Alexiidae

Alexiidae is a family of beetles. It contains a single genus, Sphaerosoma, formerly included within the family Cerylonidae, with around 50 species which are native to the western Palearctic. Species of Sphaerosoma are very small, around 1 to 2 mm in length rounded beetles with clubbed antennae. They are fungivores, having been observed feeding on mushrooms, and have also been found in leaf litter and on decaying bark.

== Taxonomy == There has been considerable confusion regarding the type species and authorship of the genus; most older sources consider the author and species to be Sphaerosoma quercus Samouelle, 1819. That name is now considered to be a nomen nudum, and the valid name for Samouelle's species is Sphaerosoma piliferum (Müller, 1821). The type species is now considered to be Sphaerosoma quercus Stephens, 1832, which is itself a junior synonym of Sphaerosoma pilosum (Panzer, 1793). Alexiidae has been recovered as part of the superfamily Coccinelloidea as the sister group of Latridiidae.