The Ecnomidae are a

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

caddisflies The caddisflies (order Trichoptera) are a group of insects with aquatic larvae and terrestrial adults. There are approximately 14,500 described species, most of which can be divided into the suborders Integripalpia and Annulipalpia on the basis ...

comprising 9

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

with a total of 375

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

Distribution

The Ecnomidae have a

Gondwanan distribution Gondwana ( ; ) was a large landmass, sometimes referred to as a supercontinent. The remnants of Gondwana make up around two-thirds of today's continental area, including South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia, Zealandia, Arabia, and the ...

, except one genus, which also is present in

Oriental The Orient is a term referring to the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of the term ''Occident'', which refers to the Western world. In English, it is largely a meto ...

and

Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. Th ...

regions.

Morphology

The

adult An adult is an animal that has reached full growth. The biological definition of the word means an animal reaching sexual maturity and thus capable of reproduction. In the human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social an ...

is a mostly small to medium-sized

caddisfly The caddisflies (order Trichoptera) are a group of insects with aquatic larvae and terrestrial adults. There are approximately 14,500 described species, most of which can be divided into the suborders Integripalpia and Annulipalpia on the basis ...

with a wingspan of , with dull grayish-brown mottled wings.

Ocelli A simple eye or ocellus (sometimes called a pigment pit) is a form of eye or an optical arrangement which has a single lens without the sort of elaborate retina that occurs in most vertebrates. These eyes are called "simple" to distinguish the ...

are absent. The maxillary

palp Pedipalps (commonly shortened to palps or palpi) are the secondary pair of forward appendages among chelicerates – a group of arthropods including spiders, scorpions, horseshoe crabs, and sea spiders. The pedipalps are lateral to the chelicera ...

is five-segmented. The apical segment is flexible. The antennae are, at most, as long as the forewing. Forewing R1 is usually forked at the apex; the discoidal and median cells present and closed. The female

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the gut, belly, tummy, midriff, tucky, or stomach) is the front part of the torso between the thorax (chest) and pelvis in humans and in other vertebrates. The area occupied by the abdomen is called the abdominal ...

terminates either flat out or with an elongated

ovipositor The ovipositor is a tube-like organ used by some animals, especially insects, for the laying of eggs. In insects, an ovipositor consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages. The details and morphology of the ovipositor vary, but typica ...

. The

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

is small to medium-sized long. The head and all

thoracic The thorax (: thoraces or thoraxes) or chest is a part of the anatomy of mammals and other tetrapod animals located between the neck and the abdomen. In insects, crustaceans, and the extinct trilobites, the thorax is one of the three main ...

nota are

sclerotised Sclerotin is a component of the cuticle of various Arthropoda, most familiarly insects. It is formed by cross-linking members of particular classes of protein molecules, a biochemical process called sclerotization, a form of tanning in which q ...

. The

proleg A proleg is a small, fleshy, stub structure found on the ventral surface of the abdomen of most larval forms of insects of the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, though they can also be found on larvae of insects such as symphyta, sawflies. In ...

s on the abdomen are highly formed with large anal claws terminal.

Behavior and ecology

The Ecnomidae larval stage, like most trichoptera larvae, is spent completely in fresh water. They are

predator Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common List of feeding behaviours, feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation ...

y, but some genera feed also on algae and

detritus In biology, detritus ( or ) is organic matter made up of the decomposition, decomposing remains of organisms and plants, and also of feces. Detritus usually hosts communities of microorganisms that colonize and decomposition, decompose (Reminera ...

. They construct fixed tubes, retreats of silk, on logs or rocks. Permanent ponds and lakes or slower-flowing waters is suitable

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

for Ecnomidae larvae.

Taxonomy and systematics

The Ecnomidae

taxonomy image:Hierarchical clustering diagram.png, 280px, Generalized scheme of taxonomy Taxonomy is a practice and science concerned with classification or categorization. Typically, there are two parts to it: the development of an underlying scheme o ...

has been problematic, Ecnomidae was first described (Ulmer 1903) as a subfamily of

Hydropsychidae The Hydropsychidae are a Family (biology), family-level taxon consisting of net-spinning Trichoptera, caddisflies. Hydropsychids are common among much of the world's streams, and a few species occupy the shorelines of freshwater lakes. Larvae o ...

, and later as a subfamily within Psychomiidae. The family Ecnomidae is now accepted as

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

beside its sister-group

Polycentropodidae The Polycentropodidae are a family of trumpet-net and tube-making caddisflies. There are at least 30 genera and 720 described species in Polycentropodidae. The type genus for Polycentropodidae is '' Polycentropus'' J. Curtis, 1835. The larvae ...

