Megalodontesidae | |
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Megalodontes sp. | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Hymenoptera |
Suborder: | Symphyta |
Superfamily: | Pamphilioidea |
Family: | Megalodontesidae Konow, 1897 |
Genera | |
See text | |
Synonyms | |
Praesiricidae Rasnitsyn, 1968 |
The Megalodontesidae (until recently spelled Megalodontidae, [1] a name already in use for a family of fossil molluscs) are a small family of sawflies, containing a single living genus, Megalodontes , with some 40 species restricted to the temperate regions of Eurasia. Larvae of Megalodontesidae feed on herbaceous plants. They are distinguished from the closely related Pamphiliidae by their serrate or pectinate antennae. [2]
In 2016, a phylogenetic analysis of the superfamily Pamphilioidea found that the extinct family Praesiricidae was paraphyletic with respect to Megalodontesidae, so Praesiricidae was proposed as a synonym of Megalodontesidae. [3]
As of 2016, the following genera belong to the family Megalodontesidae, divided into four subfamilies: [3]
Sawflies are wasp-like insects that are in the suborder Symphyta within the order Hymenoptera, alongside ants, bees, and wasps. The common name comes from the saw-like appearance of the ovipositor, which the females use to cut into the plants where they lay their eggs. The name is associated especially with the Tenthredinoidea, by far the largest superfamily in the suborder, with about 7,000 known species; in the entire suborder, there are 8,000 described species in more than 800 genera. Symphyta is paraphyletic, consisting of several basal groups within the order Hymenoptera, each one rooted inside the previous group, ending with the Apocrita which are not sawflies.
Horntail or wood wasp are any of the 150 non-social species of the hymenopteran family Siricidae, a type of wood-eating sawfly. The common name "horntail" derives from the stout, spine-like structure at the end of the adult's abdomen, which is used to pierce the host's bark to allow the eggs to be inserted into the wood. A typical adult horntail is brown, blue, or black with yellow or red parts, and may often reach up to 4 cm (1.6 in) long. The pigeon horntail can grow up to 5 cm (2.0 in) long, among the longest of all Hymenoptera.
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.
Alexandr Pavlovich Rasnitsyn is a Russian entomologist, expert in palaeoentomology, and Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation (2001). His scientific interests are centered on the palaeontology, phylogeny, and taxonomy of hymenopteran insects and insects in general. He has also studied broader biological problems such as evolutionary theory, the principles of phylogenetics, taxonomy, nomenclature, and palaeoecology. He has published over 300 articles and books in several languages. In August 2008 he was awarded the Distinguished Research Medal of the International Society of Hymenopterists.
The Orussidae or the parasitic wood wasps represent a small family of sawflies ("Symphyta"). Currently, about 93 extant and four fossil species are known. They take a key position in phylogenetic analyses of Hymenoptera, because they form the sister taxon of the megadiverse apocritan wasps, and the common ancestor of Orussidae + Apocrita evolved parasitism for the first time in course of the evolution of the Hymenoptera. They are also the only sawflies with carnivorous larvae.
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 Xyelidae are a comparatively species-poor family of sawflies, comprising about 80 extant species in five genera worldwide, and is the only family in the superfamily Xyeloidea. The fossil record of the family is extensive, comprising more than 120 species and including the oldest fossil Hymenoptera species dating back to the Triassic, between 245 and 208 million years ago. Xyelidae are to be regarded as living fossils since they represent one of the oldest lineages of insects and include still extant forms.
Cephoidea is a small superfamily within the Symphyta, commonly referred to as stem sawflies, containing some 100 species in 10 genera in the living family, Cephidae, plus another 17 genera in the extinct family Sepulcidae. They first appeared around 212 million years ago in the Norian Age, and are diurnal. Most species occur in the Northern Hemisphere, especially in Eurasia. The larvae are stem borers in various plants, especially grasses, but sometimes other herbaceous plants, shrubs, or trees. A few are pests of cereal grains. They are exceptionally slender for symphytans, often resembling other types of wasps, and they are the only Symphyta which lack cenchri. They are sometimes postulated to be the sister taxon to the Apocrita, though the Orussidae are more commonly considered such.
The Pamphilioidea are a small superfamily within the Symphyta, containing some 250 living species restricted to the temperate regions of Eurasia and North America. These hymenopterans share the distinctive feature of a very large, almost prognathous head, which is widest ventrally.
Pamphiliidae is a small wasp family within Symphyta, containing some 200 species from the temperate regions of North America and Eurasia. The larvae feed on plants, using silk to build webs or tents, or to roll leaves into tubes in which they feed, thus earning them the common names leaf-rolling sawflies or web-spinning sawflies. Some species are gregarious and the larvae live in large groups. Fossils of Pamphiliidae have been dated to the Jurassic period.
Megalodontidae is an extinct family of bivalve molluscs that reportedly lived from the Devonian to the Jurassic period.
The Tenthredinoidea are the dominant superfamily of sawflies within the Symphyta, containing some 8,400 species worldwide, primarily in the family Tenthredinidae. All known larvae are phytophagous, and a number are considered pests.
Tenthredinidae is the largest family of sawflies, with well over 7,500 species worldwide, divided into 430 genera. Larvae are herbivores and typically feed on the foliage of trees and shrubs, with occasional exceptions that are leaf miners, stem borers, or gall makers. The larvae of externally feeding species resemble small caterpillars. As with all hymenopterans, common sawflies undergo complete metamorphosis.
The Euparagiinae are a small subfamily of rare wasps in the family Vespidae containing a single extant genus Euparagia. The group had a cosmopolitan distribution in past geological times extending back to the Early Cretaceous, but is now a geographically relict taxon known only from the desert regions of the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico.
Sepulcidae is an extinct family of stem sawflies in the order Hymenoptera. The family is known primarily from late Mesozoic fossils found in 1968 in Transbaikalia. The insects were distant relatives of modern sawflies and are part of the living superfamily Cephoidea.
Megalodontes is a genus of sawflies within the Symphyta belonging to the family Megalodontesidae subfamily Megalodontesinae.
Cephidae is a family of stem sawflies in the order Hymenoptera. There are about 27 genera and more than 160 described species in Cephidae.
Pompiloidea is a superfamily that includes spider wasps and velvet ants, among others, in the order Hymenoptera. There are 4 families in Pompiloidea.
2015 in paleoentomology is a list of new fossil insect taxa that were described during the year 2015, as well as other significant discoveries and events related to paleoentomology that were scheduled to occur during the year.
Jouault, Corentin; Rosse-Guillevic, Simon. "A new genus of praeaulacid wasp from the mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber (Myanmar)". Annales de Paléontologie. 109 (1): 102599. doi:10.1016/j.annpal.2023.102599.
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