Elmidae

Elmidae, commonly known as riffle beetles, is a family of beetles in the superfamily Byrrhoidea described by John Curtis in 1830. Both adults and larvae are usually aquatic, living under rocks in fast-flowing shallow areas of streams, such as riffles, feeding on algae and biofilms.^[1] There are more than 150 genera and 1,500 described species in Elmidae.^[2][3][4][5] The oldest record of the group is Cretohypsilara from the Cenomanian aged Burmese amber.^[6]

Elmidae Temporal range: Cenomanian–Recent PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Ancyronyx schillhammeri
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Suborder:	Polyphaga
Infraorder:	Elateriformia
Superfamily:	Byrrhoidea
Family:	Elmidae Curtis, 1830
Subfamilies
Elminae Curtis, 1830 Larainae LeConte, 1861
Diversity
at least 150 genera

Hydora picea illustration by Des Helmore

See also

• List of Elmidae genera