Noteridae 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
adephaga
The Adephaga (from Greek ἀδηφάγος, ''adephagos'', "gluttonous") are a suborder of beetles, and with more than 40,000 recorded species in 10 families, the second-largest of the four beetle suborders. Members of this suborder are collecti ...
n
water beetles closely related to the
Dytiscidae
The Dytiscidae, from the Ancient Greek word δυτικός (''dystikos''), meaning "able to dive", are the predaceous diving beetles, a family of water beetles. They occur in virtually any freshwater habitat around the world, but a few species l ...
, and formerly classified with them. They are mainly distinguished by the presence of a distinctive "noterid platform" underneath, in the form of a plate between the second and third pair of legs. The family is found worldwide, more commonly in the tropics. They are sometimes referred to as burrowing water beetles.
These beetles are relatively small, ranging from 1 to 6 mm, with smooth oval bodies ranging from light brown to a darker reddish brown. The head is short and somewhat covered by the
prothorax
The prothorax is the foremost of the three segments in the thorax of an insect, and bears the first pair of legs. Its principal sclerites (exoskeletal plates) are the pronotum (dorsal), the prosternum ( ventral), and the propleuron (lateral) on ...
.
Both adults and larvae are aquatic, and are commonly found around plants. They have a habit of burrowing through pond and marsh substrate, thus the common name, and are primarily carnivorous, with some scavenging observed.
Genera
There are two subfamilies with in total three tribes and 24 genera:
[
Subfamily Noterinae C. G. Thomson, 1860
Tribe Noterini C. G. Thomson, 1860
Subfamily Notomicrinae Zimmermann, 1919
Tribe Notomicrini Sharp, 1882
* '' Notomicrus'' Sharp, 1882
* '' Speonoterus'' Spangler, 1996
Tribe Phreatodytini Uéno, 1957
* '' Phreatodytes'' Uéno, 1957
]
References
* Nilsson, Anders N. (2006).
A World Catalogue of the Family Noteridae, or the Burrowing Water Beetles (Coleoptera, Adephaga).
University of Umea, Sweden. Retrieved on 10 May 2012.
* R. E. Roughley, "Noteridae", in Ross H. Arnett Jr. and Michael C. Thomas, ''American Beetles
''American Beetles'' is a comprehensive description of the beetles of North America north of the tropical area of Mexico. It was started by Ross H. Arnett, Jr. as an update of his classic ''The Beetles of the United States''; along with Michael ...
'' (CRC Press, 2001), vol. 1
External links
Noterid info at UIUC
{{Authority control
Beetle families
Taxa named by Carl Gustaf Thomson