Small winter stoneflies Temporal range:
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Eocapnia nivalis on the snow in Nagano (Japan) | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Cohort: | Polyneoptera |
Order: | Plecoptera |
Superfamily: | Nemouroidea |
Family: | Capniidae Banks, 1900 |
The Capniidae, the small winter stoneflies, are a family of insects in the stonefly order (Plecoptera). It constitutes one of the largest stonefly families, containing some 300 species distributed throughout the holarctic. Their closest relatives are the rolled-winged stoneflies (Leuctridae).[1][2]
Many species are endemic to small ranges, perhaps due to the family's tendency to evolve tolerance for cold (isolating populations in mountain valleys) and winglessness (inhibiting dispersal).[2] Indeed, some wingless Capniidae – e.g. the Lake Tahoe benthic stonefly ("Capnia" lacustra, Capnia is not monophyletic and this species is suspected to belong elsewhere) or Baikaloperla spp. – spend their entire lifecycles under water and do not disperse from their native lakes at all.[3]