Promecheilidae

Promecheilidae is a family of beetles in the superfamily Tenebrionoidea.^[1][2] Perimylopidae is considered a synonym.^[3] They are found in southern South America and associated archipelagos like South Georgia and the Falklands, New Zealand and Tasmania.^[4][5] Some species are associated tree ferns and moss-covered dead wood, and other forested habitats, while others are associated with peat bogs, grasslands and coastal habitats. They are probably phytophagus, feeding on lichen, moss, and other plant material.^[5]

Promecheilidae
Specimen of Onysius anomalus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Suborder:	Polyphaga
Infraorder:	Cucujiformia
Superfamily:	Tenebrionoidea
Family:	Promecheilidae Lacordaire, 1859
Synonyms
Perimylopidae St. George, 1939

Onysius anomalus

Adult beetles have an 11 segmented antenna, the head is narrowed behind the eye. They have a tarsal formula of 5-5-4.^[3] The family is part of a clade that includes the Archeocrypticidae, Mycetophagidae, and Ulodidae.^[6]

Genera

Genera in the family Promecheilidae include:^[7][1]

• Chanopterus Boheman, 1858 (Tierra del Fuego)
• Hydromedion Waterhouse, 1876 (Tierra del Fuego and South Georgia)
• Melytra Pascoe, 1869 (Tasmania)
• Onysius Broun, 1886 (New Zealand, formerly placed in Chalcodryidae)^[4]
• Parahelops Waterhouse, 1876 (southern Argentina and Chile, Falklands)
• Perimylops Müller, 1884 (South Georgia)
• Promecheilus Solier, 1851,2018 (Chile)
• Pseudodarwinella Ukrainsky, 2009 (=Darwinella Enderlein, 1912) (Falklands)
• Sirrhas Champion, 1893 (Tasmania)