Miomoptera
Encyclopedia
Miomoptera is an extinct order of insects. Although it is thought to be a common ancestor
of all holometabolous insects, because no smooth transition between Miomoptera and other holometabolous insect orders is known it is considered to be in a separate order unto itself.
The Miomopterans were small insects, with unspecialised chewing mandible
s and short abdominal cerci
. They had four wings of equal size, with a relatively simple venation, similar to that of the more primitive living holometabolous insects, such as lacewings.
Adult morphology suggests the adults lived in open habitats. The morphology and gut content shows they fed on the pollen and strobili
of gymnosperms. Based on the morphology of the ovipositor
, larvae also fed on the pollen
of strobili, moving between the scales from one microsporangium
to another.
Reference:
Common descent
In evolutionary biology, a group of organisms share common descent if they have a common ancestor. There is strong quantitative support for the theory that all living organisms on Earth are descended from a common ancestor....
of all holometabolous insects, because no smooth transition between Miomoptera and other holometabolous insect orders is known it is considered to be in a separate order unto itself.
The Miomopterans were small insects, with unspecialised chewing mandible
Mandible (arthropod)
thumb|250px|The mandibles of a [[Bull ant]]The mandible of an arthropod is either of a pair of mouthparts used for biting, cutting and holding food. Mandibles are often simply referred to as jaws. Mandibles are present in the extant subphyla Myriapoda , Crustacea and Hexapoda...
s and short abdominal cerci
Cercus
Cerci are paired appendages on the rear-most segments of many arthropods, including insects and arachnids but not crustaceans. Cerci often serve as sensory organs, but they may also be used as weapons or copulation aids, or they may simply be vestigial structures.Typical cerci may appear to be...
. They had four wings of equal size, with a relatively simple venation, similar to that of the more primitive living holometabolous insects, such as lacewings.
Adult morphology suggests the adults lived in open habitats. The morphology and gut content shows they fed on the pollen and strobili
Strobilus
A strobilus is a structure present on many land plant species consisting of sporangia-bearing structures densely aggregated along a stem. Strobili are often called cones, but many botanists restrict the use of the term cone to the woody seed strobili of conifers...
of gymnosperms. Based on the morphology of the ovipositor
Ovipositor
The ovipositor is an organ used by some animals for oviposition, i.e., the laying of eggs. It consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages formed to transmit the egg, to prepare a place for it, and to place it properly...
, larvae also fed on the pollen
Pollen
Pollen is a fine to coarse powder containing the microgametophytes of seed plants, which produce the male gametes . Pollen grains have a hard coat that protects the sperm cells during the process of their movement from the stamens to the pistil of flowering plants or from the male cone to the...
of strobili, moving between the scales from one microsporangium
Sporangium
A sporangium is an enclosure in which spores are formed. It can be composed of a single cell or can be multicellular. All plants, fungi, and many other lineages form sporangia at some point in their life cycle...
to another.
Families and genera
- Metropatoridae
- Metropator
- Archaemiopteridae
- Archaemioptera
- Eodelopterum
- Saaromioptera
- Tychtodelopterum
- Palaeomanteidae
- Palaeomantis
- Delopterum
- Miomatoneura
- Miomatoneurella
- Permodelopterum
- Perunopterum
- Permosialidae Martynov, 1928
- Epimastax Martynov, 1928
- Permonka Riek, 1973
- Sarbalopterodes Storozhenko, 1991
- Permosialis Martynov, 1928
Reference: