Nepidae
Nepidae Temporal range:
| |
---|---|
Nepa cinerea | |
Ranatra linearis | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Hemiptera |
Suborder: | Heteroptera |
Infraorder: | Nepomorpha |
Superfamily: | Nepoidea
|
Family: | Nepidae Latreille 1802 |
Subfamilies, Genera | |
See text |
Nepidae is a family of exclusively aquatic
While water scorpions do not sting with their tail (it is used for breathing),[4] they do have a painful bite (strictly speaking a sting by their pointed proboscis), but this is much less harmful to humans than a true scorpion's sting.[5]
Range and habitat
Nepidae are found on all continents except Antarctica. They mostly inhabit stagnant or slow-moving freshwater habitats like ponds, marshes, canals and streams.
Appearance and ecology
Nepidae are brown insects, but some species have a bright red abdomen that can be seen when the wings are open. Their body is broad and flat (subfamily Nepinae) or long and thin (subfamily Ranatrinae). They are rather poor swimmers and typically crawl about on aquatic vegetation.[9] They can fly, but this is infrequently seen.[7] In most species the body is between 1.5 and 4.5 cm (0.6–1.8 in) long,[9] although the largest such as the East Asian Ranatra chinensis and South American R. magna can approach 6 cm (2.4 in).[10][11]
Respiration in the adult is achieved by means of the caudal process, which consists of a pair of half-tubes capable of being locked together to form a
To keep their orientation in the water they have three pairs of “static sense organs”, small oval structures closely associated with the fourth, fifth, and sixth abdominal spiracles.[14]
Their frontal legs are modified into raptorial appendages that are used to grab their prey. They feed primarily on aquatic invertebrates such as other insects, but occasionally take small fish or tadpoles. The eggs, which are laid above the waterline in mud, decomposing vegetation, the stems of plants or rotting wood, are supplied with air by filamentous processes which vary in number among the genera.[3]
Subfamilies and genera
Nepidae has around 250 species in 14
Among these the most diverse are the widespread Ranatra (about 100 species)[10] and Laccotrephes (about 60),[15] but the family also includes species-poor genera, like the Ethiopian Borborophilus, Nepella, Nepitella and Paranepa (each with one species),[13] Indian Montonepa (one species), Philippine Borborophyes (one species),[16] and Australian Austronepa (one species) and Goondnomdanepa (three species).[17]
Araripenepa from the Early Cretaceous (Aptian) Crato Formation of Brazil is the oldest known member of the family, and is the sister group to remaining genera.[18]
Ranatrinae (water stick insects)
Four genera are in this subfamily: Austronepa and Goondnomdanepa are restricted to Australia. Cercotmetus is from Asia to northern Australia and resembles Ranatra (Worldwide distribution), although the former has a distinctly shorter siphon.[10]
- Austronepa Menke & Stange, 1964
- Cercotmetus Amyot & Serville, 1843
- Goondnomdanepa Lansbury, 1974
- Ranatra Fabricius, 1790
Nepinae (water scorpions)
- Borborophilus
- Borborophyes
- Curicta
- Laccotrephes
- Montonepa
- Nepa
- Nepella
- syn.Nepita)
- Paranepa
- Telmatotrephes
See also
- Eurypterid: unrelated, extinct arthropods that are commonly called sea scorpions
References
- ^ Nepidae, Tree of life project
- ^ Chisholm 1911.
- ^ .
- ^ "Water Scorpions". Archived from the original on 2002-08-27.
- ^ "Water scorpion | insect".
- ^ a b Ye.V. Anufriyeva; N.V. Shadrin (2016). "First Record of Ranatra linearis (Hemiptera, Nepidae) in Hypersaline Water Bodies of the Crimea". Hydrobiological Journal. 52 (2): 56–61.
- ^ a b c "Nepidae". The Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
- .
- ^ ISBN 978-0801420665.
- ^ .
- ISBN 978-94-007-0704-7.
- ^ a b public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Water-scorpion". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 386. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
- ^ JSTOR 3495037.
- ^ The Semiaquatic and Aquatic Hemiptera of California
- JSTOR 25010286.
- S2CID 84909022.
- .
- ISSN 2624-2834.
External links
- Media related to Nepidae at Wikimedia Commons
- Data related to Nepidae at Wikispecies
- Water Scorpions
- Hemiptera: Nepidae
- Insects of Britain and Ireland: the families of Hemiptera