taxonID	type	description	language	source
03D487C7FFDFFFA7EB949C9C244999E1.taxon	discussion	is an extraordinarily rare, monotypic beetle family within the archaic suborder Archostemata. Its only known species, Crowsoniella relicta Pace, 1976 (Fig. 1 A – C), is minute (1.32 – 1.74 in length, among the smallest known archostematans) and is known only from three historical male specimens (holotype and two paratypes) collected by Roberto Pace in 1973 in central Italy (Pace 1976). All type material was obtained by washing deep calcareous soil at the base of old chestnut trees (Castanea sativa Miller) in the Lepini Mountains, Lazio region (Pace 1976; Bouchard 2014; Carpaneto et al. 2015). In the more than 50 years since its description, dozens of coleopterists have mounted unsuccessful attempts to locate additional individuals at or near the type locality (Hörnschemeyer 2009; Kirejtshuk 2010; Ge et al. 2011; Bouchard 2014). Consequently, C. relicta is not only the single representative of Crowsoniellidae, but also the only extant native European archostematan beetle. As noted by Bocak et al. (2016), Crowsoniellidae and Iberobaeniidae are the only two “ new ” beetle families discovered in Europe since 1950. The family is frequently regarded as one of the most enigmatic beetle lineages: adults lack many typical archostematan characters (for example, absence of wing, modified and reduced mouthparts, and smooth elytra that lack the otherwise characteristic window punctures), and little is known of the species’ life history. Given its rarity, documented biological and ecological information is limited to the original collection data; the species is presumed to be saproxylic (wood- or fungus-associated) since all known Archostemata are tied to decaying wood or roots (Carpaneto et al. 2015). Crowsoniella was originally placed in Tetraphaleridae of Archostemata by Pace (1976) and Crowson (1976) on the basis of characters such as inflated ultimate palpomeres, the presence of lateral antennal grooves, a laterally bordered prothorax, and relatively short legs. Lawrence (1982) and Lawrence & Newton (1982) accepted the placement of this genus within Archostemata. Shortly thereafter, Iablokoff-Khnzorian (1983) drew attention to the distinctiveness of the male terminalia of Crowsoniella and erected the family Crowsoniellidae; this familial rank was subsequently recognized by Lawrence & Newton (1995) and Lawrence (1999). Beutel & Hörnschemeyer (2002) argued for a Crowsoniellidae – Ommatidae sister relationship based on abutting ventrites as a synapomorphy. Hörnschemeyer (2009) emphasized the phylogenetic affinities between Crowsoniella and Cupedidae based on characters of the male genitalia. Nonetheless, the precise rank and phylogenetic position of Crowsoniellidae remain subjects of debate. Kirejtshuk et al. (2010) proposed excluding Crowsoniella from Archostemata and transferring it to the polyphagan Cucujiformia; this reassignment was based on only the pronotosternal suture on the underside of the prothorax and on the metepisterna not reaching the mesocoxal cavities. As a rebuttal, Ge et al. (2011) rejected the Cucujiformia hypothesis through cladistic analysis, concluding that the available characters are better interpreted within Archostemata. In morphology-only phylogenetic studies, C. relicta is frequently retrieved as the sister group to Micromalthus debilis LeConte, 1878 (Beutel et al. 2008; Hörnschemeyer 2009; Ge et al. 2011; Yavorskaya et al. 2015). No larvae of Crowsoniella are known, and no molecular data have been obtained; so the family remains difficult to elucidate in both morphological and molecular beetle phylogenies. In short, most recent treatments continue to recognize Crowsoniellidae as a valid archostematan family, but its unique suite of characters means its exact position (for instance, whether more closely related to Cupedidae or allied to Micromalthidae) remains unresolved. During my study of Archostemata I discovered several years ago, that different authors have cited different publication years for the genus Crowsoniella and its type species C. relicta (Table 1). To resolve this discrepancy I acquired a physical copy of the journal volume containing the original paper as well as the separately issued offprint and examined these items to ascertain the correct date of publication. At that time I determined the correct date but regarded the matter as a minor bibliographic correction and did not formally publish the result. As recent publications continue to cite an incorrect year, and because the incorrect year is recorded in major databases (e. g., Web of Science and Catalogue of Life), I consider it necessary to publish a note that publicly and unambiguously establishes the correct year of publication. Only Iablokoff-Khnzorian (1983) cited “ Crowsoniella (Pace, 1978) ” in his paper and that attribution is manifestly unfounded. As Table 1 shows, many authors have cited 1975, which corresponds to the printed year that appears on the wrapper cover of journal volume II (Fig. 2 A), on its spine (Fig. 2 B), on the first title page (Fig. 2 C), and on page 445, the first page of the paper of Pace (1976) (Fig. 2 D). However, this year denotes the nominal year of the volume and does not necessarily reflect the actual date of publication. The “ Indice ” [index, or contents to journal volume II] printed on pages 487 & 488 of journal volume II records precise publication dates following each entry: “ La data indicata tra parentesi è quella di pubblicazione dell’estratto. ” [The date shown in parentheses is the publication date of the offprint.] (Fig. 3 A). On page 488, the entry for Pace (1976) bears the date “ 30 aprile 1976 ” [30 April 1976] (Fig. 3 B). In addition, the wrapper cover of the separately issued offprint likewise states explicitly: “ Pubblicato il 30 aprile 1976. ” [Published on 30 April 1976] (Fig. 2 E). In accordance with Article 21 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN 1999), the correct citation for the genus and species is therefore 1976. It is hoped that this note will enable subsequent researchers to correctly render the full scientific name of the planet’s most exotic and enigmatic beetle (apart from Sikhotealinia zhiltzovae Later, 1996) — Crowsoniella relicta Pace, 1976.	en	Wang, Cheng-Bin (2026): Taxonomic summary of Crowsoniellidae (Coleoptera), with verification of the publication date of Crowsoniella Pace and Crowsoniella relicta Pace. Zootaxa 5768 (3): 445-450, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5768.3.12, URL: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5768.3.12
