Chelonariidae or turtle beetles is a
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
of
beetle
Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 40 ...
s in the superfamily
Byrrhoidea. It was described by Blanchard in 1845. There are 3 genera with around 300 described species. Little is known of their ecology, though it seems they are associated with the roots of orchids and the nests of ants and termites. Their exoskeletons are heavily sclerotised and their limbs can be effectively retracted into their bodies due to the presence of socket-like cavities.
[Beutel, Rolf G. and Leschen, Richard A. B.. "Chelonariidae Blanchard, 1845: Coleoptera, Beetles". ''Handbook of Zoology Online'', edited by Andreas Schmidt-Rhaesa. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 2016.] Adult specimens have seed-shaped bodies that are typically colored brown or black with lighter patches.
Genera
* ''
Brounia''
Sharp, 1878 (New Zealand)
* ''
Chelonarium''
Fabricius, 1801 (Americas, Asia, Australia, with fossil species known from European
Baltic amber
Baltic amber or succinite is amber from the Baltic region, home of its largest known deposits. It was produced sometime during the Eocene epoch, but exactly when is controversial. It has been estimated that this forested region provided the re ...
)
* ''
Pseudochelonarium''
Pic, 1916 (South & Southeast Asia, New Guinea)
* ''
Eochelonarium''
Kirejtshuk in Kirejtshuk and Azar 2013 Lebanese amber, Early Cretaceous (
Barremian
The Barremian is an age in the geologic timescale (or a chronostratigraphic stage) between 125.77 Ma (million years ago) and 121.4 ± 1.0 Ma (Historically, this stage was placed at 129.4 million to approximately 125 million years ago) It is a ...
)
[Kirejtshuk, A. G. and Azar, D.: Current knowledge of Coleoptera (Insecta) from the Lower Cretaceous Lebanese amber and taxonomical notes for some Mesozoic groups, Terrestrial Arthropod Reviews, 6, 103–134, , 2013.]
Gallery
File:Chelonarium haemorrhoum.jpg, '' Chelonarium haemorrhoum''
File:Chelonarium ornatum.jpg, '' Chelonarium ornatum''
References
Byrrhoidea
Polyphaga families
{{Byrrhidae-stub