Polyneoptera

Diagram of holotype of the Late Carboniferous Parahomalophlebia courtini, from Rasnitsyn (2002).

Belongs within: Pterygota.
Contains: Orthopteroidea, Perlidea.

The Polyneoptera is a major subdivision of the insects, including grasshoppers, cockroaches and related taxa. Though members of this group are often broadly similar in habitus, its monophyly remains uncertain.

Characters (from Rasnitsyn 2002, as Gryllones): Large to medium size, rarely small. Mouthparts chewing. Unless lost, wings resting flat over body (neither roof-like nor spread), with contralateral wings overlapping each other in part or completely, with hind wing anal area usually enlarged and, when folded, bent down along line running before 2A (occasionally before 1A), with common base of anal veins reverted upside down. Thoracic venter usually not cryptosternous. Third valve (gonocoxite 9 with or without its style) forming main intromittent part of ovipositor. Male gonostylus free or, usually, lost. Paracercus lost. Ovaries usually panoistic. Development embryonicised, eclosing nymph with compound eyes, ocelli and usually with full number of tarsomeres, and usually without adult moulting.

<==Polyneoptera (see below for synonymy)
    |  i. s.: Chresmodidae [Chresmododea] R02
    |           |--Gryllidium oweni R02
    |           |--Saurophthirodes R02
    |           `--Chresmoda Germar 1839 [incl. Propygolampis Weyenbergh 1874] R02
    |                |--C. aquatica R02
    |                |--C. obscura [incl. Propygolampis giganteus] R02
    |                `--C. orientalis R02
    |         Polyernus complanatus R02
    |--Thoronysis [Thoronysidae] R02
    |--Prototettix [Prototettigidae] R02
    |--Eucaenus [Eucaenidae] R02
    |    `--E. ovalis Scudder 1885 BN02
    |--Spanioderidae R02
    |    |--Propteticus R02
    |    |--Dieconeura R02
    |    `--Axiologus Handlirsch 1906 R02, BN02
    |         `--A. thoracicus Handlirsch 1906 BN02
    `--+--Parahomalophlebia [Homalophlebiidae] R02
       |    `--P. courtini R02
       `--+--Orthopteroidea TW05
          `--Perlidea TW05

Polyneoptera [Anartioptera, Cacurgida, Eoblattida, Gryllones, Orthopterodida, Paurometabola, Phasmatomorpha, Plecopterida, Plecopterodea, Polyorthoptera, Protoblattodea]

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[BN02] Béthoux, O., & A. Nel. 2002. Venation pattern and revision of Orthoptera sensu nov. and sister groups. Phylogeny of Palaeozoic and Mesozoic Orthoptera sensu nov. Zootaxa 96: 1-88.

[R02] Rasnitsyn, A. P. 2002. Infraclass Gryllones Laicharting, 1781. The grylloneans (=Polyneoptera Martynov, 1938). In History of Insects (A. P. Rasnitsyn & D. L. J. Quicke, eds) pp. 254-262. Kluwer Academic Publishers: Dordrecht.

[TW05] Terry, M. D., & M. F. Whiting. 2005. Mantophasmatodea and phylogeny of the lower neopterous insects. Cladistics 21: 240-257.