The Morphological Diversity of Dragon Lacewing Larvae (Nevrorthidae, Neuroptera) Changed More over Geological Time Scales Than Anticipated.

ABSTRACT: Nevrorthidae, the group of dragon lacewings, has often been considered a relic group. Today, dragon lacewings show a scattered distribution, with some species occurring in southern Europe, Japan, Australia, and one in China. The idea that this distribution is only a remnant of an originally larger distribution is further supported by fossils of the group preserved in ambers from the Baltic region (Eocene, ca. 35-40 MaBP) and Myanmar (Kachin amber, Cretaceous, ca. 100 MaBP). Larvae of the group are slender and elongated and live mostly in water. Yet, larvae are in fact very rare. So far, only slightly more than 30 larval specimens, counting all extant and fossil larvae, have been depicted in the literature. Here, we report numerous additional specimens, including extant larvae, but also fos

SUBMITTER: Mengel L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10649721 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature