Hygrobiidae
| Hygrobia | |
|---|---|
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| Hygrobia hermanni | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Suborder: | Adephaga |
| Family: | Hygrobiidae |
| Genus: |
Hygrobia Latreille, 1804 |
| Species | |
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Hygrobia is a genus of aquatic beetles native to Europe, North Africa, China and Australia. It is the only genus in the family Hygrobiidae, also known as the Paelobiidae. These are known commonly as squeak beetles or screech-beetles.
There are six known living species, with a highly disjunct distribution, and one extinct species, Hygrobia cretzschmari.
All species occur in lowland areas and are mainly found in stagnant water. They live in the mud, silt, and detritus of ponds.
None of the species occur in sympatry, except for H. nigra and H. australasiae in south-eastern Australia.
Both adults and larvae are , specialized on oligochaet worms. The adults feed for as long as 30 min, coming to the surface very briefly to renew the air-supply.
Adults are able to stridulate, producing an audible sound, which is why they are called squeak or screech beetles.
The body length ranges from 8.0 to 11.0 mm. Compound eyes are present, not divided into ventral and dorsal portions, strongly protruding. Labrum is short and transverse. The antennae are filiform, almost glabrous, with 11 segments.
The monophyly of the family is not in doubt.
Hygrobiidae is thought to be the sister group to a clade comprising Dytiscidae (diving beetles), Amphizoidae (trout stream beetles) and Aspidytidae (cliff beetles), based on DNA sequence data.
Regarding the relationships among the species of Hygrobia, a recent phylogenetic analysis suggested a sister group relationship between H. hermanni and a clade formed by the Australian species, with H. nigra sister to H. australasiae.
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