| Eucinetidae Temporal range:
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|---|---|
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| Eucinetus stewarti | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Suborder: | Polyphaga |
| Infraorder: | Elateriformia |
| Superfamily: | Scirtoidea |
| Family: | Eucinetidae Lacordaire, 1857 |
Eucinetidae is a family of beetles, notable for their large coxal plates that cover much of the first ventrite of the abdomen, sometimes called plate-thigh beetles. The family is small for beetles, with about 50 species in 11 genera, but are found worldwide.
Adults are generally elliptical in shape, ranging from 0.8 to 4.0 mm in length, and black or brown in color. The head is small and bent underneath.
Eucinetids live in detritus or in fungus-covered tree bark, where both adults and larvae are assumed to eat various sorts of fungi. Around half of the genera possess strongly modified mouthparts, particularly the labrum, adapted for suctorial feeding.[1]
- ^ Jałoszyński, Paweł (August 2019). "†Cretohlezkus gen. nov. from Upper Cretaceous Burmese amber demonstrates ancient origins of suctorial mouthparts in Eucinetidae (Coleoptera: Scirtoidea)". Cretaceous Research. 100: 126–133. Bibcode:2019CrRes.100..126J. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2019.03.016. S2CID 146309328.