Dytiscidae

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Dytiscidae
Temporal range: Late Jurassic–Recent
"Cybister lateralimarginalis"
Cybister lateralimarginalis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Suborder: Adephaga
Superfamily: Dytiscoidea
Family: Dytiscidae
Leach, 1815
Subfamilies

The Dytiscidae – based on the Greek dytikos (δυτικός), "able to dive" – are the predaceous diving beetles, a

genera.[4]

Habitat

Diving beetles are the most diverse beetles in the aquatic environment and can be found in almost every kind of freshwater habitat, from small rock pools to big lakes. Some dytiscid species are also found in brackish water.[5] Diving beetles live in water bodies in various landscapes, including agricultural and urban landscapes.[6][7][8] Some species, such as Agabus uliginosus[6] and Acilius canaliculatus,[8] are found to be relatively tolerant to recent urbanization. One of the most important limiting factors for diving beetle occurrence is the presence of fish, which predate on the beetles (mostly on larvae), compete for food, and change the structure of the habitat. Many diving beetles species prefer habitats with aquatic vegetation,[7][9] while some species, such as Oreodytes sanmarkii, occur in exposed areas of waters.[10]

Larvae and development

Larva of the European diving beetle Dytiscus marginalis

When still in larval form, the beetles vary in size from about 1 to 5 cm (0.5 to 2.0 in). The larval bodies are shaped like crescents, with the tail long and covered with thin hairs. Six legs protrude from along the

pupation
. After about a week, or longer in some species, they emerge from the mud as adults. Adult diving beetles have been found to oviposit their eggs within frog spawn in highly ephemeral habitats, with their eggs hatching within 24 hours after the frogs and the larvae voraciously predating on the recently hatched tadpoles.

Edibility

Adult Dytiscidae, particularly of the genus

Guangdong Province of China, the latter species, as well as C. bengalensis, C. guerini, C. limbatus, C. sugillatus, C. tripunctatus, and probably also the well-known great diving beetle (D. marginalis) are bred for human consumption, though as they are cumbersome to raise due to their carnivorous habit and have a fairly bland (though apparently not offensive) taste and little meat, this is decreasing. Dytiscidae are reportedly also eaten in Taiwan, Thailand, and New Guinea.[12]

Dytiscidae sp.

Diving beetle conservation

The greatest threat to diving beetles is the degradation and disappearance of their habitats due to anthropogenic activities.[1] For example, urbanisation has led to the decreasing quantity and quality of dytiscid habitats,[8] which consequentially has increased the distance between habitats.[13] Thus, dytiscids may be exposed to high predation risks during dispersal.

Dytiscid adults are eaten by many

predators, despite their arsenal of chemical defenses.[14] But by far the most important predator of diving beetles are fish, which limit the occurrence of most diving beetle species to fishless ponds, or to margins of aquatic habitats. Although the larvae of a few dytiscid species may become apex predators in small ponds
, their presence is also often incompatible with fish. Therefore, the main focus of water beetle conservation is the protection of natural, fish-less habitats. In the European Union, two species of diving beetles are protected by the Berne Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats, and thus serve as umbrella species for the protection of natural aquatic habitats: Dytiscus latissimus and Graphoderus bilineatus.

Cultural significance

The diving beetle plays a role in a Cherokee creation story. According to the narrative, upon finding nowhere to rest in the "liquid chaos" the beetle brought up soft mud from the bottom. This mud then spread out to form all of the land on Earth.[11]

Ethnobiology

Adult Dytiscidae, as well as

Gyrinidae, are collected by young girls in East Africa. It is believed that inducing the beetles to bite the nipples will stimulate breast growth.[11] The effect of that habit has not been tested, but it is notable that the defense glands of diving beetles contain many types of bioactive steroids.[14]

Parasites

Dytiscidae are parasitised by various

elytra of their hosts,[15][16] those in genus Acherontacarus attach to the mesosternal regions[17] and those in genus Hydrachna attach to various locations.[18] These mites are parasitic as larvae with the exception of Dytiscacarus, which are parasitic for their entire life cycle.[15]

Systematics

The following taxonomic sequence gives the

genera.[19][20][21][22]

Subfamily Agabinae Thomson, 1867

Subfamily Colymbetinae Erichson, 1837

Subfamily

Copelatinae
Branden, 1885

Subfamily

Coptotominae
Branden, 1885

Subfamily

Cybistrinae

Subfamily Dytiscinae Leach, 1815

Subfamily Hydrodytinae K.B.Miller, 2001

Subfamily Hydroporinae Aubé, 1836

Subfamily Laccophilinae Gistel, 1856

Subfamily

Lancetinae
Branden, 1885

Subfamily Matinae Branden, 1885

Subfamily †Liadytiscinae Prokin & Ren, 2010

  • † Liadroporus Prokin & Ren, 2010 Yixian Formation, China, Early Cretaceous (Aptian)
  • † Liadytiscus Prokin & Ren, 2010 Yixian Formation, China, Aptian
  • † Mesoderus Prokin & Ren, 2010 Yixian Formation, China, Aptian
  • † Liadyxianus Prokin, Petrov, B. Wang & Ponomarenko, 2013 Yixian Formation, China, Aptian
  • † Mesodytes Prokin, Petrov, Wang & Ponomarenko, 2013 Yixian Formation, China, Aptian

Subfamily Incertae sedis

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-94-017-9109-0
    .
  2. ^ "Dytiscidae - Hurdan, the answer engine". Archived from the original on 2015-05-21. Retrieved 2015-05-19.
  3. ISBN 978-1-4053-4997-0
    .
  4. ^ Nilsson, A.N. (2013). "A World Catalogue of the Family Dytiscidae, or the Diving Beetles (Coleoptera, Adephaga)" (PDF). University of Umeå. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 April 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  5. ISBN 978-94-017-9108-3
    .
  6. ^ a b Lundkvist, E.; Landin, J.; Karlsson, F. (2002). "Dispersing diving beetles (Dytiscidae) in agricultural and urban landscapes in south-eastern Sweden". Annales Zoologici Fennici.
  7. ^
    S2CID 202032378
    .
  8. ^
    hdl:10138/315037
    .
  9. hdl:10138/352745
    .
  10. ISSN 0106-8377
    .
  11. ^ a b c Miller, Kelly; Bergsten, Johannes (3 October 2016). Diving Beetles of the World: Systematics and Biology of the Dytiscidae. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 20.
  12. ^ De Foliart (2002), Jäch (2003), CSIRO (2004)
  13. doi:10.1007/s10980-022-01413-z
    .
  14. ^
    ISBN 978-94-017-9109-0
    .
  15. ^
    ISSN 0024-4082
    .
  16. ISSN 0008-4301
    .
  17. S2CID 88103217
    .
  18. PMID 31379442
    .
  19. ^ "Dytiscidae". GBIF. Retrieved 2019-06-17.
  20. ^ Nilsson, A.N. A World Catalogue of the Family Dytiscidae, or the Diving Beetles (Coleoptera, Adephaga) (PDF) (Report). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-07-26. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
  21. ^ Bouchard, Patrice; Bousquet, Yves; Davies, Anthony E.; Alonso-Zarazaga, Miguel A.; et al. (2011). "Family-group names in Coleoptera (Insecta)". ZooKeys (88): 1–972.
    PMID 21594053
    .
  22. ^ "Dytiscidae Report". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2019-06-17.
  23. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3666.2.2
    .

External links

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