Nymphidae
Encyclopedia
The split-footed lacewings, Nymphidae, are a family
of winged insects
of the order
Neuroptera
.
Split-footed lacewings stand somewhat apart from other living Myrmeleontoidea. The antlions (Myrmeleontidae) and the owlflies (Ascalaphidae) are more closely related to them, but the bulk of the Nymphidae's relatives includes extinct groups known only from fossil
s, such as the Nymphitidae, Brogniartiellidae or Babinskaiidae. The spoonwings (Nemopteridae
) were at one time also believed to be quite closely related, but they seem to belong to another lineage of Myrmeleontiformia altogether. Myiodactylus osmyloides and its relatives were formerly separated as Myiodactylidae but they do not form a lineage separate from the other Nymphidae.
In addition to the numerous living genera
, the fossil Pronymphes
is known from the Eocene
.
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
of winged insects
Pterygota
Pterygota is a subclass of insects that includes the winged insects. It also includes insect orders that are secondarily wingless ....
of the order
Order (biology)
In scientific classification used in biology, the order is# a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, family, genus, and species, with order fitting in between class and family...
Neuroptera
Neuroptera
The insect order Neuroptera, or net-winged insects, includes the lacewings, mantidflies, antlions, and their relatives. The order contains some 6,010 species...
.
Split-footed lacewings stand somewhat apart from other living Myrmeleontoidea. The antlions (Myrmeleontidae) and the owlflies (Ascalaphidae) are more closely related to them, but the bulk of the Nymphidae's relatives includes extinct groups known only from fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s, such as the Nymphitidae, Brogniartiellidae or Babinskaiidae. The spoonwings (Nemopteridae
Nemopteridae
Spoonwings or Nemopteridae are a family of neuropteran insects. They are also called Thread-winged Antlions. Their flight is delicate and they have a circling flight to avoid walls when they are trapped indoors...
) were at one time also believed to be quite closely related, but they seem to belong to another lineage of Myrmeleontiformia altogether. Myiodactylus osmyloides and its relatives were formerly separated as Myiodactylidae but they do not form a lineage separate from the other Nymphidae.
In addition to the numerous living genera
Genera
Genera is a commercial operating system and development environment for Lisp machines developed by Symbolics. It is essentially a fork of an earlier operating system originating on the MIT AI Lab's Lisp machines which Symbolics had used in common with LMI and Texas Instruments...
, the fossil Pronymphes
Pronymphes
Pronymphes is an extinct genus of lacewing which existed during the Eocene period. It contains two species, Pronymphes mengeana and P. hoffeinsorum....
is known from the Eocene
Eocene
The Eocene Epoch, lasting from about 56 to 34 million years ago , is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Palaeocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the...
.