(= PELOBIIDAE)

Code QC079999

Stout, more or less oval adephagan beetles without the smooth outline of the boat-shaped families yet not so strongly divided into head, prothorax and hind-body as most Carabidae. Antennae 11-segmented, bare, about as long as the head. Eyes somewhat bulging. Scutellum visible (cf. Haliplidae). Elytra covering the whole of the abdomen.

On the underside: The hind coxae are immobile and moderately large, projecting backward, but not so large as to meet the elytra or to cover the first sternite. The metasternum carries a transverse suture.

Hygrobiidae (suborder Adephaga) is a small family with one genus, Hygrobia , and five species: one from China, one from Europe and North Africa, and three from Australia. Two of the Australian species occur in the south east while the third is from the Northern Territory and Cape York Peninsula. All are slow-moving bottom feeders which swim by alternate leg movements. They are found in muddy, stagnant water.

Reference:

Lawrence, J.F. and Britton, E.B. (1991) Coleoptera. pp. 543-683. In: CSIRO, Insects of Australia. Volume 2. Melbourne University Press, Carlton, Victoria.