The Nevrorthidae (often incorrectly spelled "Neurorthidae") are a small
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 ...
of lacewings in the
order
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
...
Neuroptera
The insect order (biology), order Neuroptera, or net-winged insects, includes the lacewings, mantidflies, antlions, and their relatives. The order consists of some 6,000 species. Neuroptera is grouped together with the Megaloptera (alderflies, f ...
. There are 19 extant species in four genera, with a geographically disjunct distribution: ''
Nevrorthus,'' comprising 5 species with scattered distributions around the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...
; ''
Austroneurorthus'', with two species known from southeastern Australia; ''
Nipponeurorthus'', comprising 11 species known from China and Japan; and ''
Sinoneurorthus'', known from a single species described from Yunnan Province, China.
They are traditionally placed in the
Osmyloidea
Osmyloidea is a euneuropteran superfamily in the lacewing order Neuroptera sister to the superfamilies Dilaroidea, Mantispoidea, and the clade Neoneuroptera. The superfamily includes three living families and two extinct families described fro ...
, alongside
Osmylidae
Osmylidae are a small family of winged insects of the net-winged insect order Neuroptera. The osmylids, also called lance lacewings, stream lacewings or giant lacewings, are found all over the world except North and Central America. There are ar ...
and the spongillaflies (
Sisyridae
Sisyridae, commonly known as spongeflies or spongillaflies, are a family of winged insects in the order Neuroptera. There are approximately 60 living species described, and several extinct species identified from the fossil record.
Description ...
),
but some research has considered them to be the sister group to the rest of Neuroptera. The larvae have unique straight jaws that are curved at the tips, and live as unspecialised predators in the sandy bottom sediments of clear, fast flowing mountain rivers and streams. They pupate underwater on the underside of stones. The adults are likely predators or feed on honeydew and other sugar-rich fluids.
Apart from the mere four living genera, several species are known from fossils, the oldest being a larva from the Middle Jurassic of China, which already shows aquatic adaptations typical of modern nevorthid larvae.
Taxonomy
After
* ''
Nevrorthus''
Costa, 1863
** ''Nevrorthus apatelios''
H. Aspöck, U. Aspöck & Hölzel, 1977 Balkans, Italy
** ''Nevrorthus fallax''
(Rambur, 1842) Sardinia and Corsica
** ''Nevrorthus hannibal''
U. Aspöck & H. Aspöck, 1983 Tunisia, Algeria
** ''Nevrorthus iridipennis''
Costa, 1863 Calabria, Sicily
** ''Nevrorthus reconditus''
Monserrat & Gavira, 2014 Malaga, Spain
* Genus ''
Austroneurorthus''
Nakahara, 1958
** ''Austroneurorthus brunneipennis''
(Esben-Petersen, 1929) New South Wales, Queensland, Australia
** ''Austroneurorthus horstaspoecki''
U. Aspöck, 2004 Victoria, New South Wales, Australia
* Genus ''
Nipponeurorthus''
Nakahara, 1958
** ''Nipponeurorthus damingshanicus''
Liu, H. Aspöck & U. Aspöck, 2014 Guangxi, China
** ''Nipponeurorthus fasciatus''
Nakahara, 1958 China (Taiwan)
** ''Nipponeurorthus flinti''
U. Aspöck & H. Aspöck, 2008 Japan (Okinawa, Amamioshima).
** ''Nipponeurorthus furcatus''
Liu, H. Aspöck & U. Aspöck, 2014 China (Yunnan)
** ''Nipponeurorthus fuscinervis''
(Nakahara, 1915) Japan (Hokkaido, Honshu)
** ''Nipponeurorthus multilineatus''
Nakahara, 1966 China (Taiwan).
** ''Nipponeurorthus pallidinervis''
Nakahara, 1958 Japan (Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, Tsushima Island).
** ''Nipponeurorthus punctatus''
(Nakahara, 1915) Japan (Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu).
** ''Nipponeurorthus qinicus''
Yang in Chen, 1998 China (Shaanxi).
** ''Nipponeurorthus tianmushanus''
Yang & Gao, 2001 China (Zhejiang).
** ''Nipponeurorthus tinctipennis''
Nakahara, 1958 Japan (Yakushima Island).
* Genus ''
Sinoneurorthus''
Liu, H. Aspöck & U. Aspöck, 2012
** ''Sinoneurorthus yunnanicus''
Liu, H. Aspöck & U. Aspöck, 2012, Yunnan, China
Extinct genera
* †''
Balticoneurorthus''
Wichard 2016 Baltic amber
Baltic amber or succinite is amber from the Baltic region, home of its largest known deposits. It was produced sometime during the Eocene epoch, but exactly when is controversial. It has been estimated that this forested region provided the re ...
,
Eocene
The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...
* †''
Cretarophalis''
Wichard 2017 Burmese amber
Burmese amber, also known as Burmite or Kachin amber, is amber from the Hukawng Valley in northern Myanmar. The amber is dated to around 100 million years ago, during the latest Albian to earliest Cenomanian ages of the mid-Cretaceous period. Th ...
, Myanmar, Late Cretaceous (
Cenomanian
The Cenomanian is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy's (ICS) geological timescale, the oldest or earliest age (geology), age of the Late Cretaceous epoch (geology), Epoch or the lowest stage (stratigraphy), stage of the Upper Cretace ...
)
* †''
Sisyroneurorthus''
Nakamine et al. 2023 Burmese amber, Myanmar, Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian)
* †''
Electroneurorthus''
Wichard et al. 2010 Baltic amber, Eocene
* †''
Girafficervix''
Du, Niu & Bao, 2023Daohugou Bed
The Haifanggou Formation (), also known as the Jiulongshan Formation (), is a fossil-bearing rock deposit located near Daohugou () village of Ningcheng County, in Inner Mongolia, northeastern China.
The formation consists of coarse conglomerates ...
, China, Middle Jurassic
* †''
Palaeoneurorthus''
Wichard 2009 Baltic amber, Eocene
* †''
Rophalis''
Pictet 1854 Baltic amber,
Rovno amber
Rovno amber, occasionally called Ukrainian amber, is amber found in the Rivne Oblast and surrounding regions of Ukraine and Belarus. The amber is dated between Late Eocene and Early Oligocene, and suggested to be contemporaneous to Baltic amber ...
, Eocene
References
Neuroptera
Neuroptera families
Extant Middle Jurassic first appearances
{{Neuroptera-stub