Hydrophiloidea, known as water scavenger beetles, is a

superfamily SUPERFAMILY is a database and search platform of structural and functional annotation for all proteins and genomes. It classifies amino acid sequences into known structural domains, especially into SCOP superfamilies. Domains are functional, str ...

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. Until recently it included only a single family, the

Hydrophilidae Hydrophilidae, also known colloquially as water scavenger beetles, is a family of beetles. Aquatic hydrophilids are notable for their long maxillary palps, which are longer than their antennae. Several of the former subfamilies of Hydrophilidae ...

(water scavenger beetles), 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 Histeroidea is a Taxonomic rank, superfamily of beetles in the infraorder Staphyliniformia. Characteristics Characteristic to Histeroidea are an accessory posterior ridge (locking device) behind the hind margin and presence of Comstock-Needham s ...

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 Sphaeridiinae is a subfamily of water scavenger beetles (insects in the family Hydrophilidae). Some species live in fresh water as both larvae and adults. Habitat Sphaeridiinae is a subfamily of Hydrophilidae that is considered mostly terrestr ...

becoming secondarily terrestrial. Modern representatives of the group first appeared during the Late Jurassic. Families include: *

Epimetopidae Epimetopidae is a family of semi-aquatic beetles belonging to the Hydrophiloidea. They are found in sand and gravel at the edges of streams, rivers and shallow freshwater ponds. These beetles are shorter than half a centimeter long and have a pro ...

Georissidae ''Georissus'', also called minute mud-loving beetles, is the only genus in the beetle family Georissidae (or Georyssidae). They are tiny insects living in wet soil, often near water. They are found on every continent except Antarctica. Character ...

* Helophoridae *

Hydrochidae ''Hydrochus'' is the only living genus of beetle in the family Hydrochidae, which belongs to the superfamily Hydrophiloidea, and was formerly treated as a subfamily of Hydrophilidae. ''Hydrochus'' includes about 180 species, which are found worldw ...

Spercheidae ''Spercheus'' is a genus of aquatic beetles which are placed in a family of their own, Spercheidae within the Hydrophiloidea. About 20 species are known from around the world except the Nearctic with the majority being from the Oriental and Afro ...

Extinct genera

* †'' Laetopsia'' Fikácek et al. 2012

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,

Shinekhudag Formation The Shinekhudag Formation (also known as Shinekhudug Formation, Shinekhudag or Shinekhudukskaya Svita) is a geological formation in Dundgov, Mongolia whose strata date back to the Early Cretaceous. Dinosaur remains have been recovered from it.We ...

, Dzun-Bain Formation Mongolia,

Zaza Formation The Zaza Formation is a geological formation located in Buryatia (Russia). It dates to the Lower Cretaceous. The age of the formation is disputed, and is considered likely to be Valanginian-Hauterivian, or Aptian in age. It comprises sandstones, ...

, Russia, 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 ...

) * †'' Cretotaenia'' Ponomarenko 1977 Zaza Formation, Russia, Early Cretaceous (Aptian) * †'' Hydrophilopsia'' Ponomarenko 1987 Glushkovo Formation, Russia, Late Jurassic (Tithonian), Turga Formation, Russia, Early Cretaceous (Aptian)

References

Beetle superfamilies {{Hydrophiloidea-stub