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Scorpionfly
Mecoptera (from the Greek: ''mecos'' = "long", ''ptera'' = "wings") is an order of insects in the superorder Endopterygota with about six hundred species in nine families worldwide. Mecopterans are sometimes called scorpionflies after their largest family, Panorpidae, in which the males have enlarged genitals raised over the body that look similar to the stingers of scorpions, and long beaklike rostra. The Bittacidae, or hangingflies, are another prominent family and are known for their elaborate mating rituals, in which females choose mates based on the quality of gift prey offered to them by the males. A smaller group is the snow scorpionflies, family Boreidae, adults of which are sometimes seen walking on snowfields. In contrast, the majority of species in the order inhabit moist environments in tropical locations. The Mecoptera are closely related to the Siphonaptera (fleas), and a little more distantly to the Diptera (true flies). They are somewhat fly-like in appearanc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Panorpodidae
The Panorpodidae are a small family of scorpionflies. Of the two genera, ''Brachypanorpa'' occurs only in the United States, and ''Panorpodes'' occurs in East Asia, with a single species in California. Unlike their sister group Panorpidae, the family generally has short jaws, amongst the shortest of all mecopterans. ''Brachypanorpa'' is thought to be phytophagous, consuming the epidermis of soft leaves, and a similar diet is suggested for ''Panorpodes''. Genera The family contains extant 13 species in two genera: * ''Brachypanorpa'' Carpenter, 1931 (five species: United States) * ''Panorpodes'' MacLachlan, 1875 (eight species: Japan, Korea, California) Fossil species known from Eocene aged Baltic amber In addition, the following fossil genus is also known: * †'' Austropanorpodes'' Petrulevicius 2009 Laguna del Hunco Formation, Argentina, Eocene (Ypresian In the geologic timescale the Ypresian is the oldest age or lowest stratigraphic stage of the Eocene. It spans the time ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Meropeidae
Meropeidae is a family of tiny scorpionflies within the order Mecoptera with only three living species, commonly referred to as "earwigflies" (or sometimes "forcepflies"). These include the North American ''Merope tuber'', the Western Australian ''Austromerope poultoni'', and the recently discovered South American '' A. brasiliensis''. The biology of these species is essentially unknown, and their larvae have never been seen. The disjunct distribution suggests a common origin before the breakup of the ancient supercontinent of Pangaea. There are two undisputed extinct genera, '' Boreomerope antiqua'' known from an isolated wing found in the Middle Jurassic Itat Formation of Siberia and '' Burmomerope'' with three species from the mid Cretaceous ( Cenomanian) aged Burmese amber. As such, the extant members of this family can be considered living fossils. These insects are also of interest due to their presumed basal position in the order Mecoptera. '' Thaumatomerope'' with four ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nannochoristidae
Nannochoristidae is a family of scorpionflies with many unusual traits. It is a tiny, relict family with a single extant genus, '' Nannochorista'', with eight species occurring in New Zealand, southeastern Australia, Tasmania, Argentina and Chile. Due to the groups distinctiveness from other scorpionflies, it is sometimes placed in its own order, the Nannomecoptera. Some studies have placed them as the closest living relatives of fleas. Most mecopteran larvae are eruciform, or shaped like caterpillars. Nannochoristid larvae, however, are elateriform, and have elongated and slender bodies. The larvae are aquatic, which is unique among mecopterans. The larvae are predatory, hunting on the beds of shallow streams, primarily on the larvae of aquatic Diptera like chironomids. Fossils indicate that Nannochoristidae formerly had a wider distribution, being present in the Northern Hemisphere during the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous. Some research suggests the nannochoristids are t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Holcorpidae
Holcorpidae is an extinct family of scorpionfies. It contains two genera, '' Conicholcorpa'' which is known from the Middle Jurassic Daohugou beds of Inner Mongolia, China, and '' Holcorpa,'' known from the Eocene of North America, including the McAbee Fossil Beds of British Columbia, and the Florissant Formation The Florissant Formation is a sedimentary geologic formation outcropping around Florissant, Teller County, Colorado. The formation is noted for the abundant and exceptionally preserved insect and plant fossils that are found in the mudstones and ... of Colorado. Members of this family are distinguished by their unusually long male genitalia, as well as characteristics of their wing venation. Both '' Miriholcorpa'' and '' Fortiholcorpa'' from the Middle Jurassic of China also have affinities to this family, but the incompleteness of their remains and differences from known holcorpids make their placement uncertain. References {{Taxonbar, from=Q21354327 Mecoptera P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boreidae
