Notoptera, also known as Xenonomia,
is a clade of insects belonging to
Polyneoptera. It contains two living groups,
Mantophasmatidae (gladiators) native to southern Africa, and
Grylloblattidae (ice crawlers) native to cold montane environments in the Northern Hemisphere. Both groups are wingless.
History of research
The name was originally coined in 1915 as an order for Grylloblattidae and largely forgotten until it was resurrected and redefined ("Notoptera Crampton ''sensu novum''") by Engel and Grimaldi in 2004 (after the discovery of living
Mantophasmatidae), who recommended to give a single order that includes both the living and fossil representatives of the lineage.
Terry and Whiting in 2005 independently proposed a new name, "Xenonomia", for the same lineage of
insect
Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...
s (including the
Grylloblattodea and
Mantophasmatodea, treated as orders).
The orders Grylloblattodea and Mantophasmatodea are sometimes ranked as suborders of a single order, Notoptera.
Some authors consider this the valid name of the group.
Evolutionary history
The earliest stem-representatives of the group had emerged by the
Late Carboniferous, around 320 million years ago. Early members of the group, which unlike modern notopterans had wings, have been referred to as members of "Grylloblattida" and "Reculida", with their relationships to modern notopterans historically being the subject of controversy. Winged "grylloblattidans" reached their apex of diversity during the
Permian
The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and System (stratigraphy), 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 251.902 Mya. It is the s ...
(299-252 million years ago), where they represented up to a third of all insects at some localities.
The earliest mantophasmatids are known from the
Middle Jurassic
The Middle Jurassic is the second Epoch (geology), epoch of the Jurassic Period (geology), Period. It lasted from about 174.1 to 161.5 million years ago. Fossils of land-dwelling animals, such as dinosaurs, from the Middle Jurassic are relativel ...
, around 160 million years ago.
No fossil record of modern grylloblattids is known, though the winged ''
Aristovia'' known from the
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 ...
of Myanmar dating to the mid-
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...
around 100 million years ago, has mouthparts very similar to modern grylloblattids, indicating its close relationship to modern grylloblattids. Mantophasmatids and grylloblattids are thought to have lost their wings independently. Winged "grylloblattidans" declined in diversity and abundance from the Triassic onwards, with the youngest records of winged "grylloblattidans" dating to the Early-mid Cretaceous.
Gallery
File:GrylloblattaCampodeiformis.jpg, '' Grylloblatta campodeiformis''
File:Gladiator.jpg, A nymph
A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...
of a mantophasmatid
See also
*
Grylloblattidae
*
Mantophasmatidae
*
Palaeocixiidae
Further reading
*Ando H. 1982. ''Biology of the Notoptera''. Kashiyo-Insatsu Co. Ltd., Nagano, Japan.
References
External links
*
*
Insect superorders
Extant Triassic first appearances
Polyneoptera
{{Notoptera-stub