Hydrophilinae
Andrew Short
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close boxIntroduction
Members of the subfamily Hydrophilinae are the most well-known of the subfamily Hydrophilidae. Ranging in size from 1 to more than 50 mm, the group is highly varied in form, habitat, and behavior and is a common (and often abundant) component of freshwater (and a few terrestrial) habitats around the world (Hansen, 1991).
Although containing over 60 genera, roughly half the species are contained in just four of these: Berosus, Laccobius, Enochrus, and Helochares (Hansen, 1999). Each of these genera that comprise the “Big 4” occur in all major biogeographic regions except Antarctica. All four are also divided into a number of subgenera.
Discussion of Phylogenetic Relationships
The relationships among the six tribes that comprise the subfamily are far from resolved. Half of these tribes have been suggested to be non-monophyletic as presently delimited (Archangeksly 2004, Komarek & Beutel 2007).
References
Archangelsky, M. 2004. Higher-level phylogeny of Hydrophilinae (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae) based on larval, pupal, and adult characters. Systematic Entomology 29: 188–214.
Hansen, M. 1991. The hydrophiloid beetles. Phylogeny, classification and a revision of the genera. Biologiske Skrifter 40:1-368.
Hansen, M. 1999. World Catalogue of Insects 2: Hydrophiloidea (Coleoptera). Stenstrup, Apollo Books, 416 pp.
Komarek, A. & Beutel, R.G. 2007. Phylogenetic analysis of Anacaenini (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae: Hydrophilinae) based on morphological characters of adults. Systematic Entomology, DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-3113.2006.00359.x.
Title Illustrations
| Scientific Name | Hydrophilus ovatus |
|---|---|
| Location | Durham County, North Carolina, USA |
| View | Dorsal |
| Size | 32 mm |
| Source | Giant Water Scavenger Beetle - Hydrophilus ovatus |
| Source Collection | BugGuide.Net |
| Image Use |
 This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License - Version 2.0.
|
| Copyright |
© 2004 Patrick Coin
|
About This Page
Andrew Short
University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA
Correspondence regarding this page should be directed to Andrew Short at
Page copyright © 2007 Andrew Short
Page: Tree of Life
Hydrophilinae.
Authored by
Andrew Short.
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- First online 24 April 2007
- Content changed 29 June 2007
Citing this page:
Short, Andrew. 2007. Hydrophilinae. Version 29 June 2007 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Hydrophilinae/9216/2007.06.29 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/
