Polyphaga is the largest and most diverse
suborder 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. 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 beetle species so far discovered.
Key characteristics of Polyphaga are that the hind
coxa (base of the leg) does not divide the first and second abdominal/ventral plates which are known as
sternites
The sternum (pl. "sterna") is the ventral portion of a segment of an arthropod thorax or abdomen.
In insects, the sterna are usually single, large sclerites, and external. However, they can sometimes be divided in two or more, in which case the ...
. Also, the
notopleural suture (found under the pronotal shield) is not present.
Etymology
The name of ''polyphaga'' is derived from two Greek words: , meaning 'many', and , meaning 'to eat', so the suborder is called the “eaters of many things”.
Classification
The five main infraorders are:
*
Bostrichiformia
Bostrichiformia is an infraorder of polyphagan beetles.
It contains two superfamilies, Derodontoidea and Bostrichoidea, which includes the Dermestidae, Ptinidae
Ptinidae is a family of beetles in the superfamily Bostrichoidea. There are ...
— including
furniture beetle
The common furniture beetle or common house borer (''Anobium punctatum'') is a woodboring beetle originally from Europe but now distributed worldwide. In the larval stage it bores in wood and feeds upon it. Adult ''Anobium punctatum'' measure in ...
s and
skin beetle
Dermestidae are a family of Coleoptera that are commonly referred to as skin beetles. Other common names include larder beetle, hide or leather beetles, carpet beetles, and khapra beetles. There are over 1,100 species described.
Dermestids have ...
s
*
Cucujiformia
Cucujiformia is an infraorder of polyphagan beetles, representing most plant-eating beetles.
The infraorder contains the seven superfamilies:
* Chrysomeloidea (~7 families including longhorn beetles and leaf beetles)
* Cleroidea (checkered bee ...
— includes
lady beetle
Coccinellidae () is a widespread family of small beetles ranging in size from . They are commonly known as ladybugs in North America and ladybirds in Great Britain. Some entomologists prefer the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles as they ...
s,
longhorn beetle
The longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae), also known as long-horned or longicorns, are a large family of beetles, with over 35,000 species described. Most species are characterized by extremely long antennae, which are often as long as or longer than ...
s,
weevil
Weevils are beetles belonging to the Taxonomic rank, superfamily Curculionoidea, known for their elongated snouts. They are usually small, less than in length, and Herbivore, herbivorous. Approximately 97,000 species of weevils are known. They b ...
s,
checkered beetle
Cleridae are a family of beetles of the superfamily Cleroidea. They are commonly known as checkered beetles. The family Cleridae has a worldwide distribution, and a variety of habitats and feeding preferences.
Cleridae have many niches and feed ...
s and
leaf beetle
The insects of the beetle family Chrysomelidae are commonly known as leaf beetles, and include over 37,000 (and probably at least 50,000) species in more than 2,500 genera, making up one of the largest and most commonly encountered of all beetle ...
s
*
Elateriformia
Elateriformia is an infraorder of polyphagan beetles. The two largest families in this group are buprestids, of which there are around 15,000 described species, and click beetles, of which there are around 10,000 described species.
The infraor ...
— includes
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
fireflies
The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...
*
Scarabaeiformia
Scarabaeoidea is a superfamily of beetles, the only subgroup of the infraorder Scarabaeiformia. Around 35,000 species are placed in this superfamily and some 200 new species are described each year. Its constituent families are also undergoing ...
— includes
scarab beetle
The family Scarabaeidae, as currently defined, consists of over 30,000 species of beetles worldwide; they are often called scarabs or scarab beetles. The classification of this family has undergone significant change in recent years. Several sub ...
s,
stag beetles, and
dung beetles
Dung beetles are beetles that feed on feces. Some species of dung beetles can bury dung 250 times their own mass in one night.
Many dung beetles, known as ''rollers'', roll dung into round balls, which are used as a food source or breeding cha ...
*
Staphyliniformia — includes
rove beetle
The rove beetles are a family (Staphylinidae) of beetles, primarily distinguished by their short elytra (wing covers) that typically leave more than half of their abdominal segments exposed. With roughly 63,000 species in thousands of genera, the ...
s and
water scavenger beetles
Phylogenetic studies have also suggested that Scirtoidea (
Scirtidae
Scirtidae is a Taxonomic rank, family of beetles (Coleoptera). These beetles are commonly referred to as marsh beetles, as the larvae are typically associated with stagnant water, but can be found in flowing water. Adults prefer decomposing plan ...
,
Decliniidae
Decliniidae is a family of beetles belonging to Scirtoidea. It contains the single genus ''Declinia'' with two species, ''D. relicta'' and ''D. versicolor'', found in the Russian Far East and Japan, respectively. Little is known of their ecology, ...
), Clamboidea (
Clambidae
Clambidae is a family of beetles. They are known commonly as the minute beetlesMajka, C. G., & Langor, D. (2009)Clambidae (Coleoptera) of Atlantic Canada.''Journal of the Acadian Entomological Society'' 5(7), 32-40. or the fringe-winged beetles.< ...
,
Derodontidae
Derodontidae is a family of beetles, in its own superfamily, Derodontoidea, sometimes known as the tooth-necked fungus beetles. Beetles of this family are small, between 2 and 6 mm in length, typically with spiny margins on their pronotum (p ...
