Rare-beetles
Guides
Baconia
Baconia is a genus of clown beetles (family Histeridae) comprising 116 species, with 85 species described in a 2013 systematic revision. The genus is renowned for brilliant jewel-like coloration and bizarrely flattened body forms—traits rare and little-appreciated in the Histeridae. Species are primarily distributed across North and South America. Many species are known from extremely few specimens; nearly half are represented by only one or two specimens in museum collections.
Cerophytum
rare click beetles
Cerophytum is a genus of rare click beetles in the family Cerophytidae, established by Latreille in 1809. The genus contains at least four described species distributed across the Holarctic region (Europe, Asia, and North America). Members are characterized by their clicking mechanism, which represents convergent evolution with the true click beetles (Elateridae). A fifth species, Cerophytum lii, was described in 2025 from Yunnan Province, China, representing the first record of the family in that country.
Eucnemidae
False Click Beetles
Eucnemidae, commonly known as false click beetles, is a family of elateroid beetles comprising approximately 1,700 species distributed worldwide. The family is closely related to Elateridae (true click beetles) and shares the ability to produce an audible clicking sound through a prosternal-mesosternal mechanism, though this trait is less pronounced than in true click beetles. Larvae are saproxylic, developing in decaying wood where they feed on fungal fluids using specialized digestive adaptations. Adults are typically short-lived and frequently observed on broken wood surfaces.
Oestodes
Oestodes is a genus of click beetles (Elateridae) in the subfamily Oestodinae, established by J.L. LeConte in 1853. The genus is characterized by its distinctive subfamily placement and relatively obscure biology. Oestodinae is a small subfamily containing few genera, and Oestodes represents one of the more poorly known lineages within Elateridae. Species in this genus are rarely encountered and have received limited study.
Schizopus
Schizopus is a genus of small beetles in the family Schizopodidae, established by LeConte in 1858. The genus contains two described species: Schizopus laetus LeConte, 1858 and Schizopus sallei Horn, 1885, with the latter including a recognized subspecies S. sallei nigricans Nelson, 1991. These beetles are rarely encountered and poorly known, with limited published information on their biology.
Trichinorhipis
Trichinorhipis is a monotypic genus of jewel beetles (Buprestidae) endemic to southern California. The sole species, Trichinorhipis knulli, measures under 4 mm and exhibits distinctive sexual dimorphism in antennae: males possess fan-like (flabellate) antennae adapted for detecting female sex pheromones, while females have unmodified serrate antennae. The genus is placed in its own subtribe (Trichinorphidina) within the tribe Xenorhipidini due to unique morphological characters distinguishing it from related genera Hesperorhipis and Xenorhipis.