There are approximately 600 described species in 80 genera,[2] but large numbers of specimens in collections await description and the true number of species is likely to be much higher than this.[2] Fossil ptiliids have been recorded from the Oligocene, roughly 30 million years ago[2] from the Eocene, 46.2–43.5 million years ago, and from the Cretaceous Lebanese and Burmese amber, dated to 125 and 99 million years ago, respectively.[5] The family is divided into 3 subfamilies:[2]