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Contents: 1. Preamble. 2. Position of the superfamilies cucujoidea and tenebrionoidea in the natural system of coleoptera. 3. North-east India an outline profile. 4. Material and methods. 5. Systematic account. 6. Current distributional profile of the species of cucujoid and tenebrionoid beetle families in the states of North-East India. 7. Concluding remarks. 8. Summary. 9. References. 10. Figures.

The Coleoptera are currently grouped into about 176 families under 23 superfamilies. In the number of families included, the superfamilies Cucujoidea and Tenebrionoidea exceed any other superfamily and the diversity of structure and habitat among them are correspondingly great. Many of these beetle species have significant bearings in human economy. However, the species richness and functional attributes of the Cucujoid and Tenebrionoid beetles have been quite inadequately known from India. Owing to its unique bioclimatic situation and diverse flora, the northeast Indian territory has been a major zone of concentration of the rich beetle fauna of India, and especially of the Cucujoid and Tenebrionoid beetle fauna.