Eomeropidae

Eomeropidae Temporal range: Triassic - Recent
Notiothauma reedi
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Mecoptera
Family:	Eomeropidae
Genera
†Eomerope †Jurathauma[1] †Tsuchingothauma †Thaumamerope †Typhothauma Notiothauma

Eomeropidae is a family of aberrant, flattened scorpionflies represented today by only a single living species, Notiothauma reedi, known from the Nothofagus forests in southern Chile, while all other recognized genera in the family are known only as fossils, with the earliest from Triassic-aged strata,^[2] and the youngest from Paleogene-aged strata.^[2][3]

Genera

Thaumatomerope

This genus is known from the Triassic-aged Madygen Lagerstätte, of Ladinian to Carnian Kyrgyzstan. Thaumatomerope's placement is subjective, as it has also been placed within Meropeidae, and in its own monotypic family, "Thaumatomeropidae."

Notiothauma

N. reedi is a remarkable species, flattened and extremely cockroach-like in appearance and habits. It is nocturnal, and scuttles on the forest floor, where it can be collected by laying trails of oatmeal. The larvae are still unknown. Because this is the last extant species of Eomeropidae, N. reedi can be characterized as a living fossil taxon.^[3]

Eomerope

This genus is known from Paleogene fossils from Eocene and Oligocene strata of North America, and Paleocene to Oligocene strata of Russia.^[3] Because N. reedi is not known in the fossil record, Eomerope is the youngest of the fossil genera, and has the widest range.

Tsuchingothauma

T. shihi is one of three species of eomeropid scorpionflies from the Middle Jurassic of China. Its fossils are found in two formations, one with Typhothauma, and another with Jurathauma

Typhothauma

T. yixianensis is one of three species of eomeropid scorpionflies from the Middle Jurassic of China.

Jurathauma

J. simplex is one of three species of eomeropid scorpionflies from the Middle Jurassic of China. Its wing veins are distinct from all other eomeropids.^[1]

References

1. Zhang J-X, Shih C-K, Petrulevičius JF, Ren D (2011) A new fossil eomeropid (Insecta, Mecoptera) from the Jiulongshan Formation, Inner Mongolia, China. Zoosystema 33(4): 443–450. doi: 10.5252/z2011n4a2
2. Zhang Junxia; et al. (2011). "A new fossil eomeropid (Insecta, Mecoptera) from the Jiulongshan Formation, Inner Mongolia, China". Zoosystema 33 (4): 443–450.
3. Archibald, S. Bruce, Alexandr P. Rasnitsyn, and Mikhail A. Akhmetiev. "Ecology and distribution of Cenozoic Eomeropidae (Mecoptera), and a new species of Eomerope Cockerell from the Early Eocene McAbee locality, British Columbia, Canada." Annals of the Entomological Society of America 98.4 (2005): 503-514.