Exoporia
Encyclopedia
Exoporia are a group of primitive Lepidoptera comprising the superfamilies Mnesarchaeoidea and Hepialoidea
(Kristensen, 1999; Nielsen et al., 2000). Exoporia is a natural group or clade
which is the sister group of the lepidopteran infraorder Heteroneura
. They are characterised by the unique female reproductive system which has an external groove between the "ostium bursae" and the ovipore
by which the sperm
is transferred to the egg rather than having the mating and egg-laying parts of the abdomen with a common opening (cloaca
) as in other non-ditrysia
n moths
, or with separate openings linked internally by a "ductus seminalis" as in Ditrysia
(Nielsen et al., 2000). See Kristensen (1999: 57) for other exoporian characteristics.
Hepialoidea
Hepialoidea is the superfamily of "ghost moths" and "swift moths". See Kristensen for a broad review.- Fossils :Fossil Hepialoidea appear to be few. Prohepialus has been described from the about 35 million year old Bembridge Marls of Isle of Wight. A mid-Miocene hepialoid fossil is also known...
(Kristensen, 1999; Nielsen et al., 2000). Exoporia is a natural group or clade
Clade
A clade is a group consisting of a species and all its descendants. In the terms of biological systematics, a clade is a single "branch" on the "tree of life". The idea that such a "natural group" of organisms should be grouped together and given a taxonomic name is central to biological...
which is the sister group of the lepidopteran infraorder Heteroneura
Heteroneura
Heteroneura is a natural group in the insect order Lepidoptera that comprises over 99% of all butterflies and moths. This is the sister group of the infraorder Exoporia , and is characterised by wing venation which is not similar or homoneurous in both pairs of wings....
. They are characterised by the unique female reproductive system which has an external groove between the "ostium bursae" and the ovipore
Ovipore
An ovipore is a pore-like sexual organ of a female insect that gets inseminated by the spermatophores ejected by the aedeagus of a male insect during copulation. The spermatophores that pass through the ovipore are stored in most insect species in another organ called spermatheca....
by which the sperm
Sperm
The term sperm is derived from the Greek word sperma and refers to the male reproductive cells. In the types of sexual reproduction known as anisogamy and oogamy, there is a marked difference in the size of the gametes with the smaller one being termed the "male" or sperm cell...
is transferred to the egg rather than having the mating and egg-laying parts of the abdomen with a common opening (cloaca
Cloaca
In zoological anatomy, a cloaca is the posterior opening that serves as the only such opening for the intestinal, reproductive, and urinary tracts of certain animal species...
) as in other non-ditrysia
Ditrysia
The Ditrysia are a natural group or clade of insects in the Lepidopteran order containing both butterflies and moths. They are so named because the female has two distinct sexual openings: one for mating, and the other for laying eggs .About 98% of described species of Lepidoptera belong to Ditrysia...
n moths
Moths
Moths may refer to:* Gustav Moths , German rower* The Moths!, an English indie rock band* MOTHS, members of the Memorable Order of Tin Hats...
, or with separate openings linked internally by a "ductus seminalis" as in Ditrysia
Ditrysia
The Ditrysia are a natural group or clade of insects in the Lepidopteran order containing both butterflies and moths. They are so named because the female has two distinct sexual openings: one for mating, and the other for laying eggs .About 98% of described species of Lepidoptera belong to Ditrysia...
(Nielsen et al., 2000). See Kristensen (1999: 57) for other exoporian characteristics.