Notonectoidea

Anisops sp., from Landcare Research.

Belongs within: Panheteroptera.

The Notonectoidea, backswimmers, are a group of aquatic, predatory bugs with a strongly, transversely arched body and a short or absent forewing membrane. In members of the family Notonectidae, the hind legs are oar-like with a single terminal claw and flattened tibiae bearing a fringe of long hairs (Carver et al. 1991). This hair fringe is absent in the small species of the families Pleidae and Helotrephidae.

Characters (from Richards & Davies 1977): Aquatic species; rostrum more or less elongate, three- or four-segmented; antennae always concealed; fore tarsi not spatulate; ocelli absent.

<==Notonectoidea CGW91
    |  i. s.: Mesotrephes S02 [Mesotrephidae SP02]
    |--+--Helotrephidae GE05
    |  `--Plea CGW91 [Pleidae GE05, Pleinae]
    |       |--P. atomaria RD77
    |       |--P. leachi [incl. P. minutissima] H01
    |       `--P. rufonotata Distant 1914 D14
    `--Notonectidae GE05
         |  i. s.: Nepidium GE05
         |         Asionecta GE05
         |         Notonectites GE05
         |         Pelonecta GE05
         |         Buenoa scimitra WL09
         |--Clypostemmatinae S02
         |    |--Canteronecta irajae S02
         |    `--Clypostemma GE05
         |         |--C. limna S02
         |         `--C. xyphiale Popov 1964 ZG05
         |--Notonectinae CGW91
         |    |--Nychia sappho CGW91
         |    |--Enithares CGW91
         |    |    |--E. bergrothi Montand. 1892 D14
         |    |    `--E. woodwardi CGW91
         |    `--Notonecta Linnaeus 1758 L58
         |         |--N. glauca Linnaeus 1758 L58
         |         |--N. handlirschi CGW91
         |         |--N. maculata RD77
         |         |--N. minutissima Linnaeus 1758 L58
         |         |--N. montandoni Kirkaldy 1897 I92
         |         |--N. sieblosiensis S02
         |         |--N. striata Linnaeus 1758 L58
         |         `--N. triguttata I92
         `--Anisopinae CGW91
              |--Paranisops inconstans CGW91
              |--Walambianisops CGW91
              `--Anisops CGW91
                   |--A. assimilis D14
                   |--A. calcaratus TDC06
                   |--A. cleopatra Distant 1914 D14
                   |--A. deichmuelleri S02
                   |--A. gratus TDC06
                   |--A. heydeni S02
                   |--A. hyperion Kirk 1898 D14
                   |--A. inconstans WEE70
                   |--A. stali Kirkaldy 1904 T13
                   |--A. thienemanni TDC06
                   `--A. wakefieldi PC66

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[CGW91] Carver, M., G. F. Gross & T. E. Woodward. 1991. Hemiptera (bugs, leafhoppers, cicadas, aphids, scale insects etc.) In: CSIRO. The Insects of Australia: A textbook for students and research workers 2^nd ed. vol. 1 pp. 429–509. Melbourne University Press: Carlton (Victoria).

[D14] Distant, W. L. 1914. Rhynchota from New Caledonia and the surrounding islands. In: Sarasin, F., & J. Roux (eds) Nova Caledonia: Forschungen in Neu-Caledonian und auf den Loyalty-Inseln. A. Zoologie vol. 1 pt 4 pp. 369–390, pls 11–12. C. W. Kreidels Verlag: Wiesbaden.

[GE05] Grimaldi, D., & M. S. Engel. 2005. Evolution of the Insects. Cambridge University Press: New York.

[H01] Horváth, G. 1901. Hemipterák [Hemiptera]. In: Horváth, G. (ed.) Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazása [Dritte Asiatische Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] vol. 2. Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazásának Állattani Eredményei [Zoologische Ergebnisse der Dritten Asiatischen Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] pp. 245–274. Victor Hornyánszky: Budapest, and Karl W. Hierseman: Leipzig.

[I92] Iwahashi, J. (ed.) 1992. Reddo Deeta Animaruzu: a pictorial of Japanese fauna facing extinction. JICC: Tokyo.

[L58] Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systema Naturae per Regna Tria Naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. Laurentii Salvii: Holmiae.

[PC66] Pendergrast, J. G., & D. R. Cowley. 1966. An Introduction to New Zealand Freshwater Insects. Collins: Auckland.

[RD77] Richards, O. W., & R. G. Davies. 1977. Imms' General Textbook of Entomology 10^th ed. vol. 2. Classification and Biology. Chapman and Hall: London.

[SP02] Shcherbakov, D. E., & Yu. A. Popov. 2002. Superorder Cimicidea Laicharting, 1781: Order Hemiptera Linné, 1758. The bugs, cicadas, plantlice, scale insects, etc. [=Cimicida Laicharting, 1781, =Homoptera Leach, 1815+Heteroptera Latreille, 1810). In: Rasnitsyn, A. P., & D. L. J. Quicke (eds) History of Insects pp. 143–157. Kluwer Academic Publishers: Dordrecht.

[S02] Sinitshenkova, N. D. 2002. Ecological history of the aquatic insects. In: Rasnitsyn, A. P., & D. L. J. Quicke (eds) History of Insects pp. 388–426. Kluwer Academic Publishers: Dordrecht.

[T13] Taylor, C. K. 2013. Annotated bibliography for Barrow Island terrestrial invertebrates. Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement 83: 135–144.

[TDC06] Timms, B. V., B. Datson & M. Coleman. 2006. The wetlands of the Lake Carey catchment, northeast Goldfields of Western Australia, with special reference to large branchiopods. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 89 (4): 175–183.

[WL09] Walter, D. E., E. E. Lindquist, I. M. Smith, D. R. Cook & G. W. Krantz. 2009. Order Trombidiformes. In: Krantz, G. W., & D. E. Walter (eds) A Manual of Acarology 3^rd ed. pp. 233–420. Texas Tech University Press.

[WEE70] Woodward, T. E., J. W. Evans & V. F. Eastop. 1970. Hemiptera (bugs, leafhoppers, etc.) In: CSIRO. The Insects of Australia: A textbook for students and research workers pp. 387–457. Melbourne University Press.

[ZG05] Zhang, J., V. B. Golub, Y. A. Popov & D. E. Shcherbakov. 2005. Ignotingidae fam. nov. (Insecta: Heteroptera: Tingoidea), the earliest lace bugs from the Upper Mesozoic of eastern China. Cretaceous Research 26: 783–792.

Last updated: 14 May 2022.