Lost in "Malacodermata": Taxonomy and phylogeny of the Prionoceridae (Coleoptera: Cleroidea)

Prionoceridae is a family of medium-sized, often colorful beetles related to soft-winged flower beetles (Melyridae), which is known only to a small number of coleopterists. They strongly resemble Cantharidae and Oedemeridae and are usually confused with these families in museum collections. Their soft-winged ("malacoderm") bodies and elongate heads make them look like Old World counterparts to Chaliognathinae soldier beetles.

Although they are often very common and easily collected, hardly anything has been published about this family for almost a century. During the past few years,  their taxonomy and phylogeny has been studied as part of my PhD thesis, using morphology and molecular markers. A new genus of the basal clade Lobonychinae is being described and a phylogenetic tree provides some insight into the more derived genera Idgia and Prionocerus. Not surpringsingly, a large number of species from the Oriental Region, especially Indochina, turned out to be undescribed. The limited available information on adult and larval biology is summarized.