Ant-like litter beetles

Pselaphinae are a subfamily of beetles in the family Staphylinidae, the rove beetles. The group was originally regarded as a separate family named Pselaphidae. Newton and Thayer (1995) placed them in the Omaliine group of the family Staphylinidae based on shared morphological characters.

This is a species-rich subfamily with 9,000 to 10,000 described species. They are especially diverse in the tropics. They are commonly found in decaying leaf litter on forest floors, in grass tussocks, flood refuse, moss, and other highly structured and particulate microhabitats. Little is known about their biology. They are believed to be predatory on small invertebrates, in particular springtails (order Collembola) and oribatid mites (order Oribatida).