| Prionoceridae | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Idgia belli from India | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Suborder: | Polyphaga |
| Infraorder: | Cucujiformia |
| Superfamily: | Cleroidea |
| Family: | Prionoceridae Lacordaire, 1857 |
Prionoceridae is a small family ofbeetles, in the suborderPolyphaga. They form a group within thecleroid beetles and were formerly treated as a subfamily (Prionocerinae) within the familyMelyridae. Very little is known of their life history but most species are pollen feeders as adults and occur in large numbers during spring or the host flowering season. Larvae are predatory or feed on decomposing wood.
Beetles in the family are elongate with soft elytra. The elytra are often covered with rows of hairs. The margin of the eyes are not round but notched anteriorly. The head faces forward (prognathous) and the clypeal region is produced into a short flat snout. Each of the legs have five tarsi (5-5-4 in theOedemeridae) with simple claws and a single spur on the pro-tibia. MaleIdgia andPrionocerus have a comb on the inner edge of the distal tarsal segment of the foreleg.[1] The generaNacerdes andXanthochroa in the familyOedemeridae and someCantharidae bear resemblance to some of the Prionoceridae.[2]
Members of the family were formerly included as a subfamily within the closely relatedMelyridae (the genusLobonyx inDasytinae). The fossil record of Prionoceridae has been recorded from the Middle JurassicDaohugou beds of China (Idgiaites jurassicus), theCenomanianBurmese amber (Cretaidgia burmensis)[3] andYpresianHat creek Amber from Canada (Prionocerites tattriei).[4][5][6]
There are around 150 species in three genera;IdgiaLaporte, 1836 (Palaeotropical),LobonyxJacquelin du Val, 1859[7] (mostly Palaearctic), andPrionocerusPerty, 1831.[8][9]
The following is a partial list of the species that have been described (the generic placement and validity are unverified and likely to be out of date):
