| Archostemata
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| Tenomerga mucida | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Suborder: | Archostemata Kolbe, 1908 |
| Families | |
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Crowsoniellidae | |
The Archostemata are the smallest suborderofbeetles, consisting of 50 living species in five families and over 200 described fossil species.[1] They are an ancient lineage with a number of primitive characteristics. Antennae may be thread-shaped (filiform) or like a string of beads (moniliform). This suborder also contains the only beetles where both sexes are paedogenic, Micromalthus debilis. Modern archostematan beetles are considered rare, but were more diverse during the Mesozoic.
The term "Archostemata" is used more broadly by some authors to include both modern archostematans as well as stem-group beetles like "protocoleopterans", which some modern archostematans closely resemble to due to their plesiomorphic morphology.[2] Genetic research suggests that modern archostematans are a monophyletic group. Some genetic studies have recovered archostematans as the sister group of Myxophaga.[3]
There are five extant families.[4][5]
A partial phylogeny of Archostemata and early coleopterans, based on palaeontological data, from Boudinot et al. 2022.[2]
| Coleoptera |
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According to Li et al. 2023;[1] archostematan families are in bold.
| Coleoptera |
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| Archostemata |
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Authority control databases: National  |
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