| Mastotermitidae | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Mastotermes darwiniensis | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Blattodea |
| Infraorder: | Isoptera |
| Family: | Mastotermitidae Desneux 1904 |
| Genera | |
See text | |
Mastotermitidae is a family of termites with one sole living species, Mastotermes darwiniensis which is found only in northern Australia. The remaining genera of this family are only known from the fossil record.
Numerous fossil taxa have been described in the Mastotermitidae, as well as in the genus Mastotermes . The family seems to have had a worldwide distribution until just a few million years ago, when all but the ancestors of the giant northern termite became extinct for unknown reasons.
Genera included in the Mastotermitidae are: [2]
Scydmaeninae are a subfamily of small beetles, commonly called ant-like stone beetles or scydmaenines. These beetles occur worldwide, and the subfamily includes some 4,500 species in about 80 genera. Established as a family, they were reduced in status to a subfamily of Staphylinidae in 2009
Snakeflies are a group of predatory insects comprising the order Raphidioptera with two extant families: Raphidiidae and Inocelliidae, consisting of roughly 260 species. In the past, the group had a much wider distribution than it does now; snakeflies are found in temperate regions worldwide but are absent from the tropics and the Southern Hemisphere. Recognisable representatives of the group first appeared during the Early Jurassic. They are a relict group, having reached their apex of diversity during the Cretaceous before undergoing substantial decline.
Michael S. Engel, FLS, FRES is an American paleontologist and entomologist, notable for contributions to insect evolutionary biology and classification. In connection with his studies he has undertaken field expeditions in Central Asia, Asia Minor, the Levant, Arabia, eastern Africa, the high Arctic, and South and North America, and has published more than 925 papers in scientific journals and over 1000 new living and fossil species. Some of Engel's research images were included in exhibitions on the aesthetic value of scientific imagery.
Pelecinidae is a family of parasitic wasps in the superfamily Proctotrupoidea. It contains only one living genus, Pelecinus, with three species known from the Americas. The earliest fossil species are known from the Jurassic, and the group was highly diverse during the Cretaceous. Members of Pelecinus are parasitic on larval beetles, flies, green lacewings, and sawflies.
The Stephanidae, sometimes called crown wasps, are a family of parasitoid wasps. They are the only living members of the superfamily Stephanoidea. Stephanidae has at least 345 living species in 11 genera. The family is considered cosmopolitan in distribution, with the highest species concentrations in subtropical and moderate climate zones. Stephanidae also contain four extinct genera described from both compression fossils and inclusions in amber.
Archaeidae, also known as assassin spiders and pelican spiders, is a spider family with about ninety described species in five genera. It contains small spiders, ranging from 2 to 8 millimetres long, that prey exclusively on other spiders. They are unusual in that they have "necks", ranging from long and slender to short and thick. The name "pelican spider" refers to these elongated jaws and necks used to catch their prey. Living species of Archaeidae occur in South Africa, Madagascar and Australia, with the sister family Mecysmaucheniidae occurring in southern South America and New Zealand.
Hemerobiidae is a family of Neuropteran insects commonly known as brown lacewings, comprising about 500 species in 28 genera. Most are yellow to dark brown, but some species are green. They are small; most have forewings 4–10 mm long. These insects differ from the somewhat similar Chrysopidae not only by the usual coloring but also by the wing venation: hemerobiids differ from chrysopids in having numerous long veins and forked costal cross veins. Some genera are widespread, but most are restricted to a single biogeographical realm. Some species have reduced wings to the degree that they are flightless. Imagines (adults) of subfamily Drepanepteryginae mimic dead leaves. Hemerobiid larvae are usually less hairy than chrysopid larvae.
The Berothidae are a family of winged insects of the order Neuroptera. They are known commonly as the beaded lacewings. The family was first named by Anton Handlirsch in 1906. The family consists of 24 genera and 110 living species distributed discontinuously worldwide, mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. Numerous extinct species have also been described. Their ecology is poorly known, but in the species where larval stages have been documented, the larvae are predators of termites.
Nymphidae, sometimes called split-footed lacewings, are a family of winged insects of the order Neuroptera. There are 35 extant species native to Australia and New Guinea.
Psychopsidae is a family of winged insects of the order Neuroptera. They are commonly called silky lacewings.
Rhachiberothidae, sometimes called thorny lacewings, are a family of winged insects in the order Neuroptera. The family has only 14 extant species in 4 genera found in Sub-Saharan Africa, but has a diverse fossil record extending back to the Early Cretaceous in Lebanon, Eurasia and North America. Like the closely related Mantispidae members of the group possess raptorial forelegs, which probably only evolved once in the common ancestor of the groups.
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The dustywings, Coniopterygidae, are a family of Pterygota of the net-winged insect order (Neuroptera). About 460 living species are known. These tiny insects can usually be determined to genus with a hand lens according to their wing venation, but to distinguish species, examination of the genitals by microscope is usually necessary.
Mastotermes is a genus of termites. The sole living species is Mastotermes darwiniensis, found only in northern Australia. A number of extinct taxa are known from fossils. It is a very peculiar insect, the most primitive termite alive. As such, it shows notable similarities to cockroaches in the family Cryptocercidae, the termites' closest relatives. These similarities include the anal lobe of the wing and the laying of eggs in bunches, rather than singly. The termites were traditionally placed in the Exopterygota, but such an indiscriminate treatment makes that group a paraphyletic grade of basal neopterans. Thus, the cockroaches, termites and their relatives are nowadays placed in a clade called Dictyoptera.
Mastotermes electromexicus is an extinct species of termite in the family Mastotermitidae known from a group of Late Oligocene to Early Miocene fossils found in Mexico. M. electromexicus is the only species in the genus Mastotermes to have been described from fossils found in Mexican amber and was the first member of the genus described from the New World. The only living species of Mastotermes is Mastotermes darwiniensis which is found in tropical regions of Northern Australia.
Termitaradus avitinquilinus is an extinct species of termite bug in the family Termitaphididae known from several possibly Miocene fossils found in the Dominican Republic. T. avitinquilinus is the first species in the genus Termitaradus to have been described from fossils found in Dominican amber and is one of four species from New World amber, the others being Termitaradus protera, Termitaradus dominicanus and Termitaradus mitnicki.
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Embolemidae is a family of small solitary parasitoid wasps with around 70 species in 2 genera distributed around the world. The few species whose biology is known are parasites on planthopper nymphs of the families Achilidae and Cixiidae. There is debate regarding the status of the genus named Ampulicomorpha by Ashmead in 1893, generally considered now to be a junior synonym of Embolemus (e.g.,), though some authorities dispute this (e.g.,)
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2015 in paleoentomology is a list of new fossil insect taxa that were described during the year 2016, as well as other significant discoveries and events related to paleoentomology that were scheduled to occur during the year.