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Gyrinidae

Whirligig beetles

(image here)

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Subclass:	Pterygota
Superorder:	Neoptera
Order:	Coleoptera
Suborder:	Adephaga
Family:	Gyrinidae

Genera

Spanglerogyrus
Dineutus
Gyrinus
Gyretes
(eight others)

The whirligig beetles are a family (Gyrinidae) of water beetles that normally live on the surface of the water. They get their common name from their habit of swimming rapidly in circles when alarmed, and are also notable for their divided eyes which can see both above and below water.

The family includes about 700 species worldwide, in 12 genera.

Reference

Ross H. Arnett, Jr. and Michael C. Thomas, American Beetles (CRC Press, 2001), chap. 7

Referenced By

Beetle | Beetles | Coleoptera | Water beetle

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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Gyrinidae".