What is "rove beetle"

Rove \Rove\, n. The act of wandering; a ramble.

In thy nocturnal rove one moment halt.
--Young.

Rove beetle (Zo["o]l.), any one of numerous species of beetles of the family Staphylinid[ae], having short elytra beneath which the wings are folded transversely. They are rapid runners, and seldom fly.

n. Any of various carnivorous or scavenging beetles of the family ''(taxlink Staphylinidae family noshow=1)'' that are often found in decaying matter and have slender bodies and short wing covers.

n. active beetle typically having predatory or scavenging habits

The rove beetles are a family (Staphylinidae) of beetles, primarily distinguished by their short elytra (wing covers) that typically leave more than half of their abdomens exposed. With roughly 63,000 species in thousands of genera, the group is currently recognized as the largest family of beetles. It is an ancient group, with fossil rove beetles known from the Triassic, 200 million years ago, and possibly even earlier if the genus Leehermania proves to be a member of this family. They are an ecologically and morphologically diverse group of beetles, and commonly encountered in terrestrial ecosystems.

One well-known species is the devil's coach horse beetle. For some other species, see List of British rove beetles.