Chresmodidae Explained

Chresmodidae is an extinct family of Mesozoic insects within the superorder Polyneoptera.[1] [2] [3]

Genera

Prochresmoda from the Triassic of Kyrgyzstan is not currently considered part of the group and is considered to be more closely related to Triassophasma and Palaeochresmoda.[6]

Their affinities within the Polyneoptera have long been considered uncertain. Some authors have suggested that they represent a derived group of cockroaches.

Description

Chresmodidae are large enigmatic insects with very long specialized legs, probably adapted for skating on the water surface, similar to extant water skaters. They can reach a size of about .[7] [8] and even .[9]

These Polyneoptera of uncertain position have been considered aquatic, living on the water surface, probably predaceous on nektonic small animals.[10] [11]

They lived during the Cretaceous of Brazil, China, Lebanon, Spain, United Kingdom, as well as in the Jurassic of Germany and China, from ~166.0 to 94.3 Ma.

Notes and References

  1. Encyclopedia: Chresmodidae - Information on Chresmodidae - Encyclopedia of Life. Encyclopedia of Life. 11 May 2015.
  2. Web site: family †Chresmodidae Haase, 1890. https://web.archive.org/web/20210727115601/http://polyneoptera.speciesfile.org/Common/basic/Taxa.aspx?TaxonNameID=1158164. 27 July 2021. speciesfile.org. 10 September 2022.
  3. Delclos X, Nel A, Azar D, Bechly G, Dunlop JA, Engel MS, Heads SW The enigmatic Mesozoic insect taxon Chresmodidae (Polyneoptera): New palaeobiological and phylogenetic data, with the description of a new species from the Lower Cretaceous of Brazil
  4. ZHANG. XIN-WEN. REN. DONG. PANG. HONG. SHIH. CHUNG-KUN. 2008-05-05. A water-skiing chresmodid from the Middle Jurassic in Daohugou, Inner Mongolia, China (Polyneoptera: Orthopterida). Zootaxa. 1762. 1. 53. 10.11646/zootaxa.1762.1.3. 1175-5334.
  5. ZHANG. XIN-WEN. REN. DONG. PANG. HONG. SHIH. CHUNG-KUN. 2008-02-13. A new genus and species of Chresmodidae (Insecta: Gryllones) from Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous of Yixian Formation, Inner Mongolia, China. Zootaxa. 1702. 1. 26. 10.11646/zootaxa.1702.1.2. 1175-5334.
  6. Nel. André. Marchal-Papier. Francine. Béthoux. Olivier. Gall. Jean-Claude. January 2004. A "stick insect-like" from the Triassic of the Vosges (France) ("pre-Tertiary Phasmatodea"). Annales de la Société Entomologique de France. Nouvelle Série. fr. 40. 1. 31–36. 10.1080/00379271.2004.10697402. 0037-9271.
  7. Web site: Fossil mit der ID: 2106 - Chresmoda obscura GERMAR, 1839 - Die Fossilien von Solnhofen. https://web.archive.org/web/20220909224311/https://www.solnhofen-fossilienatlas.de/fossil.php?fossilid=2106. 9 September 2022. solnhofen-fossilienatlas.de. 10 September 2022.
  8. Web site: Fossil mit der ID: 1551 - Chresmoda obscura GERMAR, 1839 - Die Fossilien von Solnhofen. https://web.archive.org/web/20220820121910/https://www.solnhofen-fossilienatlas.de/fossil.php?fossilid=1551. 20 August 2022. solnhofen-fossilienatlas.de. 10 September 2022.
  9. Web site: Fossil mit der ID: 1780 - Chresmoda obscura GERMAR, 1839 - Die Fossilien von Solnhofen. solnhofen-fossilienatlas.de. https://web.archive.org/web/20220820121925/https://www.solnhofen-fossilienatlas.de/fossil.php?fossilid=1780. 20 August 2022. 10 September 2022.
  10. A. G. Ponomarenko Fossil insects from the Tithonian «Solnhofener Plattenkalke» in the Museum of Natural History, Vienna
  11. A. Nel, D. Azar, X. Martinez-Delclos and E. Makhoul A new Upper Cretaceous species of Chresmoda from Lebanon - a latest representative of Chresmodidae (Insecta: Polyneoptera inc. sed.): first record of homeotic mutations in the fossil record of insects

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