Haliplidae

Crawling water beetles
Haliplus fluviatilis
Peltodytes dispersus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Suborder: Adephaga
Superfamily: Haliploidea
Aubé, 1836
Family: Haliplidae
Aubé, 1836
Genera

The Haliplidae are a family of water beetles that swim using an alternating motion of the legs. They are therefore clumsy in water (compared e.g. with the Dytiscidae or Hydrophilidae), and prefer to get around by crawling. The family consists of about 200 species in 5 genera, distributed wherever there is freshwater habitat; it is the only extant member of superfamily Haliploidea. They are also known as crawling water beetles or haliplids.[1]

  1. ^ R. E. Roughley (2001). "Haliplidae". In Ross H. Arnett Jr. & Michael C. Thomas (ed.). American Beetles, Volume 1. CRC Press.