Family Psephenidae (Water penny beetles)

Domain: EucaryaKingdom: AnimaliaPhylum: ArthropodaClass: InsectaOrder: Coleoptera Phenology

Psephenidae Species Discovered in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Species Common Name Photo Where? Phenology
Ectopria nervosaWater penny(NA) HerePhenology
Ectopria speciesWater penny species(NA) HerePhenology
Ectopria thoracicaWater penny(NA) HerePhenology
Psephenidae_genus speciesWater penny species(NA) HerePhenology
Psephenus herrickiWater penny(NA) HerePhenology
Psephenus speciesWater penny species(NA) HerePhenology

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Note: Taxa on this list are only those contained in the ATBI database,
and do not neccessarily include all Park taxa from historic park reports, literature,
or other sources that have not yet been entered
in the Biodiversity Database.
Also note: where part of the taxon name is species,
it means that the taxon name has not yet been agreed upon by taxonomists for this group,
or that it was not identified to this level.

In Case You Didn't Know ...
The common name for this family comes from the fact that their aquatic larvae are flat, round, and look like segmented pennies. Their flat body structure helps keep them from dislodging in the currents of riffles. Though the adults are not known to feed much (if at all), the larvae feed at night on algae.


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