| Histeroidea | |
|---|---|
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| Hister unicolor | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Suborder: | Polyphaga |
| Infraorder: | Staphyliniformia |
| Superfamily: | Histeroidea Gyllenhaal, 1808 |
| Families | |
Histeroidea is asuperfamily ofbeetles in the infraorderStaphyliniformia.
Characteristic to Histeroidea are an accessory posterior ridge (locking device) behind the hind margin and presence ofmedial loop and apical hinge ofwing. Theelytra are truncate with 1 or 2abdominal segments visible. The abdominal 8th segment is completely invaginated in the 7th segment. Eachantenna has 8 (seldom 7) segments preceding a club of fused segments. The ventral body surface is glabrous.[1]
Histeroids in general arepredators. However, Sphaeritidae is believed to only be predatory in the larval stage, with its adults beingsaprophagous instead.[2]
This superfamily occurs in various habitats. The Histeridae alone can be found in dung, carrion, fungi, leaf litter, insymbiosis with other animals (e.g.social insects), under tree bark or in galleries ofwood-boring beetles.[2]
Some authors treat Histeroidea as a single family within the superfamilyHydrophiloidea (Hydrophiloideasensu lato), as they seem to form aclade.[3] Three extant families are currently recognized:
Sphaeritidae and Synteiidae each contain just a single genus:Sphaerites andSyntelia, respectively. This makes both familiesmonotypic.
The oldest fossils of the superfamily areCretohister andAntigracilus from the Early Cretaceous (Aptian)Yixian Formation of China, which are more closely related to Histeridae than the other two families.[4][5]
