Ommatidae

The Ommatidae are a family of beetles in the suborder Archostemata. The Ommatidae are considered the extant beetle family that has most ancestral characteristics. Extant species of this group only occur in Australia and South America, but the geographical distribution was much wider during the Mesozoic spanning across modern day Europe, Siberia, Myanmar, and China. Discovery of Upper Jurassic Chinese and Upper Cretaceous Burmese fossils suggest that they were widespread during Pangea. So far, 13 extinct genera containing over 100 species of these beetles have been described. Two extant genera have been assigned to this family: Omma and Tetraphalerus.