. The Ecnomidae contain at least 9 genera with the most diversity found in the genus ''Ecnomus''. Currently, a total of 375 species are described. In recent years, several new species has been discovered, mainly from the

Oceania Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...

region. Other

phylogenetically In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical data ...

distinct genera exist which have not been scientifically described yet.

Genera

*†'' Archaeotinodes'' Baltic amber, Eocene *'' Absensomina'' *'' Agmina'': 20 species endemic to New Caledonia *'' Austrotinodes'': 37 named species distributed in South and Central America, forms a sister group to 11 ''Austrotinodes'' species found in Australia *'' Caledomina'': 4 species from New Caledonia *'' Daternomina'': 10–20 species found in Australia, especially Tasmania, was formerly described as ''Ecnomina'', but is now regarded as genus since they possess modified wing venation and female genitalia characters *''

Ecnomus The Battle of Cape Ecnomus or Eknomos () was a naval battle, fought off southern Sicily, in 256 BC, between the fleets of Carthage and the Roman Republic, during the First Punic War (264–241 BC). The Carthaginian fleet was commanded by Hanno ...

'': more than 260 described species widespread in the Palearctic, Oriental and Afrotropical regions. ''Psychomyiellodes'', is a monophyletic group within ''Ecnomus'', with eight species endemic to the Afrotropical region. *'' Ecnomina'': 23 named species found primarily in Australia, with one in New Zealand *'' Neboissomina'': seven species described *'' Parecnomina'': seven described species

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the

Afrotropical The Afrotropical realm is one of the Earth's eight biogeographic realms. It includes Sub-Saharan Africa, the southern Arabian Peninsula, the island of Madagascar, and the islands of the western Indian Ocean. It was formerly known as the Ethiopi ...

region, is easily distinguished from ''Ecnomus'' based on wing and

genitalia A sex organ, also known as a reproductive organ, is a part of an organism that is involved in sexual reproduction. Sex organs constitute the primary sex characteristics of an organism. Sex organs are responsible for producing and transporting ...

characters, and is regarded as a

sister group In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

to ''Ecnomus''. *'' Wellsomina'': Twelve species All Ecnomidae genera are restricted to the Southern Hemisphere except the genus ''Ecnomus'', which is widely distributed. This means the group may have had a Gondwanan origin. The genus ''Ecnomus'' is also known from the

Barremian The Barremian is an age in the geologic timescale (or a chronostratigraphic stage) between 125.77 Ma (million years ago) and 121.4 ± 1.0 Ma (Historically, this stage was placed at 129.4 million to approximately 125 million years ago) It is a ...

aged

Lebanese amber Lebanese amber is fossilized resin found in Lebanon and its surroundings. It dates back approximately 130-125 million years to the Barremian of the Early Cretaceous. It formed on what was then the northern coast of Gondwana, believed to be a tropic ...

. Else see Subfamilia: Psychomyiinae: *'' Zelandoptila'': two species endemic to Australia and New Zealand

References

# Cartwright, D.I. (2009) ''Austrodinodes Schmid, a South and Central American caddisfly genus, newly recorded in Australia, with the description of new species.'' Zootaxa 2142, 1-19. # Cartwright, D.I. (2008) ''A review of the Australian species of Ecnomina Kimmins and Daternomina Neboiss (Trichoptera)'' Zootaxa 1774, Magnolia Press # Dean, J.C. (2004) ''Identification keys to Australian families and genera of caddis-fly larvae (Trichoptera).'' Identification guide no. 50. Cooperative Research for Freshwater Ecology, Albury. # Holzenthal, R.W. Blahnik, R.S. Prather, A.L. Kjer, K.M.(2007) ''Order Trichoptera Kirby, 1813 (Insecta), Caddisflies.'' Zootaxa 1668, pp, 664. Magnolia Press # Li, Y.J. Morse, S.C. (1997) ''Species of the Genus Ecnomus (Trichoptera, Ecnomidae) from the People's Republic of China.'' Transactions, American Entomological Society, 123 85-134. # ; 2010: Phylogeny of the Ecnomidae (Insecta: Trichoptera). ''Cladistics'', 26: 36-48. (print) 1096-0031 (online) # Ward, J.B. Schefter, P.W. (2000) ''A new genus and twenty new species of New Caledonian Ecnomidae'' (Trichoptera) Records of the Canterbury Museum vol 14 pp 55–87.

External links

Trichoptera world checklist
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1949550 Trichoptera families Taxa named by Georg Ulmer