Description

Aleocharinae

Pliocene
Rita Blanca Formation
Oldham County, TX USA.
4mm rove beetle on 53mm slab.

Insect. Arthropod.  Coleoptera.

The Aleocharinae is a subfamily within the rove beetle family, Staphylinidae.  Alone, the Aleocharinae includes over 12,000 species.  As a rule they are very small (3-5mm).

The oldest known aleocharine rove beetle was described from Middle Cretaceous Burmese amber in 2015.  The Staphylinidae dates back to the Triassic.