any of several thousand species of aquatic beetles (order Coleoptera), including members of the families Haliplidae (crawling water beetles), Amphizoidae (trout-stream beetles), Hygrobiidae (screech beetles), Gyrinidae (whirligig beetles), Noteridae (burrowing water beetles), Hydrophilidae (water scavenger beetles), Dryopidae (long-toed water beetles), and Dytiscidae (true water beetles, also known as diving beetles or predaceous diving beetles). For additional information on groups and species of water beetles, see predaceous diving beetle; water scavenger beetle; whirligig beetle.