Kateretidae Explained

Kateretidae also known as short-winged flower beetles are a family of beetles in the superfamily Cucujoidea.^{[1] [2]} There are 10 extant and 4 extinct genera, and at least 40 described species. They are found worldwide except in New Zealand. Adults are anthophagous, feeding on flowers, while the larvae are spermatophagous inside the flower corolla.^[3]

A fossil kateretid, Pelretes, has been described and claimed to have been an pollinator of angiosperms based on it being preserved in amber that also contained angiosperm pollen, much of it in coprolites,^[4] although this interpretation has been questioned.^[5]

Genera

• Amartus LeConte, 1861

^{i c g b}

• Anamartus Jelinek, 1976

^g

• Anthonaeus Horn, 1879

^{i c g b}

• Boreades Parson, 1943

^{i c g}

• Brachyleptus Motschulsky, 1845

^g

• Brachypterolus Grouvelle, 1913

^{i c g b}

• Brachypterus Kugelann, 1794

^{i c g b}

• Heterhelus DuVal, 1858

^{i c g b}

• Kateretes Herbst, 1793

^{i c g b}

• Neobrachypterus Jelínek, 1979

^{i c g}

• †Cretaretes Peris and Jelínek 2019 Burmese amber, Myanmar, Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian)
• †Eoceniretes Kirejtshuk & Nel, 2008

^g

• †Furcalabratum Poinar and Brown, 2018, Burmese amber, Myanmar, Cenomanian
• †Lebanoretes Kirejtshuk and Azar 2008 Lebanese amber, Early Cretaceous (Barremian)

Data sources: i = ITIS, c = Catalogue of Life, g = GBIF, b = Bugguide.net

Notes and References

1. http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/abrs/online-resources/fauna/afd/taxa/Kateretidae Family KATERETIDAE
2. http://nomen.at/Cucujoidea Cucujoidea - Nomen.at - animals and plants
3. Peris. David. Jelínek. Josef. February 2020. Syninclusions of two new species of short-winged flower beetle (Coleoptera: Kateretidae) in mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber (Myanmar). Cretaceous Research. en. 106. 104264. 10.1016/j.cretres.2019.104264. 204258472 .
4. Tihelka . Erik . Li . Liqin . Fu . Yanzhe . Su . Yitong . Huang . Diying . Cai . Chenyang . 12 April 2021 . Angiosperm pollinivory in a Cretaceous beetle . . en . 7 . 4 . 445–451 . 10.1038/s41477-021-00893-2 . 2055-0278 . 21 July 2024.
5. Bao . Tong . Wedmann . Sonja . Grímsson . Friðgeir . Beutel . Rolf Georg . Seyfullah . Leyla . Bao . Liang . Jarzembowski . Edmund A. . 23 December 2021 . Was the kateretid beetle Pelretes really a Cretaceous angiosperm pollinator? . . en . 8 . 1 . 38–40 . 10.1038/s41477-021-01044-3 . 2055-0278 . 30 June 2024.