Burmese-amber
Guides
Andrognathus
Andrognathus is a genus of small, thin-bodied millipedes in the order Platydesmida, family Andrognathidae. The genus contains three extant species—A. corticarius, A. grubbsi, and A. hoffmani—distributed in deciduous forests of eastern North America, New Mexico, and Mexico respectively. A fossil species, A. burmiticus, is known from 99-million-year-old Burmese amber, indicating a formerly broader distribution. These millipedes are euanamorphic, adding segments throughout their lifespan, and exhibit paternal care behaviors.
Haeteriinae
Haeteriinae is a subfamily of clown beetles (Histeridae) comprising over 110 genera and 330 described species. Members are obligate myrmecophiles and termitophiles, specialized as social symbionts that infiltrate ant and termite colonies. The subfamily exhibits dramatic behavioral and chemical adaptations for colony integration, including mouth-to-mouth feeding with host workers, grooming behaviors, and chemical mimicry of host scents. A 99-million-year-old fossil from Burmese amber demonstrates that this symbiotic relationship originated in the Cretaceous period, contemporaneous with the earliest-known ants.
Melandryidae
False Darkling Beetles
Melandryidae, or false darkling beetles, is a family of beetles in the superfamily Tenebrionoidea containing approximately 420 species in 60 genera. Members are found worldwide and are primarily associated with rotting wood and wood-decomposing fungi in both larval and adult stages. The family has a fossil record extending back to at least the mid-Cretaceous (Albian-Cenomanian) with specimens in Burmese amber, and the tribe Hypulini is documented from late Eocene Baltic amber. Many species are saproxylic, inhabiting dead and decaying wood in forest ecosystems.
Metriini
Ant nest beetles
Metriini is a small tribe of ground beetles in the subfamily Paussinae, commonly known as ant nest beetles. The tribe contains at least three genera and approximately six described species. Members are found in North America and China, with one extinct genus known from Burmese amber. These beetles are associated with ant colonies, though specific ecological details remain limited.
Pinophilini
Pinophilini is a tribe of rove beetles in the subfamily Paederinae, family Staphylinidae. The tribe is divided into two subtribes: Pinophilina and Procirrina. The subtribe Procirrina contains eight extant genera with approximately 764 species. The oldest known fossil representative is †Cretoprocirrus trichotos from Upper Cretaceous Burmese amber (ca. 99 Ma), extending the fossil record of this tribe back from the previously known Cenozoic occurrences.
Prionoglarididae
Large-winged Barklice
Prionoglarididae is a family of small, winged insects in the order Psocodea, commonly known as barklice or booklice. The family contains approximately 9 genera and over 20 described species distributed across Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America. Members are characterized by reduced or simplified lacinia (mouthpart structures) in adults and highly specialized male genitalia. The genus Neotrogla is notable for exhibiting sex-reversed genitalia, with females possessing an intromittent organ (termed a gynosome) and males having vagina-like structures. Most species inhabit cave environments.
Sejidae
Sejidae is a family of mites within the order Mesostigmata. The group has a fossil record extending to the mid Cretaceous, with the oldest known specimen being an indeterminate deutonymph preserved in Burmese amber from Myanmar. As a family-level taxon, it encompasses multiple genera of predatory or free-living mites, though specific biological details for the family as a whole remain limited in available literature.
Sphaeriusidae
Minute Bog Beetles
Sphaeriusidae is a family of minute myxophagan beetles (Coleoptera: Myxophaga) known as living fossils due to their exceptional morphological conservatism spanning at least 100 million years. The family contains three genera: the extinct †Burmasporum, the newly defined Bezesporum (known from both Burmese amber and extant Southeast Asian fauna), and Sphaerius, which has worldwide distribution. These beetles are characterized by miniaturized, shiny, blackish, hemispherical bodies and specialized riparian habits. Their species diversity and fine-scale morphological variation have been historically underestimated due to their small size and cryptic habits.
Synchitini
cylindrical bark beetles
Synchitini is a tribe of cylindrical bark beetles in the family Zopheridae, established by Redtenbacher in 1845. The tribe contains approximately 19 genera and at least 40 described species. Members of this group are characterized by their elongated, cylindrical body form adapted for living under bark. A fossil genus, †Paleoendeitoma, has been described from Burmese amber dating to the Cenomanian period.
Zopheridae
Ironclad beetles
Zopheridae is a family of beetles in the superfamily Tenebrionoidea, commonly known as ironclad beetles. The family has expanded considerably in recent years to include the former families Monommatidae and Colydiidae as subfamilies or tribes. It comprises approximately 190 genera and 1700 species distributed worldwide. Members are characterized by exceptionally hardened exoskeletons that make specimens difficult to pin for collection. The family includes diverse feeding habits, with many species associated with rotting wood or fungus, while some Colydiinae are predatory or feed on living plant tissue.