Chelonariidae

Chelonariidae or turtle beetles is a family of beetles in the superfamily Byrrhoidea. It was described by Blanchard in 1845.[1] There are 3 genera with around 300 described species. Little is known of their ecology, though it seems they are associated with the roots of orchids and the nests of ants and termites. Their exoskeletons are heavily sclerotised and their limbs can be effectively retracted into their bodies due to the presence of socket-like cavities.[2]

Chelonariidae
Brounia thoracica
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Coleoptera
Suborder:
Polyphaga
Infraorder:
Elateriformia
Superfamily:
Byrrhoidea
Family:
Chelonariidae

Blanchard, 1845

Genera
  • Brounia Sharp, 1878 (New Zealand)
  • Chelonarium Fabricius, 1801 (Americas, Asia, Australia)
  • Pseudochelonarium Pic, 1916 (South & Southeast Asia, New Guinea)

References
  1. Callirhipidae Archived October 23, 2012, at the Wayback Machine at insects.tamu.edu.
  2. Beutel, Rolf G. and Leschen, Richard A. B.. "Chelonariidae Blanchard, 1845: Coleoptera, Beetles". Handbook of Zoology Online, edited by Andreas Schmidt-Rhaesa. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 2016.


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