Mecoptera are an order of insects with about 600 species worldwide. Mecoptera are sometimes called scorpionflies after their largest non-flea family, Panorpidae, in which the males have enlarged genitals that look similar to the stinger of a scorpion. The Bittacidae, or hangingflies, are a prominent family of elongate insects known for their elaborate mating rituals, in which females choose mates based on the quality of gift prey offered by various males. Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Phyla Porifera (sponges) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria (coral, jellyfish, anenomes) Placozoa (trichoplax) Subregnum Bilateria (bilateral symmetry) Acoelomorpha (basal) Orthonectida (flatworms, echinoderms, etc. ... Subphyla and Classes Subphylum Trilobitomorpha Trilobita - Trilobites (extinct) Subphylum Chelicerata Arachnida - Spiders, Scorpions, etc. ... Classes & Orders Subclass: Apterygota Orders Archaeognatha (Bristletails) Thysanura (Silverfish) Monura - extinct Subclass: Pterygota Infraclass: Paleoptera (paraphyletic) Orders Ephemeroptera (mayflies) Protodonata - extinct Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) Diaphanopteroidea - extinct Palaeodictyoptera - extinct Megasecoptera - extinct Archodonata - extinct Infraclass: Neoptera Orders Blattodea (cockroaches) Isoptera (termites) Mantodea (mantids) Dermaptera (earwigs) Plecoptera (stoneflies) Protorthoptera - extinct Orthoptera (grasshoppers... Orders Coleoptera (beetles) Diptera (flies and relatives) Hymenoptera (wasps and relatives) Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) Mecoptera Megaloptera Miomoptera (extinct) Neuroptera Raphidioptera (snakeflies) Siphonaptera (fleas) Strepsiptera Trichoptera (caddisflies) The Endopterygota, also known as Holometabola, are insects of the subclass Pterygota which go through distinctive larval, pupal, and adult stages. ... For the musician, a member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, see Michael Balzary. ... Classes & Orders Subclass: Apterygota Orders Archaeognatha (Bristletails) Thysanura (Silverfish) Monura - extinct Subclass: Pterygota Infraclass: Paleoptera (paraphyletic) Orders Ephemeroptera (mayflies) Protodonata - extinct Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) Diaphanopteroidea - extinct Palaeodictyoptera - extinct Megasecoptera - extinct Archodonata - extinct Infraclass: Neoptera Orders Blattodea (cockroaches) Isoptera (termites) Mantodea (mantids) Dermaptera (earwigs) Plecoptera (stoneflies) Protorthoptera - extinct Orthoptera (grasshoppers... Superfamilies Pseudochactoidea Buthoidea Chaeriloidea Chactoidea Iuroidea Scorpionoidea See the classification section for families. ...
Recent DNA evidence indicates that fleas, which are traditionally considered to be also of order level as the order Siphonaptera, are instead highly specialized Mecoptera. Grouped together with the fleas, Mecoptera would have about 3000 species. Space-filling model of a section of DNA molecule Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions specifying the biological development of all cellular forms of life (and most viruses). ... Families Tungidae - Sticktight and Chigoe fleas (Chiggers) Pulicidae - Common fleas Coptopsyllidae Vermipsyllidae - Carnivore fleas Rhopalopsyllidae - Marsupial fleas Hypsophthalmidae Stephanocircidae Pygiopsyllidae Hystrichopsyllidae - Rat and mouse fleas Leptopsyllidae - Bird and rabbit fleas Ischnopsyllidae - Bat fleas Ceratophyllidae Amphipsyllidae Malacopsyllidae Dolichopsyllidae - Rodent fleas Ctenopsyllidae Flea is the common name for any of the small...
Bittacidae from Australia
Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 1104 KB) Summary Author: Fritz Geller-Grimm. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 1104 KB) Summary Author: Fritz Geller-Grimm. ...
References
Whiting, M. F. (2002). Mecoptera is paraphyletic: multiple genes and phylogeny of Mecoptera and Siphonaptera, Zoologica Scripta, 31(1): 93. [1]
The Mecoptera is a small order of insects that is thought to be ancestor to the higher insects.
Insects of this group are commonly refered to as "scorpionflies" because of the structure of the male genitalia.
Members of the order Mecoptera are most easily recognized by their long-faced appearance due to their chewing mouthparts being at the end of a long beak.