Family THAUMASTELLIDAE Seidenstücker, 1960
J.A. Lis
The Thaumastellidae is a small family, which contains only one genus with three species, Thaumastella aradoides Horváth from North Africa and the Middle East, and T. namaquensis Schaefer & Wilcox and T. elizabethae Jacobs from South Africa. Originally, it was placed in Lygaeidae, then transferred to the superfamily Pentatomoidea; at present it is treated either as a separate family or as a subfamily of Cydnidae. Species of the family live under stones in cavities; they feed on fallen seeds.
World catalogue (outdated): Slater, 1964a. Palaearctic catalogue: J.A.Lis (2006a). Biology: Jacobs, 1989; Schaefer & Wilcox, 1971.