Belongs within: Dytiscoidea.
Contains: Agabinae, Dytiscinae, Colymbetinae, Copelatinae, Hydroporinae.
The Dytiscidae are the predacious diving beetles, aquatic beetles with enlarged hind legs that are moved simultaneously when swimming. They first appeared in the Early Cretaceous, where Liadytiscus cretaceus is probably the sister group of living dytiscids as indicated by its having the metacoxae rounded anteriorly but the metaventrite less narrowed than in modern dytiscids (Beutel et al. 2013). Miller (2001) identified the earliest-diverging clade among living dytiscids as the Matinae, which retain a plesiomorphic female genital morphology and lack apical subelytral setae. Other subfamilies include the Laccophilinae, characterised by hind legs lacking natatory setae along the tibia though such setae remain present on the tarsus (Miller 2001).
Synapomorphies (from Miller 2001): Anterolateral prothoracic glands present; metacoxae strongly expanded anteriorly with anterior margin strongly curved, metasternal wings narrowed laterally; large rounded posteromedial metacoxal lobes present; posteromedial metacoxal rim continuous medially; metacoxal cavities contiguous, separated only by a fine medial wall; medial portion of metacoxa not concave laterally.
<==Dytiscidae | i. s.: CretodytesS02 | PalaeogyrinusS02 | Schistomerus californicusS02 | Angaragabus jurassicusGE05, P02 | Allopachria [incl. Nipponhydrus Guignot 1954]NR97 | Palaeodytes gutta Ponomarenko 1987RJ93 |--Liadytiscus [Liadytiscinae]BW13 | `--L. cretaceus Prokin & Ren 2010BW13 |--Matinae [Matini]M01 | |--Allomatus Mouchamps 1964M01, LM87 | | |--*A. wilsoni Mouchamps 1964LM87 | | `--A. nannup Watts 1978LM87 | |--Matus Aubé 1836M01 | | |--M. bicarinatusM01 | | `--M. ovatusM01 | `--Batrachomatus Clark 1863RL01, LM87 | |--*B. wingi Clark 1863LM87 | |--B. daemeli (Sharp 1882) [=Matus daemeli; incl. B. burnsi Mouchamps 1964]LM87 | `--B. nannupVB21 `--+--+--AgabinaeM01 | `--+--DytiscinaeM01 | `--+--ColymbetinaeM01 | `--Lancetes Sharp 1882 [Lancetinae, Lancetini]M01 | |--*L. varius (Fabricius 1775) [=Dytiscus varius]LM87 | |--L. claussi [=Anisomera claussi; incl. L. angustissimus Régimbart 1887]F89b | |--L. lanceolatus (Clark 1863) [=Colymbetes lanceolatus]LM87 | |--L. marginatusR89a | `--L. nigricepsM01 `--+--+--Coptotomus Say 1834 [Coptotominae, Coptotomini]M01 | | |--C. interrogatusM01 | | |--C. lenticusM01 | | |--C. longulusM01 | | `--C. venustusM01 | `--+--CopelatinaeM01 | `--+--HydroporinaeM01 | `--Hydrodytes Miller 2001 [Hydrodytinae, Hydrodytini]M01 | `--*H. opalinus (Zimmermann 1921) [=Agaporomorphus opalinus]M01 `--LaccophilinaeM01 | i. s.: Australphilus Watts 1978LM87 | |--*A. saltus Watts 1978LM87 | `--A. montanus Watts 1978LM87 |--Agabetes Crotch 1873RL03 [Agabetinae, AgabetiniM01] | `--A. acuductusM01 `--LaccophiliniM01 |--Laccodytes Régimbart 1895M01, RL01 | `--L. pumilioRL01 `--+--+--NeptosternusM01 | `--Philaccolilus belissimusM01 `--Laccophilus Leach 1817M01 |--*L. minutus (Linnaeus 1758) [=Dytiscus minutus]LM87 |--L. americanus Aubé 1838FS90 |--L. angustus Régimbart 1889R89a |--L. balzani Régimbart 1889R89a |--L. biguttatus Kirby 1837M01, FS90 |--L. cayennensis Aubé 1838 [incl. L. subsignatus]FS90 |--L. cingulatus Sharp 1882 (see below for synonymy)LM87 |--L. clarki Sharp 1882LM87 |--L. ellipticus Régimbart 1889R89b |--L. flexuosusF89a |--L. hyalinusC01 |--L. lituratusR89b |--L. maculosusM01 |--L. nubilus Régimbart 1889R89a |--L. obliquatus Régimbart 1889R89a |--L. obtususR89b |--L. ovatusR89a |--L. parvulus [incl. L. orientalis]R89b |--L. pictusM01 | |--L. p. pictusB14 | |--L. p. coccinelloides Régimbart 1889B14 | `--L. p. insignisB14 |--L. poecilusVB21 |--L. proximus Say 1825FS90 |--L. quadrimaculatus Sharp 1882LM87 |--L. religatus Sharp 1882LM87 |--L. rufulus Régimbart 1888R89b |--L. seminiger Fauvel 1883LM87 |--L. sharpi Régimbart 1889LM87 |--L. similisR89b |--L. univittatus Régimbart 1891LM87 |--L. variegatusC01 `--L. walkeri Balfour-Browne 1939LM87
Laccophilus cingulatus Sharp 1882 [incl. L. basifasciatus Zimmermann 1922, L. unifasciatus Sharp 1882]LM87
*Type species of generic name indicated
References
[BW13] Beutel, R. G., B. Wang, J.-J. Tan, S.-Q. Ge, D. Ren & X.-K. Yang. 2013. On the phylogeny and evolution of Mesozoic and extant lineages of Adephaga (Coleoptera, Insecta). Cladistics 29 (2): 147–165.
