Xenoscelinae is a subfamily of the pleasing fungus beetles (family Erotylidae). They have been recorded from almost all over the world, but most genera are small or monotypic; also, circumscription of this subfamily heavily varies among authors.
Some define the subfamily more widely, downranking the Cryptophilinae (including Empocryptinae and Toraminae), Loberinae and Pharaxonothinae (including Setariolinae) to tribes of subfamily Xenoscelinae, in which case the core xenoscelines also become a tribe Xenoscelini. Earlier, all these taxa were usually considered to be more closely related to the lizard beetles than to the "typical" pleasing fungus beetles of subfamily Erotylinae, and united with the lizard beetles in a distinct family Languriidae. But the "Languriidae" turned out to be paraphyletic with Erotylidae and eventually were merged into it, leading to a re-sorting of subtaxa that is still not defintely resolved as of 2025.
Genera
These genera belong to the subfamily Xenoscelinae in its narrow definition (= tribe Xenoscelini, if the Xenoscelinae are defined sensu lato):
The former genus Rhopalocryptus, believed to be a xenosceline pleasing fungus beetle, is actually a narrow-waisted bark beetle (family Salpingidae) of genus Trogocryptoides.
Two fossil genera have been assigned to the Xenoscelinae in its narrow circumscription:
Another fossil genus from Late EoceneRovno amber belongs to the Xenoscelinae sensu lato, but whether it warrants inclusion in the narrowly defined subfamily is not certain:
12345678910Leschen, Richard A.B. & Węgrzynowicz, Piotr (1998): Generic catalogue and taxonomic status of Languriidae (Cucujoidea). Ann.Zool.48(3/4): 221-243. PDF fulltext
↑Lyubarsky, G.Yu. & Perkovsky, E.E. (2012): A new genus of Erotylidae from Eocene amber (Coleoptera: Clavicornia[: Erotylidae]). Russian Entomological Journal21(1): 35-38. PDF fulltext
Further reading
Arnett, R.H. Jr.; Thomas, M. C.; Skelley, P. E.; Frank, J. H., eds. (2002). American Beetles, Volume II: Polyphaga: Scarabaeoidea through Curculionoidea. CRC Press. ISBN978-0849309540.
Lawrence, J.F.; Newton Jr., A.F. (1995). Pakaluk, James; Slipinski, Stanislaw Adam (eds.). Families and subfamilies of Coleoptera (with selected genera, notes, references and data on family-group names). Biology, Phylogeny, and Classification of Coleoptera: Papers Celebrating the 80th Birthday of Roy A. Crowson. Vol.2. Muzeum i Instytut Zoologii PAN. pp.779–1006. ISBN83-85192-34-4.
Lawrence, J.F.; Vaurie, P. (1983). "Family: Languriidae". A Catalog of the Coleoptera of America North of Mexico. United States Department of Agriculture.
Lord, Nathan Patrick; Hartley, Christopher S.; Lawrence, John F.; McHugh, Joseph V.; etal. (2010). "Phylogenetic analysis of the minute brown scavenger beetles (Coleoptera: Latridiidae), and recognition of a new beetle family, Akalyptoischiidae fam. n. (Coleoptera: Cucujoidea)". Systematic Entomology. 35 (4): 753–763. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3113.2010.00532.x. ISSN0307-6970.
Skelley, Paul E.; McHugh, Joseph V. (2002). Arnett Jr., R. Jr.; Thomas, M.; Skelley, P.; Frank, J. (eds.). Family 87. Erotylidae Leach 1815. American Beetles vol. 2, Polyphaga: Scarabaeoidea through Curculionoidea. CRC Press. pp.348–355. ISBN0-8493-0954-9.
_japonica_in_dorsal_view_-_ZooKeys-261-051-g005-16.jpeg){kind=small}