| Pleasing fungus beetles Temporal range:
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| Triplax russica | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Suborder: | Polyphaga |
| Infraorder: | Cucujiformia |
| Superfamily: | Cucujoidea |
| Family: | Erotylidae Latreille, 1802 [1] |
| Subfamilies | |
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Erotylidae, or the pleasing fungus beetles, is a family of beetles belonging to Cucujoidea containing over 100 genera. In the present circumscription, it contains 6 tribes (Tritomini, Dacnini, Megalodacnini, Erotylini, Cryptophilini, and Languriini) and 10 subfamilies (Cryptophilinae, Dacninae, Encaustinae, Erotylinae, Languriinae, Loberinae, Megalodacninae, Pharaxonothinae, Tritominae, and Xenoscelinae).[1] In other words, the narrowly circumscribed Erotylidae correspond to the subfamily Erotylinae in the definition sensu lato. There are doubts on the monophyly of lower ranked taxa within Erotylidae, with further phylogenetic studies requiring better sampling and studies of unexplored character sets, for example the metendosternite and penile flagellum, which are generally lacking detailed morphological studies within the Coleoptera literature.[2] The Eroytlina taxonomy is based on traits such as their different colors and not off morphological differences like mouthparts, thorax, and abdominal terminalia (Pecci-Maddalena).[3]
Erotylidae feed on plant and fungal matter; some are important pollinators (e.g. of the ancient cycads), while a few have gained notoriety as pests of some significance. Sometimes, useful and harmful species are found in one genus, e.g. Pharaxonotha. Most pleasing fungus beetles, however, are inoffensive animals of little significance to humans.
The oldest fossil is an undescribed species known from Early Cretaceous (Barremian) Lebanese amber.[4]
- ^ a b "Erotylidae". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
- ^ Pecci-Maddalena, Italo Salvatore De Castro; Lopes-Andrade, Cristiano; Skelley, Paul (2021). "The metendosternite and penile flagellum: two unexplored character systems of pleasing fungus beetles (Coleoptera: Erotylidae)". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 193 (3): 953–972. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa152.
- ^ Italo Salvatore de Castro Pecci-Maddalena; et al. (2021). "Erotylina Curran (Coleoptera, Erotylidae, Erotylini): redescription of type species, potential species groups and diversity of color patterns". Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências. 93 (4): e20201452. doi:10.1590/0001-3765202120201452. PMID 34586321. S2CID 238219028.
- ^ Peris, David; Ruzzier, Enrico; Perrichot, Vincent; Delclòs, Xavier (July 2016). "Evolutionary and paleobiological implications of Coleoptera (Insecta) from Tethyan-influenced Cretaceous ambers". Geoscience Frontiers. 7 (4): 695–706. Bibcode:2016GeoFr...7..695P. doi:10.1016/j.gsf.2015.12.007. hdl:2445/100747. S2CID 56018971.