Amphiesmenoptera
| Amphiesmenoptera | |
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| Superorder: | Amphiesmenoptera
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Amphiesmenoptera is an insect superorder, established by Willi Hennig in his revision of insect taxonomy for two sister orders: Lepidoptera and Trichoptera.
Trichoptera and Lepidoptera share a number of derived characters (synapomorphies) which prove their common descent:
- females, rather than males, are heterogametic (i.e. their sex chromosomes differ);
- dense setae on the wings (modified into scales in Lepidoptera);
- a particular venation pattern on the forewings (the double-looped anal veins);
- larvae with mouth structures and glands to make and manipulate silk [1].
Thus the two sister orders are grouped into the Amphiesmenoptera. The group probably evolved in the Jurassic, diverging from the extinct Necrotaulidae [1]. Lepidoptera differ from the Trichoptera in several features, including wing venation, form of the scales on the wings, loss of the cerci, loss of an ocellus, and changes to the legs [1].
Amphiesmenoptera are thought to be the sister group of Antliophora, a proposed superorder comprising Diptera, Siphonaptera and Mecoptera. Together, Amphiesmenoptera and Antliophora compose the group Mecopterida [1].
References
- ^ a b c Grimaldi, D. & M. S. Engel (2005). Evolution of the Insects. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-82149-5.