Throscidae is a family of
elateroid beetles found worldwide (except New Zealand) with around 150 species in 5 extant genera. The larvae are soil-dwelling, siphoning fluid from
mycorrhizae
A mycorrhiza (; , mycorrhiza, or mycorrhizas) is a symbiotic association between a fungus and a plant. The term mycorrhiza refers to the role of the fungus in the plant's rhizosphere, the plant root system and its surroundings. Mycorrhizae play ...
attached to trees. The adults are short-lived, with the adult males being noted for a complex mating dance. Like some other elateroids, they are capable of clicking.
[Muona, Jyrki and Lawrence, John F.. "4.6. Throscidae Laporte, 1840". ''Volume 2 Morphology and Systematics (Elateroidea, Bostrichiformia, Cucujiformia partim)'', edited by Willy Kükenthal, Richard A.B. Leschen, Rolf G. Beutel and John F. Lawrence, Berlin, New York: De Gruyter, 2011, pp. 69-74.]
Genera
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Aulonothroscus''
Horn, 1890
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Cryptophthalma''
Cobos, 1982
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Pactopus''
LeConte, 1868
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Potergus''
Bonvouloir, 1871
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Trixagus''
Kugelann, 1794
Fossil genera
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Jaira'' Muona 1993
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 ...
,
Eocene
The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...
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Potergosoma'' Kovalev and Kirejtshuk 2013
Lebanese amber
Lebanese amber is fossilized resin found in Lebanon and its surroundings. It dates back approximately 130-125 million years to the Barremian of the Early Cretaceous. It formed on what was then the northern coast of Gondwana, believed to be a tropic ...
, 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 ...
)
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Rhomboaspis'' Kovalev and Kirejtshuk 2013 Lebanese amber, Barremian
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Trixagosoma'' Li et al., 2020
Burmese amber
Burmese amber, also known as Burmite or Kachin amber, is amber from the Hukawng Valley in northern Myanmar. The amber is dated to around 100 million years ago, during the latest Albian to earliest Cenomanian ages of the mid-Cretaceous period. Th ...
, Myanmar, Late Cretaceous (
Cenomanian
The Cenomanian is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy's (ICS) geological timescale, the oldest or earliest age (geology), age of the Late Cretaceous epoch (geology), Epoch or the lowest stage (stratigraphy), stage of the Upper Cretace ...
)
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Tyrannothroscus'' Muona 2019 Baltic amber, Eocene
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Captopus'' Li, Huang & Cai, 2021
Burmese amber, Myanmar, Cenomanian
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Electrothroscus'' Li, Huang & Cai, 2021
Burmese amber, Myanmar, Cenomanian
*†''
Pseudopactopus'' Li, Huang & Cai, 2021
Burmese amber, Myanmar, Cenomanian
References
Further reading
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Elateroidea
Beetle families
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