascicularis (Philipp). It was historically considered the only member of the family Trachelostenidae, but a 2015 study sunk the genus into the tenebrionid subfamily Tenebrioninae.
Byrrhidae, the pill beetles, is a family of beetles in the superfamily Byrrhoidea. They are generally found in damp habitats within cooler-high latitude regions of both hemispheres. Most byrrhids feed on moss, lichens and algae, though some species feed on vascular plants. The oldest undoubted record of the family is Lidryops from the earliest Late Cretaceous Charentese amber of France, with other less certain records going back to the Middle Jurassic, but these possibly belong to Byrrhoidea. There around 500 extant species in 40 genera.
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.
Cyclaxyridae are a family of beetles in the superfamily Cucujoidea. The only living genus is Cyclaxyra, with two species endemic to New Zealand. Other species have been named from fossils. They are also known as sooty mould beetles due to the association of Cyclaxyra with sooty mould. The extant species are mycophagous, feeding on spores, conidia, and hyphae.
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.
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.
