rove beetle - Ecology, Systematics
An elongate, dark- or metallic-coloured beetle, usually with short, truncated wing cases; most are predators on other insects, some feed on fungal spores; common in leaf litter and damp habitats. (Order: Coleoptera. Family: Staphylinidae, c.30 000 species.)
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| Omaliinae Empelinae Proteininae Pselaphinae Glypholomatinae Microsilphinae Micropeplinae Neophoninae Dasycerinae Protopselaphinae Phloeocharinae Olisthaerinae Tachyporinae Trichophyinae Habrocerinae Aleocharinae Trigonurinae Apateticinae Scaphidiinae Piestinae Osoriinae Oxytelinae Oxyporinae Megalopsidiinae Steninae Euaesthetinae Solieriinae Leptotyphlinae Pseudopsinae Paederinae Staphylininae |
The rove beetles are a large family (Staphylinidae) of beetles, primarily distinguished by their short elytra that leave more than half of their abdomens exposed. With over 46,000 species in thousands of genera, the group is the second largest family of beetles after the Curculionidae (the true weevils), and also ancient, with fossil rove beetles known from the Triassic, 200 million years ago.
Ecology
Rove beetles are known from every type of habitat that beetles occur in, and their diets include just about everything except the living tissues of higher plants.
Systematics
Classification of the 46,275 (as of 1998) staphylinid species is ongoing and controversial, with some workers proposing an organization of as many as ten separate families, but the current favored system is one of 31 subfamilies, about 100 tribes (some grouped into supertribes), and about 3,200 genera.
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