Brachypsectridae

The Brachypsectridae are a family of beetles commonly known as the Texas beetles. There are only two extant genera, Brachypsectra and Asiopsectra. Brachypsectra has a cosmopolitan distribution, mostly in arid regions, while Asiopsectra is found in Central Asia and the Middle East.

==Taxonomy== left|thumb|Adult female of Brachypsectra cleidecostae in various views The family is somewhat enigmatic since the discovery and description of the first species, Brachypsectra fulva. This was originally included in the family Dascillidae, but was later placed in the new family Brachypsectridae by Horn (1881). While formerly considered monogeneric, in 2016 a new genus Asiopsectra was described from specimens found in Iran and Tajikistan. Two extinct genera, Vetubrachypsectra and Hongipsectra, known from adults, and a larval genus, Cretopsectra are known from mid Cretaceous (latest Albian-earliest Cenomanian ~ 100 million years ago) Burmese amber. A fossil species of Brachypsectra, B. moronei is known from Miocene aged Dominican amber, an unnamed larva is known from Eocene aged Baltic amber.