Phycosecidae is a family 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 insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...
s in the superfamily
Cleroidea
Cleroidea is a small superfamily of beetles containing over 10,000 species. Most of the members of the group are somewhat slender, often with fairly soft, flexible elytra, and typically hairy or scaly.
Description
Cleroidea is defined by the f ...
., containing the single genus ''Phycosecis'' found in Australia, New Caledonia, New Zealand and Vanuatu. The beetles are small, about 1.5–3.5 mm in length.
They live in sandy coastal areas, and are
saprophagous, feeding on faeces, carrion, and death arthropods during the daytime.
Taxonomy
The species are:
Phycosecidae Species List
at Joel Hallan's Biology Catalog. Texas A&M University. Retrieved on 12 Jul 2011.
* '' Phycosecis ammophilus'' Lea, 1899
* '' Phycosecis hilli'' Lea, 1921
* '' Phycosecis limbata'' (Fabricius, 1781)
* '' Phycosecis litoralis'' Pascoe, 1875
References
Cleroidea
Polyphaga families
Monogeneric insect families
{{Cleroidea-stub