Staphylinoidea 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 insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

s. 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 mm long and

Silphidae Silphidae is a family of beetles that are known commonly as large carrion beetles, carrion beetles or burying beetles. There are two subfamilies: Silphinae and Nicrophorinae. Nicrophorines are sometimes known as sexton beetles. The number of ...

can reach 45 mm. The superfamily includes the smallest beetles (and the smallest of all non-parasitic insects) in family

Ptiliidae Ptiliidae is a family of very tiny beetles with a cosmopolitan distribution. This family contains the smallest of all beetles, with a length when fully grown of . The weight is approximately 0.4 milligrams. They are colloquially called feat ...

. Most Ptiliidae do not exceed 1 mm long as adults, while the smallest species is just 325 µm long. Adults can be recognised by the hind wings having no accessory posterior ridge (locking device), no medial loop, no wedge cell and no apical hinge. The 8th segment of the

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the to ...

is not entirely invaginated within the 7th. The head usually lacks a coronal suture (rarely with a short, rudimentary suture). Larval staphylinoids have 3-segmented (rarely 4-segmented) maxillary palps with distinct (often fused) galia and lacinia. The body usually has well-developed

tergites A ''tergum'' (Latin for "the back"; plural ''terga'', associated adjective tergal) is the dorsal ('upper') portion of an arthropod segment other than the head. The anterior edge is called the 'base' and posterior edge is called the 'apex' or 'mar ...

and

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 ...

. The spiracles are annular or annular-biforous. There are no epistomal lobes.

Systematics and evolution

Staphylinoidea contains the following subgroups: * Family Agyrtidae C.G. Thomson 1859 (primitive carrion beetles) ** Subfamily Agyrtinae Thomson, 1859 ** Subfamily Necrophilinae Newton, 1997 ** Subfamily Pterolomatinae Thomson, 1862 * Family Jacobsoniidae Heller, 1926 * Family

Hydraenidae Hydraenidae is a family of very small aquatic beetles, sometimes called "Minute moss beetles", with a worldwide distribution. They are around 0.8 to 3.3 mm in length. The adults store air on the underside of the body as well as beneath the el ...

Mulsant 1844 (minute moss beetles) ** Subfamily Hydraeninae Mulsant, 1844 ** Subfamily

Ochthebiinae Ochthebiinae is a subfamily of minute moss beetles in the family Hydraenidae. There are about 14 genera and more than 650 described species in Ochthebiinae. Genera These 14 genera belong to the subfamily Ochthebiinae: * ''Aulacochthebius'' Kuw ...

C. G. Thomson, 1860 ** Subfamily Orchymontiinae Perkins, 1997 ** Subfamily Prosthetopinae Perkins, 1994 * Family Leiodidae Fleming 1821 (round fungus beetles) ** Subfamily Camiarinae Jeannel, 1911 ** Subfamily Catopocerinae Hatch, 1927 ** Subfamily Cholevinae Kirby, 1837 ** Subfamily Coloninae Horn, 1880 ** Subfamily

Leiodinae Leiodinae is a subfamily of round fungus beetles in the family Leiodidae. There are more than 60 genera and 1,800 described species in Leiodinae. Genera These 65 genera belong to the subfamily Leiodinae: ; Tribe Agathidiini Westwood, 1838 : ' ...

Fleming, 1821 ** Subfamily Platypsyllinae Ritsema, 1869 * Family

Erichson 1845 (featherwing beetles) ** Subfamily Acrotrichinae Reitter, 1909 ** Subfamily Cephaloplectinae Sharp, 1883 ** Subfamily Nanosellinae Barber, 1924 ** Subfamily

Ptiliinae Ptiliinae is the largest subfamily of feather-winged beetles (family Ptilidae). About 80% of the described genera of these very tiny beetles are contained herein; however, many more genera and species In biology, a species is the basic u ...

Erichson, 1845 * Family

Latreille 1807 (carrion beetles) ** Subfamily Nicrophorinae Kirby, 1837 ** Subfamily

Silphinae Silphinae is a subfamily of burying beetles or carrion beetles. There are 113 extant species of this subfamily, in two tribe and in 14 genera. It contains the following tribes and genera: Tribes and genera * Necrodini Portevin, 1926 ** ''Dia ...

Latreille, 1806 * Family Staphylinidae Latreille 1802 (rove beetles) ** Subfamily

Aleocharinae The Aleocharinae are one of the largest subfamilies of rove beetles, containing over 12,000 species. Previously subject to large-scale debate whether the subfamily deserved the familial status, it is now considered one of the largest subfamilie ...

