Eucinetidae

Definition

A small family of beetles (order Coleoptera) characterized by enlarged coxal plates that extend over much of the first abdominal ventrite, giving the insects a distinctive 'plate-thighed' appearance. The family comprises approximately 50 species in 11 genera distributed worldwide, with adults and larvae typically associated with decaying wood and fungal substrates in moist forest habitats.

Etymology

From Greek eu- ('well, true') and kinetos ('movable'), referring to the functional morphology of the coxal plates.

Example

Eucinetus morio, a North American species, exemplifies the family's diagnostic trait: the hind coxae form broad, plate-like expansions that conceal the base of the abdomen when viewed ventrally.

Synonyms

• Plate-thigh beetles

Related Terms

• Coleoptera
• Coxa
• ventrite
• Scirtoidea
• fungivore
• saproxylic

Usage Notes

Sometimes treated as the sole family in superfamily Scirtoidea, though this placement has varied historically. The large coxal plates are a synapomorphy useful for distinguishing eucinetids from similar small beetles such as Scirtidae. Larvae are poorly known but appear to feed on hyphae of basidiomycete fungi in rotting wood.