Cretaceous-fossil
Guides
Agyrtidae
Primitive Carrion Beetles
Agyrtidae is a small family of beetles in the superfamily Staphylinoidea, containing approximately 60 species across three subfamilies: Agyrtinae, Necrophilinae, and Pterolomatinae. Members range from 4–14 mm in length and exhibit diverse ecological habits, with some subfamilies associated with carrion and decaying organic matter while others show predatory or coastal specialized lifestyles. The family has a disjunct distribution in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere and New Zealand, with fossil records extending to the Early Cretaceous.
Amiseginae
Amiseginae is a subfamily of cuckoo wasps (Chrysididae) containing over 30 genera and approximately 150 described species. These wasps are obligate parasitoids of stick insect eggs (Phasmatodea), a highly specialized ecological relationship that has persisted since at least the mid-Cretaceous. Females of some genera are flightless and exhibit ant-like morphology. The subfamily has a global distribution.
Anthicidae
Ant-like Flower Beetles, Ant-like Beetles
Anthicidae is a family of beetles comprising over 3,500 species in approximately 100 genera. Members are commonly known as ant-like flower beetles due to their striking morphological resemblance to ants. The family is characterized by a constricted head forming a distinct neck and slender appendages that enhance the ant-mimicry. Adults are omnivorous, feeding on small arthropods, pollen, fungi, and other available materials. The family has fossil representatives dating to the Early Cretaceous (Barremian) from Lebanese amber.
Catopocerinae
Catopocerinae is a subfamily of small beetles within Leiodidae, containing at least two extant genera—Catopocerus and Pinodytes—in North America, plus the extinct genus Archaeocerus from Cretaceous Myanmar amber. All described extant species are eyeless and wingless, inhabiting forest soil and litter. The subfamily has been revised taxonomically with numerous new species described, particularly in western North America.
Corethrellidae
frog-biting midges
Corethrellidae are a family of tiny hematophagous flies in the order Diptera. The family contains a single genus, Corethrella, with approximately 105 extant and seven fossil species worldwide. Females are obligate external parasites of frogs, locating hosts by eavesdropping on male anuran mating calls using their Johnston's organ. The family has a fossil record extending to the Lower Cretaceous, approximately 110 million years ago.
Deinodryinus
Deinodryinus is a genus of dryinid wasps established by Perkins in 1907. The genus contains at least five described species distributed across multiple continents, including Madagascar, Brazil, and Mexico. Members are parasitoid wasps, though specific host associations remain largely undocumented. The genus exhibits an almost cosmopolitan distribution pattern.
Gonomyia
Gonomyia is a genus of crane flies in the family Limoniidae, established by Meigen in 1818. The genus contains numerous species organized into multiple subgenera, including Gonomyia, Gonomyina, Idiocerodes, Leiponeura, Megalipophleps, Neolipophleps, Paralipophleps, Prolipophleps, and Teuchogonomyia. Fossil evidence from Cretaceous amber deposits in Spain and Myanmar indicates the genus originated by at least the Upper Albian, approximately 100 million years ago. Species diversity spans multiple continents with modern records from Europe, Asia, and the Americas.
Liposcelididae
booklice, barklice
Liposcelididae is a family of small, flattened psocids commonly known as booklice or barklice, containing approximately 200 species across nine genera. Members are frequently wingless, with fused mesothorax and metathorax in wingless forms. The family represents the free-living sister group to true lice (Phthiraptera), with fossil evidence dating divergence to at least 100 million years ago. Several species, particularly in the genus Liposcelis, are significant pests of stored grain and food products worldwide.
Lophocateridae
Lophocateridae is a small family of cleroid beetles comprising over 100 species in 14+ genera. Formerly treated as a subfamily or tribe of Trogossitidae, molecular phylogenetic analyses led to its elevation to family rank in 2019. The family is recovered as sister to Chaetosomatidae and Trogossitidae sensu stricto. Extant species occupy diverse ecological niches including fungivory, herbivory, and predation, primarily in association with dead wood habitats. The family has a fossil record extending to the Early Cretaceous.
Nabinae
damsel bugs
Nabinae is a subfamily of damsel bugs (Nabidae) within the true bugs (Hemiptera). Members are predatory insects characterized by raptorial forelegs adapted for capturing prey. The subfamily includes both extant species and fossil records from the Cretaceous, including specimens preserved in Burmese amber. Extant species are found across diverse terrestrial habitats.
Omaliini
ocellate rove beetles
Omaliini is a tribe of rove beetles within the subfamily Omaliinae, characterized by the presence of ocelli. The tribe comprises approximately 45 genera and 450 described species distributed across all zoogeographic regions. Fossil evidence from Cretaceous amber has established the minimum age of the tribe at approximately 100 million years. The tribe exhibits considerable morphological and ecological diversity, with ongoing taxonomic research revealing numerous new species, particularly in Asia and the Papuan Region.
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.
Ripiphoridae
wedge-shaped beetles
Ripiphoridae is a cosmopolitan family of approximately 450 described species of beetles commonly known as wedge-shaped beetles. The family is notable for hypermetamorphic parasitoid development, a trait shared only with Meloidae among beetles. Host associations vary by subfamily: Ripiphorinae attack bees and wasps, Ripidiinae parasitize cockroaches, and Pelecotominae attack wood-boring beetle larvae. The family exhibits extreme morphological modifications including abbreviated elytra, sexually dimorphic antennae (flabellate or pectinate in males), and in some groups, wingless larviform females.
Sclerogibbidae
Sclerogibbidae is a small family of aculeate wasps within the superfamily Chrysidoidea. All modern species are specialized ectoparasitoids of Embioptera (webspinners). Females of extant species are wingless (apterous), a trait not shared by fossil species known from Cretaceous and Miocene ambers. The family has a sparse but geographically widespread distribution across tropical and subtropical regions.
Sierolomorphidae
Sierolomorphidae is a small family of aculeate wasps containing 13 extant species across two genera, Sierolomorpha and Proscleroderma. The family has a fossil record extending to the Early Cretaceous, with specimens known from amber deposits. They are solitary wasps of rare occurrence, predominantly distributed in the Northern Hemisphere.
Teredidae
Teredidae is a family of small beetles in the superfamily Coccinelloidea, containing approximately 160 species in 10 genera. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution excluding South America and Antarctica. Teredids are typically found in concealed microhabitats such as under bark, in leaf litter, and especially within the galleries of wood-boring beetles. The family was historically treated as a subfamily of Bothrideridae but is now recognized as distinct. Fossil records extend to the mid-Cretaceous with Delteredolaemus from Burmese amber.
Vermileonidae
wormlions
Vermileonidae is a small family of Brachycera flies comprising fewer than 80 described species in 11 genera. The family is notable for its unusual biology: larvae construct conical pitfall traps in sand to capture prey, while adults are slender, long-legged flies that visit flowers for nectar. Historically classified within Rhagionidae, Vermileonidae is now recognized as a distinct family due to marked morphological and biological differences. The group has a relictual distribution concentrated in arid regions of Africa and the western Mediterranean, with additional species in Asia and the Nearctic.