Family:
Pselaphidae
Life > Eukaryotes > Opisthokonta > Metazoa (animals) > Bilateria > Ecdysozoa > Panarthropoda > Tritocerebra > Arthopoda > Mandibulata > Atelocerata > Panhexapoda > Hexapoda
> Insecta
(insects) > Dicondyla > Pterygota > Metapterygota > Neoptera > Eumetabola >
Holometabola > Coleoptera
(beetles)
> Polyphaga
> Superfamily: Staphylinoidea
Small beetles (0.5 - 6.0 mm but usually < 2 mm long) with
abbreviated elytra (as in Staphylinidae)
that expose most of the abdominal segments. They are found mainly in
decaying matter on the ground (such as leaf litter) and there are also many
species that are adapted to live in ant nests. Adults are mainly predators on
e.g. mites. About 100 genera and 400
species are known from southern Africa.
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