Archostemata facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Archostemata |
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| Tenomerga mucida | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Suborder: | Archostemata Kolbe, 1908 |
| Families | |
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Crowsoniellidae |
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Archostemata is the smallest group of beetles, known as a suborder. There are fewer than fifty types, or species, of these beetles known today.
Contents
What Are Archostemata?
Archostemata beetles are very old. They have many features that are similar to the very first beetles. These first beetles appeared about 250 million years ago. This means Archostemata are like living fossils, showing us what early beetles might have looked like.
Special Features
One special thing about this group is that it includes the only beetles that show paedogenesis. This means some of their young, like the Micromalthus debilis beetle, can reproduce even before they become adults. This is a very rare trait in the insect world.
Where Do They Live?
Today, Archostemata beetles are quite rare. You won't find many of them around. However, scientists have found many fossils of these beetles. These fossils show that Archostemata were once much more common.
Ancient History
Fossils from the Permian period, which was about 250 million years ago, suggest that these beetles lived all over the world. The few species we see now are just small reminders of their large populations from long ago.
Images for kids
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A close-up of Tenomerga mucida, a type of Archostemata beetle.
See also
In Spanish: Archostemata para niños