,
Eucinetidae
Eucinetidae is a family of beetles, notable for their large coxal plates that cover much of the first ventrite of the abdomen, sometimes called plate-thigh beetles. The family is small for beetles, with about 50 species in 11 genera, but are ...
), ''
Rhinorhipus
''Rhinorhipus'' is a genus of beetles that contains a single species, ''Rhinorhipus tamborinensis'' from southern Queensland, Australia. It is the sole member of the family Rhinorhipidae and superfamily Rhinorhipoidea. It is an isolated lineage n ...
'' and
Nosodendridae
Nosodendridae is a family of beetles, with only 67 species in three extant genera, which are found worldwide. '' Nosodendron'', the largest genus, is found in forests and attracted to yeast generated slime on the wounds of trees, and likely consu ...
are independent lineages of Polyphaga that lie outside these groups.
The internal classification of Polyphaga involves several superfamilies or series, whose constituents are relatively stable, although some smaller families (whose rank even is disputed) are allocated to different clades by different authors. Large superfamilies include
Hydrophiloidea
Hydrophiloidea, known as water scavenger beetles, is a superfamily of beetles. Until recently it included only a single family, the Hydrophilidae (water scavenger beetles), but several of the subfamilies have been removed and raised to family ra ...
,
Staphylinoidea
Staphylinoidea is a superfamily of beetles. It is a very large and diverse group with worldwide distribution.
Description
Adult staphylinoids are generally small beetles no more than a few millimetres long, though Staphylinidae can reach 50 m ...
,
Scarabaeoidea
Scarabaeoidea is a superfamily of beetles, the only subgroup of the infraorder Scarabaeiformia. Around 35,000 species are placed in this superfamily and some 200 new species are described each year. Its constituent families are also undergoing r ...
,
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 ...
,
Byrrhoidea,
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 ...
, and
Bostrichoidea.
The infraorder
Cucujiformia
Cucujiformia is an infraorder of polyphagan beetles, representing most plant-eating beetles.
The infraorder contains the seven superfamilies:
* Chrysomeloidea (~7 families including longhorn beetles and leaf beetles)
* Cleroidea (checkered bee ...
includes the vast majority of
phytophagous
A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpar ...
(plant-eating) beetles, united by cryptonephric
Malpighian tubule
The Malpighian tubule system is a type of excretory and osmoregulatory system found in some insects, myriapods, arachnids and tardigrades.
The system consists of branching tubules extending from the alimentary canal that absorbs solutes, water, ...
s of the normal type, a cone
ommatidium
The compound eyes of arthropods like insects, crustaceans and millipedes are composed of units called ommatidia (singular: ommatidium). An ommatidium contains a cluster of photoreceptor cells surrounded by support cells and pigment cells. The ou ...
with open
rhabdom
The compound eyes of arthropods like insects, crustaceans and millipedes are composed of units called ommatidia (singular: ommatidium). An ommatidium contains a cluster of photoreceptor cells surrounded by support cells and pigment cells. The ou ...
, and lack of functional
spiracle Spiracle or spiraculum may refer to:
* Spiracle (arthropods), opening in the exoskeletons of some arthropods
* Spiracle (vertebrates), openings on the surface of some vertebrates
* Spiraculum, a genus of land snails in family Cyclophoridae
Cycl ...
s on the eighth abdominal segment. Constituent superfamilies of Cucujiformia are
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 ...
,
Cucujoidea
Cucujoidea is a superfamily of beetles. This group formerly included all of the families now included in the superfamily Coccinelloidea. They include some fungus beetles and a diversity of lineages of "bark beetles" unrelated to the "true" bark ...
,
Tenebrionoidea
The Tenebrionoidea are a very large and diverse superfamily of beetles.
It generally corresponds to the Heteromera of earlier authors.
Taxonomy
Tenebrionoidea contains the following families:
* Aderidae Winkler 1927 (ant-like leaf beetles) ...
,
Chrysomeloidea
The Chrysomeloidea are an enormous superfamily of beetles, with tens of thousands of species. The largest families are Cerambycidae, long-horned beetles, with more than 35,000 species, and Chrysomelidae, leaf beetles, with more than 13,000 specie ...
, and
Curculionoidea
Weevils are beetles belonging to the superfamily Curculionoidea, known for their elongated snouts. They are usually small, less than in length, and herbivorous. Approximately 97,000 species of weevils are known. They belong to several families, ...
. Evidently adoption of a phytophagous lifestyle correlates with taxon diversity in beetles, with Cucujiformia, especially
weevil
Weevils are beetles belonging to the Taxonomic rank, superfamily Curculionoidea, known for their elongated snouts. They are usually small, less than in length, and Herbivore, herbivorous. Approximately 97,000 species of weevils are known. They b ...
s (
Curculionoidea
Weevils are beetles belonging to the superfamily Curculionoidea, known for their elongated snouts. They are usually small, less than in length, and herbivorous. Approximately 97,000 species of weevils are known. They belong to several families, ...
), forming a major radiation.
See also
*
List of subgroups of the order Coleoptera
This article classifies the subgroups of the order Coleoptera (beetles) down to the level of families, following the system in "Family-group names in Coleoptera (Insecta)", Bouchard, et al. (2011), with corrections and additions from 2020, with c ...
References
*
External links
Phylogeny of InsectsSite devoted to Staphyliniformiasite devoted to stag beetlesnews article highlighting the damage caused by Longhorn beetles*
Insect suborders
{{Polyphaga-stub