Kateretidae Erichson, 1846

Hisamatsu, Sadatomo, 2011, A review of the Japanese Kateretidae fauna (Coleoptera: Cucujoidea), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 51 (2), pp. 551-585 : 553-555

Kateretidae Erichson, 1846

Type genus. Kateretes Herbst, 1793 (subsequent designation by ICZN 1999).

Diagnosis. Length 1.3–6.0 mm. Head prognathous; subantennal grooves and subantennal ridges absent; frontoclypeal suture short or absent; maxilla with galea and lacinia; antennae 11-jointed, last 2 or 3 segments forming a loose club (without club in Sibirhelus Kirejtshuk, 1989 ). Procoxal cavities incompletely closed posteriorly. Male genitalia with separated parameres; aedeagus asymmetrical. Larvae without urogomphi and preogomphi (see JELÍNEK & CLINE 2010 for detailed diagnostic features of adults and larvae).

Bionomics. Both larval and adult Kateretidae are anthophagous, developing in flowers of angiosperms ( JELÍNEK & CLINE 2010). Larvae are monophagous or oligophagous, typically requiring specific plants for their development.

Distribution. Kateretidae comprises about 95 species within 14 genera worldwide ( JELÍNEK & CLINE 2010). There are two described fossil genera, Eoceniretes Kirejtshuk & Nel, 2008 from Lowermost Eocene French amber and Lebanoretes Kirejtshuk & Azar, 2008 from Lower Cretaceous Lebanese amber ( KIREJTSHUK & AZAR 2008, KIREJTSHUK & NEL 2008). Members of Katereridae are mainly distributed in the Holarctic Region, but some taxa are distributed in other geographical regions – Neotropical Region: Cercometes Reitter, 1875 and Neobrachypterus Jelínek, 1979 ; Oriental Region: some species of Brachypterus Kugelann, 1794 , Heterhelus Jacquelin du Val, 1858 , and Kateretes Herbst, 1793 ( K. ornatus Jelínek, 1978 ); and Australian Region: Jelinekiella Kirejtshuk, 2000 ( J. aterrima Kirejtshuk, 1986 ) and Notobrachypterus Blackburn, 1892 ( JELÍNEK & CLINE 2010).

Note. Detailed descriptions of the family were recently provided (e.g., KIREJTSHUK 1992, AUDISIO 1993, JELÍNEK & CLINE 2010). There are some comprehensive studies on Palaearctic fauna (KIRK- SPRIGGS 1996, SPORNRAFT 1967, KIREJTSHUK 1992, AUDISIO 1993), and a comprehensive treatment of the New World fauna is currently underway (Cline & Audisio, pers. comm. 2010). Some larvae were illustrated by BÖVING & CRAIGHEAD (1931), HAYASHI (1978), and CLINE & AUDISIO (unpubl.).