叩甲总科是鞘翅目昆虫中一个较大的类群。叩甲总科昆虫起源较早，最早化石记录可追溯到侏罗纪早期。叩甲总科昆虫化石不仅数量大，且形态具丰富多样性，由于中生代很多化石类型代表着叩甲总科基干类群，具有现生多个科的过渡特征，科级存在诸多分类问题，属级分类相当混乱，目前缺乏系统且全面的研究。此外，化石与现生叩甲类昆虫详细对比研究严重缺乏。本项目拟对我国东北内蒙宁城地区中侏罗世燕辽生物群、辽宁北票地区早白垩世热河生物群和白垩纪中期缅甸琥珀等特异埋藏生物群中叩甲类昆虫科级鉴别特征进行全面检视，结合现生叩甲类分类系统，确立化石类型科级阶元的形态指标，对已报道的叩甲类化石进行详细厘定并深入研究新化石类型；结合分子系统学研究和化石证据，探讨叩甲类昆虫科级系统发育关系，构建合理的分类系统，讨论某些类群的古生物地理分布，揭示叩甲总科昆虫的起源和早期演化的自然历史过程。

Elateroidea is one of the largest superfamilies of Coleoptera, with its oldest fossil record tracing back to the Early Jurassic. Mesozoic elateroids are abundant and very diverse, and many of them represent basal groups among Elateroidea, exhibiting a number of transitional features of different elateroid families. However, the systematic relationship and taxonomic placement of many fossil taxa remain elusive. Detailed comparisons between extinct and extant taxa are badly needed. The research proposal aims at an integrative study of Recent and Mesozoic Elateroidea from three exceptional faunas (the Middle Jurassic Yanliao biota; the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota; and the Late Cretaceous Burmese amber) to get a better understanding of the systematic position and phylogenetic relationships of these fossil elateroids. Based on molecular data and fossil evidence, the project aims to understand the phylogenetic relationships among elateroids, to reconstruct a reasonable classification system, to discuss the paleobiogeography of certain elateroid groups, and to unveil the origin, early diversification and the natural history of Elateroidea.