| Languria | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Unidentified Languria adult in Dickens County, Texas, USA | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Clade: | Pancrustacea |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Suborder: | Polyphaga |
| Infraorder: | Cucujiformia |
| Family: | Erotylidae |
| Tribe: | Languriini |
| Genus: | Languria Latreille, 1802 |
| Type species | |
| Languria ruficollis Latreille, 1802 | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Janessa Chevrolat in Dejean 1837 | |
Languria is an American genus in the pleasing fungus beetle family (Erotylidae). They belong to the lizard beetle tribe Languriini of subfamily Languriinae; formerly, their subfamily was considered a distinct family, and their tribe upranked to subfamily status, whereas some recent authors prefer to merge Languriinae into subfamily Erotylinae.
This genus is native to North and Central America; of the almost 20 species, three range as far north as Canada, but most inhabit Florida and adjacent regions. One species, L.mozardi, is occasionally found outside the Americas as introduced individuals. These beetles are slim and small, typically with blackish elytra and a red pronotum, sometimes with a black mark on the latter and/or red marks on the former. The head is red or black depending on species. They measure about half an inch (~13 mm) in length at most but sometimes as short as 4 mm; some species have extreme individual variation in size and/or polymorphism in coloration. In most of their range, Languria can be distinguished from other lizard beetles by the tips of their elytra being smoothly rounded, with a slight curve or bluntness at most.
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