Micromalthidae is an ancient family of small beetles belonging to the suborder Archostemata. The only known living representative is the telephone-pole beetle, Micromalthus debilis. A few extinct species have been described,[1] the oldest being the Late Permian Archaeomalthus synoriacos. It is one of the oldest families of beetles still existing today.[1]
Micromalthus debilis is remarkable for its paedogenetic reproductive strategy which is almost unique in the animal kingdom, with the partial exception of Loricifera,[2] and that could have already evolved in prehistoric Micromalthidae.