Megaloptera

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the genus of moths, see
Megaloptera (moth)
.

Megaloptera
Temporal range: Early Jurassic–Recent
Alderfly of the genus Sialis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Clade: Neuropterida
Order: Megaloptera
Latreille, 1802
Families
and see text
MHNT

Megaloptera is an

fishflies, and there are about 300 known species
.

The order's name comes from

bait
in North America.

The Megaloptera were formerly considered part of a group then called Neuroptera, together with

superorder rank, with the Holometabola—of which they are part—becoming an unranked clade above it, or the Holometabola are maintained as a superorder, with an unranked Neuropterida being a part of them. Within the holometabolans, the closest living relatives of the neuropteridan clade are the beetles
.

The Asian dobsonfly Acanthacorydalis fruhstorferi can have a wingspan of up to 21.6 cm (8.5 in), making it the largest aquatic insect in the world by this measurement.[2]

Anatomy and life cycle

Adult megalopterans closely resemble the lacewings, except for the presence of a pleated region on their hindwings, helping them to fold over the abdomen. They have strong mandibles and

ocelli. The wings are large and subequal.[3]

The female may lay up to 3,000 eggs in a single mass, placing them on vegetation overhanging water. Megaloptera undergo the most rudimentary form of

carnivorous, and are known to feed on small invertebrates, such as crustaceans, clams, worms and other insects. They possess strong jaws that they use to capture their prey. They have large heads and elongated bodies. The abdomen bears a number of fine tactile filaments, which, in some species, may include gills. The final segment of the abdomen bears either a pair of prolegs, or a single, tail-like appendage.[3]

The larvae grow slowly, taking anywhere from 1 to 5 years to reach the last larval stage. When they reach maturity, the larvae crawl out onto land to pupate in damp soil or under logs. Unusually, the pupa is fully motile, with large mandibles that it can use to defend itself against predators. The short-lived adults emerge from the pupa to mate - many species never feed as adults, living only a few days or hours, [3] up to a few weeks at most.[4]

Evolution

Apart from the two living

taxa sometimes placed Megaloptera, only known from fossils
.

The Megaloptera are monophyletic and are a sister clade of the Neuroptera.[10] Within the Megaloptera, Corydalinae and Chauliodinae are sister clades. The oldest fossils confidently identifiable as megalopterans date to the Early Jurassic.[4]

Footnotes

  1. ^ Also called "Neuropteroidea", though the ending "-oidea" is normally used for superfamilies. [citation needed].
  2. ^ "Largest aquatic insect (by wingspan)". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  3. ^
    ISBN 0-19-510033-6
    .
  4. ^
    S2CID 246319600
    .
  5. ^ Engel & Grimaldi (2007)
  6. ^
    ISSN 1477-2019
    .
  7. ISSN 1175-5334
    .
  8. ^ Shcherbakov, D.E. (2013) Permian ancestors of Hymenoptera and Raphidioptera. ZooKeys 358: 45–67. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.358.6289
  9. ISSN 0066-4170
    .
  10. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0047302

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Megaloptera.
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