Nevrorthidae

Nevrorthidae
Temporal range: Middle Jurassic–recent
Nevrorthus apatelios (top), adult (left) and larva (right); Nipponeurorthus fuscinervis (bottom left); Sinoneurorthus yunnanicus (bottom right)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Neuroptera
Superfamily: Osmyloidea
Family: Nevrorthidae
Nakahara, 1915
Genera

Austroneurorthus
Nevrorthus
Nipponeurorthus
Sinoneurorthus

Synonyms

Neurorthidae (lapsus)
Nevrorthiformia

The Nevrorthidae (often incorrectly spelled "Neurorthidae") are a small family of lacewings in the order Neuroptera. There are 19 extant species in four genera, with a geographically disjunct distribution: Nevrorthus, comprising 5 species with scattered distributions around the Mediterranean; 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.[1] They are traditionally placed in the Osmyloidea, alongside Osmylidae and the spongillaflies (Sisyridae),[2] but some research has considered them to be the sister group to the rest of Neuroptera.[3] 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.[1][2]

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.[4]

  1. ^ a b Aspöck, U.; Aspöck, H.; Liu, X. (2017-08-03). "The Nevrorthidae, mistaken at all times: phylogeny and review of present knowledge (Holometabola, Neuropterida, Neuroptera)". Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift. 64 (2): 77–110. doi:10.3897/dez.64.13028. ISSN 1860-1324.
  2. ^ a b Engel, M.; Winterton, S.; Breitkreuz, L. (2018-01-07). "Phylogeny and Evolution of Neuropterida: Where Have Wings of Lace Taken Us?". Annual Review of Entomology. 63: 531–551. doi:10.1146/annurev-ento-020117-043127. ISSN 1545-4487. PMID 29324039.
  3. ^ Haug, J.; Baranov, V.; Schädel, M.; Müller, P.; Gröhn, C.; Haug, C. (2020-11-15). "Challenges for understanding lacewings: how to deal with the incomplete data from extant and fossil larvae of Nevrorthidae? (Neuroptera)". Fragmenta Entomologica. 52 (2): 137–168. doi:10.13133/2284-4880/472. ISSN 2284-4880.
  4. ^ Du, Xuheng; Niu, Kecheng; Bao, Tong (2023-02-22). "Giant Jurassic dragon lacewing larvae with lacustrine palaeoecology represent the oldest fossil record of larval neuropterans". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 290 (1993): 20222500. doi:10.1098/rspb.2022.2500. ISSN 0962-8452. PMC 9928527. PMID 36787796.