Molecular systematics of the puppet beetles (Coleoptera: Aderidae): Towards the first phylogenetic classification for the family

The puppet beetles (Coleoptera: Aderidae) represent one of the taxonomically and systematically poorest known beetle families.  Adults are small in size, ranging between 1 and 4 mm in length, with many species exhibiting varying degrees of sexual dimorphism. To date, there have been only three studies to establish supraspecific groupings for the family, but these were regionally based studies that used few morphological characters and no molecular data.  The first molecular phylogeny for the Aderidae is presented based upon nuclear and mitochondrial sequence data.  Historically used morphological characters are re-evaluated within this context and a preliminary phylogenetic classification is proposed.