''Liocanthydrus'' is a genus 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 belonging to the family

Noteridae Noteridae is a family of adephagan water beetles closely related to the Dytiscidae, 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 t ...

, the burrowing water beetles. The genus is

Neotropical The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In biogeogra ...

with records from Brazil, Venezuela, French Guiana, and Paraguay. It was originally established as a

subgenus In biology, a subgenus ( subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between the ge ...

of the otherwise Old World genus '' Canthydrus''.

Description

''Liocanthydrus'' are medium-sized beetles measuring in total length. The body is elongate, oval, weakly to moderately convex, and posteriorly attenuate. The appearance is very shiny. The

elytra An elytron (; ; : elytra, ) is a modified, hardened forewing of beetles (Coleoptera), though a few of the true bugs (Hemiptera) such as the family Schizopteridae are extremely similar; in true bugs, the forewings are called hemelytra (sometime ...

are iridescent and brown to nearly black. The

pronotum 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 e ...

and head coloration range from yellow to darker reddish brown.

Ecology

''Liocanthydrus'' are aquatic beetles most commonly collected in

lotic River ecosystems are flowing waters that drain the landscape, and include the biotic (living) interactions amongst plants, animals and micro-organisms, as well as abiotic (nonliving) physical and chemical interactions of its many parts.Angelier ...

(flowing-water) habitats. Specimens have typically been found along the margins of such habitats or in debris such as logs, leaf packs, or root mats. They are generally rare.

Species

There are 11 recognized species:

References

{{taxonbar , from=Q25308335 , from2=Q7525337 Noteridae Adephaga genera Beetles of South America Taxa named by Félix Guignot