Description
Beetles (Coleoptera) represent the most diverse group in terrestrial ecosystems, having evolved a wide range of ecological adaptations and established intricate interactions with other organisms. To date, more than 380000 beetle species have been described. In recent years, advances in molecular phylogenetics and sequencing technologies have greatly refined the higher-level classification of Coleoptera, leading to the synonyms or separation of several family-level groups. Consequently, the coleopteran section of The Name-List of Insecta (Above Family Level) with Chinese Common Names—long used by the local entomological community—has become outdated and requires revision. In this study, we provide an updated checklist of extant coleopteran families based on the latest higher-level classification, encompassing 26 superfamilies and 196 families, with corresponding Chinese family names. Several existing Chinese names were slightly revised to reflect better morphological characteristics, ecological traits, geographic distribution, and common usage.
Data Records
The data in this checklist resource has been published as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A), which is a standardized format for sharing biodiversity data as a set of one or more data tables. The core data table contains 227 records.
This IPT archives the data and thus serves as the data repository. The data and resource metadata are available for download in the downloads section. The versions table lists other versions of the resource that have been made publicly available and allows tracking changes made to the resource over time.
Versions
The table below shows only published versions of the resource that are publicly accessible.
How to cite
Researchers should cite this work as follows:
Ref. Hsiao, Y., Hu, F.-S., Ho, B.-H., Lee, C.-F. (2026) Revised checklist of family-group names in extant Coleoptera (Insecta, Coleoptera) with Chinese names. Formosan Entomologist 46(1): 1-9.
Rights
Researchers should respect the following rights statement:
The publisher and rights holder of this work is Department of Entomology, National Chung Hsing University. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY 4.0) License.
GBIF Registration
This resource has been registered with GBIF, and assigned the following GBIF UUID: a661cc30-d9c0-49c8-80cd-df2ca5c4cf81. Department of Entomology, National Chung Hsing University publishes this resource, and is itself registered in GBIF as a data publisher endorsed by Taiwan Biodiversity Information Facility.
Keywords
Checklist; Taxonomicauthority
Contacts
- Metadata Provider ●
- Originator ●
- Point Of Contact
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2619-3296
- Originator
- Originator
- Originator
Geographic Coverage
Global
| Bounding Coordinates | South West [-90, -180], North East [90, 180] |
|---|
Taxonomic Coverage
No Description available
| Kingdom | Animalia |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Arthropoda |
| Class | Insecta |
| Order | Coleoptera |
Temporal Coverage
| Start Date | 2026-04-13 |
|---|
Sampling Methods
The study targets all extant Coleopteran taxa at the family level and above. The sample list is synthesized by integrating: 1. Modern Classification Systems: Based on recent phylogenomic analyses (e.g., McKenna et al., 2019; Cai et al., 2022; Bouchard et al., 2024). 2. Regional Databases: Data from the Catalogue of Life in Taiwan (TaiCOL) and the Taiwan Encyclopedia of Life (TaiEOL). 3. Nomenclature Reference: The "List of Chinese Names for Insect Orders and Families."
| Study Extent | Based on the latest phylogenomic analyses and higher-level classification systems of Coleoptera (McKenna et al., 2019; Cai et al., 2022; Bouchard et al., 2024), this study reorganizes the checklist of extant Coleopteran families and higher taxa, accompanied by their respective Chinese common names. |
|---|
Method step description:
- 1. Taxonomic Framework Update: Reorganize the checklist of extant Coleoptera (family level and above) according to the latest higher-level classification systems and phylogenomic evidence. 2. Selection of Established Chinese Names: Prioritize existing common names from TaiCOL and TaiEOL. Retain widely accepted terms in the Taiwanese community, even if they originated from other regions (e.g., Cucujidae), to respect established usage. 3. Evaluation and Revision of Non-Native Taxa: Review names for taxa not found in Taiwan. If existing common names are misleading regarding geographic distribution (e.g., Promecheilidae), the names are adjusted for accuracy. 4. Naming of New or Independent Taxa: Assign new Chinese names to recently discovered families or taxa newly separated from older groups (e.g., Iberobaeniidae, Anamorphidae) that are absent from previous checklists. 5. Standardization of New Common Names: When creating names: - Adaptation: Convert suitable existing names from other regions into the conventional Taiwanese format ("□□蟲"). - Original Etymology: If no suitable name exists, derive new names based on morphological traits, ecology, geographic distribution, or the meaning of the Latin scientific name.
Additional Metadata
| Alternative Identifiers | a661cc30-d9c0-49c8-80cd-df2ca5c4cf81 |
|---|---|
| https://ipt.taibif.tw/resource?r=coleoptera_family_chinese_names |