Erotylidae

Latreille, 1802

Pleasing Fungus Beetles

Subfamily Guides

Erotylinae(pleasing fungus beetles)
Xenoscelinae(pleasing fungus beetles)

, commonly known as pleasing fungus beetles, is a of beetles in the superfamily Erotyloidea containing over 100 . The family includes six tribes (Tritomini, Dacnini, Megalodacnini, Erotylini, Cryptophilini, and Languriini) and ten . Members feed on plant and fungal matter; some serve as important of ancient cycads, while a few are significant agricultural pests. The oldest known fossil is from Early Cretaceous (Barremian) Lebanese amber.

Erotylinae by no rights reserved, uploaded by Tiago Lubiana. Used under a CC0 license.

Ischyrus quadripunctatus by (c) Katja Schulz, some rights reserved (CC BY). Used under a CC-BY license.

Languria by (c) skitterbug, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by skitterbug. Used under a CC-BY license.

Pronunciation

How to pronounce Erotylidae: //ɛˌroʊtɪˈlaɪdi//

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Distribution

Worldwide distribution with records from North America (Vermont, USA), South America (Colombia: Chocó), and Europe (Denmark, Norway, Sweden). Specific new described from Vietnam (Anisoderomorpha tamdaoensis), Malaysia (Anisoderomorpha malayana), and China (Serralanguria sinensis from Huaping National Nature Reserve, Guangxi at 800-1000m elevation).

Diet

Feeds on plant and fungal matter. Some are important , particularly of ancient cycads.

Ecological Role

Some function as important . A few species have gained notoriety as significant pests, notably in the Pharaxonotha where both useful and harmful species occur.

Human Relevance

Most pleasing fungus beetles are inoffensive and of little significance to humans. Some are important . A few are significant agricultural pests.

More Details

Taxonomic Circumscription

In the present circumscription, includes Dacninae, Encaustinae, Erotylinae, Megalodacninae, and Tritominae. The narrowly circumscribed Erotylidae correspond to the subfamily Erotylinae sensu lato. There are doubts about the monophyly of lower ranked within Erotylidae, with further phylogenetic studies requiring better sampling and studies of unexplored character sets such as the metendosternite and penile .

Sexual Dimorphism

In at least one , Anisoderomorpha tamdaoensis, show pronounced in external : females possess large asymmetrical and , while males have symmetrical heads with only slightly asymmetrical mandibles.

Fossil Record

The oldest fossil assigned to is an undescribed species known from Early Cretaceous (Barremian) Lebanese amber.