Scirtiformia
Guides
Scirtoidea
Scirtoidea is a superfamily of small beetles within the suborder Polyphaga, traditionally comprising four families: Clambidae, Decliniidae, Eucinetidae, and Scirtidae. Molecular phylogenetics has challenged this circumscription, suggesting Clambidae and Eucinetidae belong to a separate superfamily Clamboidea. Scirtoidea and Clamboidea represent the two earliest diverging lineages of extant polyphagan beetles. The superfamily includes two extinct families known from Mesozoic deposits: †Mesocinetidae (Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous, Asia) and †Elodophthalmidae (Lebanese amber, Barremian).