Dascillidae is a family of beetles within the clade
Elateriformia. There are about 100 extant species in 11 genera, which are found worldwide. Dascillidae together with
Rhipiceridae
Rhipiceridae is a family of beetles found worldwide. The larva of rhipicerids are parasitoids of cicada nymphs. Rhipiceridae and Dascillidae form the super family Dascilloidea, within the Elateriformia.
Taxonomic History
The taxonomic histor ...
form the super family
Dascilloidea
Dascilloidea is a superfamily of polyphagan beetles, comprising two families: Dascillidae (soft bodied plant beetles) and Rhipiceridae
Rhipiceridae is a family of beetles found worldwide. The larva of rhipicerids are parasitoids of cicada nym ...
.
Taxonomy
The family was named by
Guérin Méneville in 1843.
The family is divided up into two poorly defined subfamilies Karumiinae, and Dascillinae.
Description
Adult Dascillidae are 4.5–25 mm long with an elongate body that is somewhat convex in cross-section. They are covered in dense grey/brown hairs.
Karumiines have highly modified soft-bodies, similar to some members of
Elateroidea
The Elateroidea are a large superfamily of beetles. It contains the familiar click beetles, fireflies, and soldier beetles and their relatives. It consists of about 25,000 species.
Description
Elateroidea is a morphologically diverse group, ...
.
Ecology
The adults can be found on grass during the springtime. The larvae occur in moist soil or under rocks.
The larvae are thought to feed on roots or decaying plant matter. Some karumiines like ''
Karumia'' are associated with termites.
Genera
* ''
Anorus''
* ''
Dascillus''
* ''
Karumia''
* ''
Notodascillus''
* ''
Coptocera'' Murray
* ''
Metallidascillus'' Pic
* ''
Petalon'' Schoenherr
* ''
Sinocaulus'' Fairmaire
* ''
Drilocephalus'' Pic
* ''
Pleolobus'' Philippi & Philippi
* ''
Genecerus'' Walker
* ''
Emmita'' Escaler
* †''
Baltodascillus''
Baltic Amber
The Baltic region is home to the largest known deposit of amber, called Baltic amber or succinite. It was produced sometime during the Eocene epoch, but exactly when is controversial. It has been estimated that these forests created more than ...
,
Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', ...
* †''
Cretodascillus''
Yixian Formation
The Yixian Formation (; formerly transcribed as Yihsien Formation) is a geological formation in Jinzhou, Liaoning, People's Republic of China, that spans the late Barremian and early Aptian stages of the Early Cretaceous. It is known for its exq ...
, China, Early
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...
(
Aptian
The Aptian is an age in the geologic timescale or a stage in the stratigraphic column. It is a subdivision of the Early or Lower Cretaceous Epoch or Series and encompasses the time from 121.4 ± 1.0 Ma to 113.0 ± 1.0 Ma (million years ag ...
)
* †''
Lyprodascillus''
Shanwang The Shanwang National Geology Park () is located in central Shandong province, People's Republic of China, about from Linqu County. It has an area of about . The Park is well known for its fossil bearing diatomitic deposits, one of only a few such ...
, China,
Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...
(familial attribution uncertain
)
* †''
Parelateriformius''
Daohugou Beds
The Haifanggou Formation (), also known as the Jiulongshan Formation (), is a fossil-bearing rock deposit located near Daohugou () village of Ningcheng County, in Inner Mongolia, northeastern China.
The formation consists of coarse conglomerat ...
, China, Middle–Late
Jurassic
The Jurassic ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of ...
References
Polyphaga
Beetle families
{{polyphaga-stub