[2] The group was originally regarded as a separate family named Pselaphidae.

Newton and Thayer (1995)[3] placed them in the Omaliine group of the family Staphylinidae based on shared morphological characters.

They are commonly found in decaying leaf litter on forest floors, in grass tussocks, flood refuse, moss, and other highly structured and particulate microhabitats.

Pselaphines have attracted the interest of entomologists due to their exquisite and variable morphology, which is rewarding to observe with a microscope.

Clavigerites also possess trichomes, which secrete a solution on which ant larvae feed.