Psychopsidae

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Silky lacewings
Fossil range: Eocene - Recent
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Class: Insecta
Subclass: Pterygota
Infraclass: Neoptera
Superorder: Endopterygota or Neuropterida
Order: Neuroptera
Suborder: Myrmeleontiformia
Superfamily: Nemopteroidea (see text)
Family: Psychopsidae
Genera

Several, including:
Psychopsis
and see text

The Psychopsidae are a family of winged insects of the order Neuroptera. They are commonly called silky lacewings.

They were formerly placed in the superfamily Hemerobioidea, but do not seem to be closely related to these net-winged insects at all. Rather, might be closer to the Myrmeleontoidea which contain for example the antlions (Myrmeleontidae). In particular, the spoon-winged laceflies (Nemopteridae) seem to be very closely related to the silky lacewings. These had at one time been placed in a superfamily Nemopteroidea. The fossil family Osmylopsychopidae was - as indicated by their scientific name - initially believed to be intermediate between the Psychopsidae and the Osmylidae. But actually these similarities are due to plesiomorphies in the first case, and simply misperceived in the second; the osmylopsychopids are one of the basal lineages of the Myrmeleontoidea as traditionally defined. The Nemopteroidea were eventually abolished and its members included in the Myrmeleontoidea. But as the silky and spoon-winged lacewings together with the "butterfly" lacewings of the Kalligrammatidae do seem to form a quite distinct clade among the expanded Myrmeleontoidea, it appears well warranted to reinstate the Nemopteroidea for them.[1]

A fossil genus, Propsychopsis, has been described from the Eocene.[2]

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ See references in Haaramo (2008)
  2. ^ Engel & Grimaldi (2007)

[edit] References

  • Engel, Michael S. & Grimaldi, David A. (2007): The neuropterid fauna of Dominican and Mexican amber (Neuropterida, Megaloptera, Neuroptera). American Museum Novitates 3587: 1-58. PDF fulltext
  • Haaramo, Mikko (2008): Mikko's Phylogeny Archive: Neuroptera. Version of 2008-MAR-11. Retrieved 2008-APR-27.


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