Fleming, 1821 ** Subfamily Apateticinae Fauvel, 1895 ** Subfamily Dasycerinae Reitter, 1887 ** Subfamily Empelinae Newton and Thayer, 1992 ** Subfamily Euaesthetinae Thomson, 1859 ** Subfamily Glypholomatinae Jeannel, 1962 ** Subfamily Habrocerinae Mulsant and Rey, 1876 ** Subfamily

Leptotyphlinae The Leptotyphlinae are a subfamily of the Staphylinidae, rove beetles.Newton, A. F., Jr., M. K. Thayer, J. S. Ashe, and D. S. Chandler. 2001. 22. Staphylinidae Latreille, 1802. p. 272–418. In: R. H. Arnett, Jr., and M. C. Thomas (eds.). Americ ...

Fauvel, 1874 ** Subfamily Megalopsidiinae Leng, 1920 ** Subfamily Micropeplinae Leach, 1815 ** Subfamily Microsilphinae Crowson, 1950 ** Subfamily Neophoninae Fauvel, 1905 ** Subfamily Olisthaerinae Thomson, 1858 ** Subfamily Omaliinae MacLeay, 1825 ** Subfamily Osoriinae Erichson, 1839 ** Subfamily Oxyporinae Fleming, 1821 ** Subfamily Oxytelinae Fleming, 1821 ** Subfamily

Paederinae The Paederinae are a subfamily of the Staphylinidae, rove beetles. The Paederinae include two tribes, Paederini and Pinophilini. This insect is commonly known as Tomcat. Three of the genera of a subtribe of the Paederini are associated with ...

Fleming, 1821 ** Subfamily Phloeocharinae Erichson, 1839 ** Subfamily Piestinae Erichson, 1839 ** Subfamily Proteininae Erichson, 1839 ** Subfamily Protopselaphinae Newton and Thayer, 1995 ** Subfamily

Pselaphinae Pselaphinae are a subfamily of beetles in the family Staphylinidae, the rove beetles. The group was originally regarded as a separate family named Pselaphidae. Newton and Thayer (1995) placed them in the Omaliine group of the family Staphylinida ...

Latreille, 1802 ** Subfamily

Pseudopsinae Pseudopsinae is a beetle subfamily of Staphylinidae 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. ...

Ganglbauer, 1895 ** Subfamily

Scaphidiinae Scaphidiinae is a subfamily of Staphylinidae 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 r ...

Latreille, 1806 ** Subfamily Scydmaeninae Leach, 1815 ** Subfamily Solieriinae Newton and Thayer, 1992 ** Subfamily

Staphylininae Staphylininae are a subfamily of rove beetles (family Staphylinidae). They contain the typical rove beetles with their long but fairly robust blunt-headed and -tipped bodies and short elytra, as well as some more unusually-shaped lineages. Syst ...

Latreille, 1802 ** Subfamily

Steninae Steninae is a subfamily of Staphylinidae.Newton, A. F., Jr., M. K. Thayer, J. S. Ashe, and D. S. Chandler. 2001. 22. Staphylinidae Latreille, 1802. p. 272–418. In: R. H. Arnett, Jr., and M. C. Thomas (eds.). American beetles, Volume 1. CRC Pres ...

MacLeay, 1825 ** Subfamily

Tachyporinae Tachyporinae is a subfamily of rove beetle. Their common name is crab-like rove beetles. They are generally small, roughly 2.4 to 5 millimeters. There are around 60 species in twelve genera of crab-like rove beetles. All species are fusiform. ...

MacLeay, 1825 ** Subfamily Trichophyinae Thomson, 1858 ** Subfamily

Trigonurinae ''Trigonurus'' is a genus of rove beetles in the family Staphylinidae, the only family of the subfamily Trigonurinae. There are about nine described species in ''Trigonurus'', found in the Holarctic. Species These nine species belong to the gen ...

Reiche, 1866 ** † Subfamily Protactinae Heer, 1847 The unambiguous fossil record dates back to

Triassic The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system (stratigraphy), system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago (Year#Abbreviations yr and ya, Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 ...

, and an early

Mesozoic The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretace ...

origin of the group is probable.Grimaldi, D. and Engel, M.S. (2005). Evolution of the Insects. Cambridge University Press

Phylogeny

A 2019 molecular phylogenetic study confirmed the

monophyly In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...

of Ptilidae and found that it is sister group to Hydraenidae.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q132752 Beetle superfamilies