Elateriformia is an
infraorder
Order ( la, ordo) is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and ...
of
polyphaga
Polyphaga is the largest and most diverse suborder of beetles. It comprises 144 families in 16 superfamilies, and displays an enormous variety of specialization and adaptation, with over 350,000 described species, or approximately 90% of the b ...
n
beetle
Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...
s. The two largest families in this group are
buprestids, of which there are around 15,000 described
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
, and
click beetle
Elateridae or click beetles (or "typical click beetles" to distinguish them from the related families Cerophytidae and Eucnemidae, which are also capable of clicking) are a family of beetles. Other names include elaters, snapping beetles, spr ...
s, of which there are around 10,000 described
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
.
The infraorder consists of six superfamilies:
[Lawrence, J. F. & Newton, A. F. Jr. 1995. ''Families and subfamilies of Coleoptera (with selectes genera, notes, references and data on family-group names).'' In: Pakaluk y Slipinski (Eds.). Biology, phylogeny and classification of Coleoptera: Papers celebrating the 80th birthday of Roy A. Crowson. Muzeum i Instytut Zoologii PAN, Warszawa. Pp. 779-1006. .]
*
Buprestoidea
Buprestoidea is a superfamily of beetle
Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insect ...
— the
metallic wood-boring beetle
Buprestidae is a family of beetles known as jewel beetles or metallic wood-boring beetles because of their glossy iridescent colors. Larvae of this family are known as flatheaded borers. The family is among the largest of the beetles, with some ...
s
*
Byrrhoidea — families including
long-toed water beetles,
moss beetles and
mud-loving beetles
*
Dascilloidea
*
Elateroidea
The Elateroidea are a large superfamily of beetles. It contains the familiar click beetles, fireflies, and soldier beetles and their relatives. It consists of about 25,000 species.
Description
Elateroidea is a morphologically diverse group, i ...
— including the
click beetle
Elateridae or click beetles (or "typical click beetles" to distinguish them from the related families Cerophytidae and Eucnemidae, which are also capable of clicking) are a family of beetles. Other names include elaters, snapping beetles, spr ...
s and
soldier beetle
The soldier beetles (Cantharidae) are relatively soft-bodied, straight-sided beetles. They are cosmopolitan in distribution. One of the first described species has a color pattern reminiscent of the red coats of early British soldiers, hence the ...
s
*
Rhinorhipoidea
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Scirtoidea
Scirtoidea is a superfamily of beetles. It is traditionally considered to consist of four families: Clambidae, Decliniidae, Eucinetidae and Scirtidae. However, genetic studies have suggested that Clambidae and Eucinetidae belong to a separate s ...
See also
*
List of subgroups of the order Coleoptera
This article scientific classification, classifies the subgroups of the order Coleoptera (beetles) down to the level of family (biology), families, following the system in "Family-group names in Coleoptera (Insecta)", Bouchard, et al. (2011), with ...
References
Insect infraorders
{{Elateriformia-stub