[B14] Bouchard, P. (ed.) 2014. The Book of Beetles: A lifesize guide to six hundred of nature’s gems. Ivy Press: Lewes (United Kingdom).
[C01] Csiki, E. 1901. Bogarak [Coleopteren]. In: Horváth, G. (ed.) Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazása [Dritte Asiatische Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] vol. 2. Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazásának Állattani Eredményei [Zoologische Ergebnisse der Dritten Asiatischen Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] pp. 75–120. Victor Hornyánszky: Budapest, and Karl W. Hierseman: Leipzig.
[F89a] Fairmaire, L. 1889a. Coléoptères de l’intérieur de la Chine. 5e partie. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France, 6e série 9: 5–84.
[F89b] Fairmaire, L. 1889b. Une note sur la synonymies d’un hydrocanthare. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France, 6e série 9: xc.
[FS90] Fleutiaux, E., & A. Sallé. 1890. Liste des coléoptères de la Guadeloupe et descriptions d’espèces nouvelles. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France, 6e série 9: 351–484.
[GE05] Grimaldi, D., & M. S. Engel. 2005. Evolution of the Insects. Cambridge University Press: New York.
[LM87] Lawrence, J. F., B. P. Moore, J. E. Pyke & T. A. Weir. 1987. Zoological Catalogue of Australia vol. 4. Coleoptera: Archostemata, Myxophaga and Adephaga. Australian Government Publishing Service: Canberra.
[M01] Miller, K. B. 2001. On the phylogeny of the Dytiscidae (Insecta: Coleoptera) with emphasis on the morphology of the female reproductive system. Insect Systematics and Evolution 32: 45–92.
[NR97] Nilsson, A. N., & R. E. Roughley. 1997. The genus- and family-group names of the Dytiscidae—additions and corrections. Beiträge zur Entomologie 47 (2): 359–364.
[P02] Ponomarenko, A. G. 2002. Superorder Scarabaeidea Laicharting, 1781. Order Coleoptera Linné, 1758. The beetles. In: Rasnitsyn, A. P., & D. L. J. Quicke (eds) History of Insects pp. 164–176. Kluwer Academic Publishers: Dordrecht.
[R89a] Régimbart, M. 1889a. Enumération des Haliplidae, Dytiscidae et Gyrinidae recueillis par M.r le Prof. L. Balzan dans l’Amérique méridionale et description de quelques autres espèces voisines. Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova, Serie 2a, 7: 256–268.
[R89b] Régimbart, M. 1889b. Contributions a la faune Indo-Chinoise. 2e mémoire. Hydrocanthares. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France, 6e série 9: 147–156.
[RJ93] Ross, A. J., & E. A. Jarzembowski. 1993. Arthropoda (Hexapoda; Insecta). In: Benton, M. J. (ed.) The Fossil Record 2 pp. 363–426. Chapman & Hall: London.
[RL01] Roughley, R. E., & D. J. Larson. 2001. Dytiscidae Leach, 1815. In: Arnett, R. H., Jr & M. C. Thomas (eds) American Beetles vol. 1. Archostemata, Myxophaga, Adephaga, Polyphaga: Staphyliniformia pp. 156–186. CRC Press: Boca Raton.
[S02] Sinitshenkova, N. D. 2002. Ecological history of the aquatic insects. In: Rasnitsyn, A. P., & D. L. J. Quicke (eds) History of Insects pp. 388–426. Kluwer Academic Publishers: Dordrecht.
[VB21] Vasilikopoulos, A., M. Balke, S. Kukowka, J. M. Pflug, S. Martin, K. Meusemann, L. Hendrich, C. Mayer, D. R. Maddison, O. Niehuis, R. G. Beutel & B. Misof. 2021. Phylogenomic analyses clarify the pattern of evolution of Adephaga (Coleoptera) and highlight phylogenetic artefacts due to model misspecification and excessive data trimming. Systematic Entomology 46: 991–1018.