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Raphidioptera
| Description | 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. They are a relict group and have been considered living fossils, as species from the early Jurassic period (140 million years ago) closely resemble modern-day species. From Wikipedia article at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raphidioptera, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Source Data |
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| Rank | order | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxonomy (GBIF,PBDB) | Life : Animalia : Arthropoda : Insecta : Raphidioptera | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxonomic Status (GBIF) | accepted | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Classification (PBDB,GBIF) |
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| Common Name | snakefly | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Scientific Name | Raphidioptera | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opinions (PBDB) |
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| Status (PBDB) | extant | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxon Size (PBDB) | 223 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Extant Size (PBDB) | 15 (6.7%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First Recorded Appearance | 279 - 272 Ma Permian | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Environment | terrestrial (based on Insecta) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Motility | actively mobile (based on Arthropoda) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taphonomy | chitin (based on Insecta) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Primary Reference (PBDB) | A. Handlirsch. 1908. Die Fossilen Insekten und die Phylogenie der Rezenten Formen, parts VIII-IX. Ein Handbuch fur Palaontologen und Zoologen | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Common Name(s) | Snake Flies, Snakeflies, Halssländor, Kamelhalsfliegen, Snakefly | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wikipedia | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raphidioptera |
External Images
Fossil Distribution
Subtaxa
| Name | Status | Common Name(s) | Fossil Occurrences | Oldest | Youngest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Priscaenigmatomorpha ✝ suborder | listed (PBDB) | 3 | 197 Ma Early Jurassic | 125 Ma Early/Lower Cretaceous | |
| Raphidiomorpha suborder | listed (PBDB) | 181 | 197 Ma Early Jurassic | 0 Ma Extant | |
| Alloraphidiidae family | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Baissopteridae ✝ family | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 42 | 125 Ma Early/Lower Cretaceous | 37.2 Ma Eocene | |
| Chrysoraphidiidae ✝ family | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 1 | 125 Ma Early/Lower Cretaceous | 125 Ma Early/Lower Cretaceous | |
| Fatjanopteridae ✝ family | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 2 | 315 Ma Carboniferous | 296 Ma Permian | |
| Inocelliidae family | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 10 | 166 Ma Middle Jurassic | 0 Ma Extant | |
| Juroraphidiidae ✝ family | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 2 | 166 Ma Middle Jurassic | 166 Ma Middle Jurassic | |
| Mesoraphidiidae ✝ family | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 103 | 166 Ma Middle Jurassic | 83.5 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous | |
| Metaraphidiidae ✝ family | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 2 | 197 Ma Early Jurassic | 183 Ma Early Jurassic | |
| Nanosialidae ✝ family | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 5 | 260 Ma Permian | 260 Ma Permian | |
| Parasialidae ✝ family | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 7 | 279 Ma Permian | 260 Ma Permian | |
| Priscaenigmatidae ✝ family | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 2 | 197 Ma Early Jurassic | 183 Ma Early Jurassic | |
| Raphidiidae family | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 23 | 50.3 Ma Eocene | 0 Ma Extant | |
| Archiinocellia ✝ genus | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 1 | 55.8 Ma Eocene | 55.8 Ma Eocene | |
| Caririraphidia ✝ genus | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 2 | 122 Ma Early/Lower Cretaceous | 122 Ma Early/Lower Cretaceous | |
| Cratoraphidia ✝ genus | listed (PBDB) | ||||
| Fatjanoptera ✝ genus | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 1 | 296 Ma Permian | 296 Ma Permian | |
| Rhyniognatha genus | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
Synonymy List
| Year | Name and Author |
|---|---|
| 1908 | Raphidioidea Handlirsch p. 1250 |
| 1910 | Rhaphidioidea Handlirsch |
| 1992 | Raphidioidea Carpenter |
| 2002 | Raphidioptera Engel |
| 2004 | Raphidioptera Kukalová-Peck and Lawrence |
| 2008 | Raphidioptera Engel and Grimaldi |
| 2014 | Raphidioptera Misof et al. |
| 2018 | Raphidioptera Engel et al. |
References
Data courtesy of: PBDB: The Paleobiology Database, Creative Commons CC-BY licenced. , GBIF: the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, various licences, iDigBio, various licences, and EOL: The Encyclopedia of Life (Open Data Public Domain). Because fossils are made of minerals too!