Boreidae, commonly called snow scorpionflies, or in the British Isles, snow fleas (no relation to the snow flea '' Hypogastrura nivicola'') are a very small family of scorpionflies, containing only around 30 species, all of which are boreal or high-altitude species in the Northern Hemisphere. These insects are small (typically 6 mm or less), with the wings reduced to bristles or absent, and they are somewhat compressed, so in fact some resemblance to fleas is noted. They are most commonly active during the winter months, towards the transition into spring, and the larvae and adults typically feed on mosses. The adults will often disperse between breeding areas by walking across the open snow, thus the common name. The males use their bristle-like wings to help grasp the female over their back while mating, while the wings of females are vestigial small oval pads with no ability to allow them to fly. The adults have a long rostrum formed from the clypeus and labrum, gen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Choristidae
The Choristidae are a small (only eight species in three genera) family of scorpionflies known only from Australia. Their larvae are found in moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta ('' sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and ... mats. Species :This list is adapted from the ''World Checklist of extant Mecoptera speciesChoristidae' and is complete as of 1997. * '' Chorista'' Klug, 1838 ** '' Chorista australis'' Klug, 1838 ** '' Chorista luteola'' (Westwood, 1846) * '' Meridiochorista'' Lambkin, 1996 ** '' Meridiochorista insolita'' (Riek, 1973) ** '' Meridiochorista ruficeps'' (Newman, 1850) * '' Taeniochorista'' Esben-Petersen, 1914 ** '' Taeniochorista bifurcata'' Riek, 1973 ** '' Taeniochorista nigrita'' Riek, 1973 ** '' Taeniochorista pallida'' Esben-Petersen, 1914 ** '' Taeniochorista similis'' Riek, 1973 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Panorpidae
The Panorpidae are a family of scorpionflies containing more than 480 species. The family is the largest family in Mecoptera, covering approximately 70% species of the order. Species range between 9–25 mm long. These insects have four membranous wings and threadlike antennae. Their elongated faces terminate with mouthparts that are used to feed on dead and dying insects, nectar, and rotting fruit. While in larval form, they scavenge by consuming dead insects on the ground. Genera *''Aulops'' Enderlein, 1910 (two species) *'' Cerapanorpa'' Gao, Ma & Hua, 2016 (22 species) *''Dicerapanorpa'' Zhong & Hua, 2013 (eight species) *''Furcatopanorpa'' Ma & Hua, 2011 (one species) *''Leptopanorpa'' MacLachlan, 1875 (12 species) *''Neopanorpa'' Weele, 1909 (ca. 170 species) *'' Panorpa'' Linnaeus, 1758 (ca. 260 species) *''Sinopanorpa'' Cai & Hua in Cai, Huang & Hua, 2008 (three species) Extinct genera * †'' Baltipanorpa'' Krzemiński & Soszyńska-Maj, 2012 Baltic amber, Eocen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Permian
The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last period of the Paleozoic Era; the following Triassic Period belongs to the Mesozoic Era. The concept of the Permian was introduced in 1841 by geologist Sir Roderick Murchison, who named it after the region of Perm in Russia. The Permian witnessed the diversification of the two groups of amniotes, the synapsids and the sauropsids ( reptiles). The world at the time was dominated by the supercontinent Pangaea, which had formed due to the collision of Euramerica and Gondwana during the Carboniferous. Pangaea was surrounded by the superocean Panthalassa. The Carboniferous rainforest collapse left behind vast regions of desert within the continental interior. Amniotes, which could better cope with these drier conditions, rose to dominance in place of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orthophlebiidae
Orthophlebiidae is an extinct family of scorpionflies known from the Triassic to Cretaceous, belonging to the superfamily Panorpoidea. The family is poorly defined and is probably paraphyletic, representing many primitive members of Panorpoidea with most species only known from isolated wings, and has such been considered a wastebasket taxon. Systematics Based on The genus ''Protorthophlebia'' has been moved to the separate family Protorthophlebiidae. * †'' Burmorthophlebia'' Soszyńska-Maj, Krzemiński and Wang, 2022, Burmese amber, Myanmar, Late Cretaceous ( Cenomanian) * †'' Choristopanorpa'' Riek 1950 Hawkesbury Sandstone, Australia, Middle Triassic (Anisian), Magyden Formation, Kyrgyzstan, Late Triassic (Carnian), Koonwarra Fossil Bed, Australia, Early Cretaceous (Aptian) * †'' Cretacochorista'' Jell and Duncan 1986 Koonwarra Fossil Bed, Australia, Aptian * †'' Mesopanorpa'' Handlirsch 1906 ** †''Mesopanorpa angarensis'' Martynov 1927 Cheremkhovskaya Formati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dinopanorpidae
Dinopanorpidae is a small family of extinct insects in the order Mecoptera (scorpionflies) that contains two genera and seven species. The name is a combination of the Greek ''deino'' meaning "terrible" or "monstrous" and "Panorpidae", the family to which ''Dinopanorpa'' (the type genus of this family) was first assigned. The family was first described in 1972 by paleoentomologist Dr. Frank Carpenter to encompass the genus ''Dinopanorpa'' described by Dr. Theodore D.A. Cockerell in 1924. As with all members of order Mecoptera, dinopanorpids possess an elongated rostrum and four elongated wings of nearly equal size, and uniquely a "R1" vein which almost reaches the apex of the wing. The elongated "R1" vein is a character not found in any other extant or extinct mecopterans. Range The distribution of Dinopanorpidae is restricted both in time and in location. An undescribed species of ''Dinopanorpa'' has been reported from the Paleocene Tadushi Formation, while the type ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
