Smicripidae 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

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 be ...

. The common name for this family is palmetto beetles. The family only has one extant genus, '' Smicrips,'' with six extant species native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas and extinct species from the

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', " ...

of Europe and one extinct genus, '' Mesosmicrips,'' known from the mid

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...

(earliest Cenomanian) aged

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. The ...

. ''Smicrips'' larvae are usually found amongst decaying vegetation, while adults are typically found on infloresences (flower clusters), especially those of Arecaceae (palms), although associations with flowers of Fabaceae (legumes),

Passifloraceae The Passifloraceae are a family of flowering plants, containing about 750 species classified in around 27 genera. They include trees, shrubs, lianas, and climbing plants, and are mostly found in tropical regions. The family takes its name from ...

Bombacaceae Bombacaceae were long recognised as a family of flowering plants or Angiospermae. The family name was based on the type genus ''Bombax''. As is true for many botanical names, circumscription and status of the taxon has varied with taxonomic point ...

and

Cactaceae A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Gree ...

(cactus) have also been recorded. Their diet is unknown.

References

External links

* Cucujoidea families {{Cucujoidea-stub