| Ecnomidae Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Male Darternomina | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Trichoptera |
| Superfamily: | Hydropsychoidea |
| Family: | Ecnomidae Ulmer, 1903 |
| Genera | |
The Ecnomidae are a family of caddisflies comprising 9 genera with a total of 375 species.
The Ecnomidae have a Gondwanan distribution, except one genus, which also is present in Oriental and Palearctic regions.
The adult is a mostly small to medium-sized caddisfly with a wingspan of 6–18 mm (0.24–0.71 in), with dull grayish-brown mottled wings. Ocelli are absent. The maxillary palp is five-segmented. The apical segment is flexible. The antennae are, at most, as long as the forewing. Forewing R1 is usually forked at the apex; the discoidal and median cells present and closed. The female abdomen terminates either flat out or with an elongated ovipositor.
The larva is small to medium-sized 5–10 mm (0.20–0.39 in) long. The head and all thoracic nota are sclerotised. The prolegs on the abdomen are highly formed with large anal claws terminal.
The Ecnomidae larval stage, like most trichoptera larvae, is spent completely in fresh water. They are predatory, but some genera feed also on algae and detritus. They construct fixed tubes, retreats of silk, on logs or rocks. Permanent ponds and lakes or slower-flowing waters is suitable habitat for Ecnomidae larvae.
The Ecnomidae taxonomy has been problematic, Ecnomidae was first described (Ulmer 1903) as a subfamily of Hydropsychidae, and later as a subfamily within Psychomiidae. The family Ecnomidae is now accepted as monophyletic beside its sister-group Polycentropodidae. The Ecnomidae contain at least 9 genera with the most diversity found in the genus Ecnomus. Currently, a total of 375 species are described. In recent years, several new species has been discovered, mainly from the Oceania region. Other phylogenetically distinct genera exist which have not been scientifically described yet.
All Ecnomidae genera are restricted to the Southern Hemisphere except the genus Ecnomus, which is widely distributed. This means the group of may have a Gondwanan origin. The genus Ecnomus is also known from the Barremian aged Lebanese amber. [1]
Else see Subfamilia: Psychomyiinae:
The caddisflies, or order Trichoptera, are a group of insects with aquatic larvae and terrestrial adults. There are approximately 14,500 described species, most of which can be divided into the suborders Integripalpia and Annulipalpia on the basis of the adult mouthparts. Integripalpian larvae construct a portable casing to protect themselves as they move around looking for food, while Annulipalpian larvae make themselves a fixed retreat in which they remain, waiting for food to come to them. The affinities of the small third suborder Spicipalpia are unclear, and molecular analysis suggests it may not be monophyletic. Also called sedge-flies or rail-flies, the adults are small moth-like insects with two pairs of hairy membranous wings. They are closely related to the Lepidoptera which have scales on their wings; the two orders together form the superorder Amphiesmenoptera.
Anaxyelidae is a family of incense cedar wood wasps in the order Hymenoptera. It contains only one living genus, Syntexis, which has only a single species, native to Western North America. Fossils of the family extend back to the Middle Jurassic, belonging to over a dozen extinct genera, with a particularly high diversity during the Early Cretaceous. Syntexis lay eggs in the sapwood of conifers, preferring recently burnt wood.
The Gasteruptiidae are one of the more distinctive families among the apocritan wasps, with surprisingly little variation in appearance for a group that contains around 500 species in two subfamilies and with 6 genera worldwide. They are members of Evanioidea.
Dolichopodidae, the long-legged flies, are a large, cosmopolitan family of true flies with more than 7,000 described species in about 230 genera. The genus Dolichopus is the most speciose, with some 600 species.
Odiniidae is a small family of flies. There are only 58 described species but there are representatives in all the major biogeographic realms.
Helicopsychidae are a family of Trichoptera. The name refers to the helix shaped larval cases and they should not be confused with Limnephilidae which sometimes inhabit the snail shells. Their shells range from 6–8 millimetres (0.24–0.31 in) and are crafted from mineral grains. Their typical habitat is in slow-flowing water in ditches. Helicopsychidae larvae have a comb-like anal hook. Helicopsychidae is divided into two extant genera, Rakiura and Helicopsyche, and two fossil genera Electrohelicopsyche and Palaeohelicopsyche. The family contains more than 270 species and are present on all major faunal regions.
The Psychomyiidae are a family of tube-making caddisflies. Members of this family are typically very similar to polycentropodids, most of them can be differentiated by the spur formula is 2-4-4, thyridial cell short, absence of the forewing fork I, and hindwing forks I and IV. Male genitalia has elongate preanal appendages, and reduced tergum IX. The larvae differ by the submental sclerites separated, foretrochantin broad, and the pupal mandible apex whip-like. Larvae construct long silken galleries.
Dipseudopsidae is a family of caddisflies in the order Trichoptera. There are about 6 genera and at least 110 described species in Dipseudopsidae.
Diplectroninae is a subfamily level taxon consisting of net-spinning caddisflies. The subfamily was described by Georg Ulmer in 1951.
The Eupnoi are a suborder of harvestmen, with more than 200 genera, and about 1,700 described species.
Dolichopus is a large cosmopolitan genus of flies in the family Dolichopodidae. Adults are small flies, typically less than 8 mm in length. Nearly all species are metallic greenish-blue to greenish-bronze. It is the largest genus of Dolichopodidae with more than 600 species worldwide.
Paragodon paragoides is a small (4–5 mm) hoverfly which differs from other hoverflies by its simple male genitalia, and was accordingly considered the most primitive microdontine species. It is the sole member of the genus Paragodon, as the other known species was removed to a separate genus, Surimyia.
The Ulodidae are a family of beetles belonging to Tenebrionoidea. They are native to the Southern Hemisphere, with species found in Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia and Chile. Larvae and adults are generally found on dead wood or fungus associated with rotting wood, and are mycophagous. There are approximately 40 species in 16 genera.
The Diplodactylidae are a family in the suborder Gekkota (geckos), with over 150 species in 25 genera. These geckos occur in Australia, New Zealand, and New Caledonia. Diplodactylids are the most ecologically diverse and widespread family of geckos in both Australia and New Caledonia, and are the only family of geckos found in New Zealand. Three diplodactylid genera have recently been split into multiple new genera.
Dysoneuridae is an extinct family of insect in the order Trichoptera, the caddisflies. The family was first described by I.D. Sukacheva in 1968, and lived from the Middle Jurassic to mid-Cretaceous.
Kokiriidae is a family of insect in the order Trichoptera. It was discovered in 1964 and is found in Australia, Chile, New Caledonia, and New Zealand. It consists of fifteen species and six genera.
Wormaldia is a genus of fingernet caddisflies in the family Philopotamidae. There are more than 140 described species in Wormaldia. Fossil species have been described from the Late Cretaceous Burmese amber of Myanmar.
Datamini is the only tribe within the subfamily of the Dataminae from the order of the Phasmatodea. The representatives of this subfamily are on average not as large as those of the other two subfamilies belonging to the family of Heteropterygidae.
Data related to Ecnomidae at Wikispecies