Crowsoniella

Crowsoniella is a genus of beetles in the order Archostemata. It contains only a single species, Crowsoniella relicta, and is the only member of the monotypic family Crowsoniellidae. It is known only from three male specimens collected in 1973 in the Lepini mountains of central Italy by Roberto Pace. In a degraded pasture, the beetles were found among the roots of a large hawthorn tree, in deep calcareous soil.^[1] No other specimens have been found since.^[2]

Crowsoniella
Drawing of Crowsoniella relicta
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Suborder:	Archostemata
Family:	Crowsoniellidae Iablokoff-Khnzorian, 1983
Genus:	Crowsoniella Pace, 1975
Species:	C. relicta
Binomial name
Crowsoniella relicta Pace, 1975

One of the three known male specimens

At only 1.5 mm (1⁄16 in) in length, this species is comparatively small for this suborder. They also feature several unusual morphological features such as missing alae, modified and reduced mouth parts, and smooth elytra (lacking window punctures characteristic of this suborder). Nothing is known about this species' biology.^[3] Some authors have proposed a close relationship to Micromalthidae.^[2]