Kingdom Animalia Infraorder Elateriformia Phylum Arthropoda Rank Superfamily | Suborder Polyphaga Scientific name Elateroidea Higher classification Elateriformia Order Beetle | |
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Lower classifications Click beetle, Firefly, Soldier beetle, Lycidae, Cerophytidae | ||
The Elateroidea are a large superfamily of beetles. It contains the familiar click beetles, fireflies, and soldier beetles and their relatives.
Certain clusters of families within the superfamily are more strongly related to one another; for example, the Elateridae have close ties to the Anischiidae, Cerophytidae, Eucnemidae, and Throscidae, and some of these beetles can also "click".
Likewise, the Lampyridae are very closely related to the Drilidae, Omalisidae, Phengodidae (which includes Telegeusidae), and the doubtfully distinct Rhagophthalmidae; members of these families are also bioluminescent, at least as larvae. This group of families also includes many taxa whose females are larviform, though this is also known from a few other families in the superfamily.
The validity and relationships of some families, such as Podabrocephalidae, Rhagophthalmidae, and Rhinorhipidae, are not fully resolved.