Eulichadidae is a family of beetles belonging to
Elateriformia. There are two extant genera, ''
Eulichas'' with several dozen species native to the
Indomalayan realm
The Indomalayan realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms. It extends across most of South and Southeast Asia and into the southern parts of East Asia.
Also called the Oriental realm by biogeographers, Indomalaya spreads all over the Ind ...
of Asia, and ''
Stenocolus,'' with a single species native to Western North America. The larvae are aquatic, with the larvae of ''Eulichas'' being found in sandy sediments of clean forest streams, while the larvae of ''Stenocolus'' are found under rocks and in leaf packs in low elevation streams and rivers. They are herbivious/saprophagous with larval specimens of ''Eulichas'' having been found with wood particles in their stomachs, while the larvae of ''Stenocolus'' are known to feed on decaying roots and detritus. The adults are terrestrial, with specimens of ''Eulichas'' typically found using light, while specimens of ''Stenocolus'' are typically found in riparian vegetation, and are not attracted to light. Potential extinct genera have been described from
Mesozoic
The Mesozoic Era is the Era (geology), era of Earth's Geologic time scale, geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous Period (geology), Periods. It is characterized by the dominance of archosaurian r ...
rocks, but the placement of several of these taxa in the family is disputed.
Genera
These two extant genera belong to the family Eulichadidae:
* ''
Eulichas''
Jacobson, 1913 Asia
* ''
Stenocolus''
LeConte, 1853 North America
Potential extinct genera
* ''
Mesodascilla''
Martynov, 1926 Karabastau Formation, Kazakhstan, Late Jurassic (alternatively considered a member of
Lasiosynidae)
* ''
Cretasyne''
Yan, Wang & Zhang, 2013 Yixian Formation
The Yixian Formation (; formerly Romanization of Chinese, transcribed as Yihsien Formation or Yixiang Formation) is a geological formation in Jinzhou, Liaoning, People's Republic of China, that spans the Barremian stage of the Early Cretaceous. I ...
, China, Early Cretaceous (
Aptian
The Aptian is an age (geology), age in the geologic timescale or a stage (stratigraphy), stage in the stratigraphic column. It is a subdivision of the Early Cretaceous, Early or Lower Cretaceous epoch (geology), Epoch or series (stratigraphy), S ...
) (alternatively considered a member of Lasiosynidae)
* ''
Mesaplus''
Hong, 1983 Haifanggou Formation, China, Middle Jurassic
References
Further reading
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*
Byrrhoidea
Beetle families
{{Elateriformia-stub