Grylloblattidae

Grylloblattidae
Galloisiana nipponensis
Specimen of Grylloblatta in lateral view
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Superorder: Notoptera
Order: Grylloblattodea
Family: Grylloblattidae
E. M. Walker, 1914
Genera

Galloisiana
Grylloblatta
Grylloblattella
Grylloblattina
Namkungia

Grylloblattidae, commonly known as the icebugs or ice crawlers, is a family of extremophile (psychrophile) and wingless insects that live in the cold on top of mountains and the edges of glaciers. It is the only member of Grylloblattodea, which is generally considered an order. Alternatively, Grylloblattodea, along with Mantophasmatodea (rock crawlers), have been ranked as suborders of the order Notoptera.[1] Grylloblattids are wingless insects mostly less than 3 cm long, with a head resembling that of a cockroach, with long antennae and having elongated cerci arising from the tip of their abdomen. They cannot tolerate warmth (most species will die at 10 °C) and many species have small distribution ranges.

  1. ^ Arillo, A.; Engel, M.S. (2006). "Rock crawlers in Baltic amber (Notoptera: Mantophasmatodea)". American Museum Novitates. 3539: 1–10.