The genus Notomicrus contains some of the smallest of all aquatic beetles, ranging in length from 1.0 mm to just over 1.6 mm in total length. Currently, 9 species are recognized: eight in the New World, plus one in the Australian and Oriental regions. Guignot (1946) designates the type species. Zimmermann (1927) and Balfour-Browne (1939) consider all the Old World species to be identical with Notomicrus tenellus (Clark), and with Watts (1985), define the Australian and Oriental species. Beutel and Roughley (1987) discuss the systematic position of the genus.
Checklist of Notomicrus
WorldUS, US Territories, and Canada
Key to Species of Notomicrus
New World - Young (1978), 8 species
Literature Cited
Balfour-Browne, J.
- 1939. A contribution to the study of the Dytiscidae. (Coleoptera, Adephaga). Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. Series 11. 3(13):97-114.
- 1987. On the systematic position of the genus Notomicrus Sharp (Hydradephaga: Coleoptera). Canadian J. Zool. 65(8):1898-1905.
- 1946. Genotypes des Dytiscoidea et des Gyrinoidea. Rev. Francaise d'Entomol. 13:112-118.
- 1880-1882. On aquatic carnivorous Coleoptera or Dytiscidae. Sci. Trans. Royal Dublin Soc. 2(new series), part 2:179-1003 + plates vii-xviii.
- 1985. A faunal assessment of Australian Hydradephaga. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 137:22-28.
- 1978. The New World species of the water-beetle genus Notomicrus (Noteridae). Syst. Entomol. 3(3):285-293.
- 1927. Dytiscidae, pp. 15-19. In Insects of Samoa and other Samoan terrestrial Arthropoda, part 4, fasc. 1.
A portion of this treatment was adapted from a manuscript prepared by R. E. Roughley, University of Manitoba.
Revised 4 December 1995
Warren U. Brigham
brigham@wub.igis.uiuc.edu