The Morphological Diversity of Dragon Lacewing Larvae (Nevrorthidae, Neuroptera) Changed More over Geological Time Scales Than Anticipated
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 d...
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MDPI AG
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Insects |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/14/9/749 |
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| author | Laura Mengel Simon Linhart Gideon T. Haug Thomas Weiterschan Patrick Müller Christel Hoffeins Hans-Werner Hoffeins Viktor Baranov Carolin Haug Joachim T. Haug |
| author_facet | Laura Mengel Simon Linhart Gideon T. Haug Thomas Weiterschan Patrick Müller Christel Hoffeins Hans-Werner Hoffeins Viktor Baranov Carolin Haug Joachim T. Haug |
| author_sort | Laura Mengel |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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 fossil ones from Baltic and Kachin amber. Together with the already known ones, this sums up to over 100 specimens. We analysed quantitative aspects of the morphology of these larvae and compared them over time to identify changes in the diversity. Despite the enriched sample size, the data set is still unbalanced, with, for example, newly hatched larvae (several dozen specimens) only known from the Eocene. We expected little change in larval morphology over geological time, as indicated by earlier studies. However, on the contrary, we recognised morphologies present in fossils that are now extinct. This result is similar to those for other groups of lacewings which have a relic distribution today, as these have also suffered a loss in diversity in larval forms. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T22:38:16Z |
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| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T22:38:16Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
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| record_format | Article |
| series | Insects |
| spelling | doaj.art-7a7f1cf2412b4f3a884da904639cbe8f2023-11-19T11:15:22ZengMDPI AGInsects2075-44502023-09-0114974910.3390/insects14090749The Morphological Diversity of Dragon Lacewing Larvae (Nevrorthidae, Neuroptera) Changed More over Geological Time Scales Than AnticipatedLaura Mengel0Simon Linhart1Gideon T. Haug2Thomas Weiterschan3Patrick Müller4Christel Hoffeins5Hans-Werner Hoffeins6Viktor Baranov7Carolin Haug8Joachim T. Haug9Faculty of Biology, Biocenter, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU Munich), Großhaderner Str. 2, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, GermanyFaculty of Biology, Biocenter, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU Munich), Großhaderner Str. 2, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, GermanyFaculty of Biology, Biocenter, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU Munich), Großhaderner Str. 2, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, GermanyIndependent Researcher, 64739 Höchst im Odenwald, GermanyIndependent Researcher, 66482 Zweibrücken, GermanyIndependent Researcher, 22149 Hamburg, GermanyIndependent Researcher, 22149 Hamburg, GermanyEstación Biológica de Doñana-CSIC, 41092 Sevilla, SpainFaculty of Biology, Biocenter, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU Munich), Großhaderner Str. 2, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, GermanyFaculty of Biology, Biocenter, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU Munich), Großhaderner Str. 2, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, GermanyNevrorthidae, 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 fossil ones from Baltic and Kachin amber. Together with the already known ones, this sums up to over 100 specimens. We analysed quantitative aspects of the morphology of these larvae and compared them over time to identify changes in the diversity. Despite the enriched sample size, the data set is still unbalanced, with, for example, newly hatched larvae (several dozen specimens) only known from the Eocene. We expected little change in larval morphology over geological time, as indicated by earlier studies. However, on the contrary, we recognised morphologies present in fossils that are now extinct. This result is similar to those for other groups of lacewings which have a relic distribution today, as these have also suffered a loss in diversity in larval forms.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/14/9/749NevrorthidaeNeuropteraBurmese amberquantitative morphologymorphometrics |
| spellingShingle | Laura Mengel Simon Linhart Gideon T. Haug Thomas Weiterschan Patrick Müller Christel Hoffeins Hans-Werner Hoffeins Viktor Baranov Carolin Haug Joachim T. Haug The Morphological Diversity of Dragon Lacewing Larvae (Nevrorthidae, Neuroptera) Changed More over Geological Time Scales Than Anticipated Insects Nevrorthidae Neuroptera Burmese amber quantitative morphology morphometrics |
| title | The Morphological Diversity of Dragon Lacewing Larvae (Nevrorthidae, Neuroptera) Changed More over Geological Time Scales Than Anticipated |
| title_full | The Morphological Diversity of Dragon Lacewing Larvae (Nevrorthidae, Neuroptera) Changed More over Geological Time Scales Than Anticipated |
| title_fullStr | The Morphological Diversity of Dragon Lacewing Larvae (Nevrorthidae, Neuroptera) Changed More over Geological Time Scales Than Anticipated |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Morphological Diversity of Dragon Lacewing Larvae (Nevrorthidae, Neuroptera) Changed More over Geological Time Scales Than Anticipated |
| title_short | The Morphological Diversity of Dragon Lacewing Larvae (Nevrorthidae, Neuroptera) Changed More over Geological Time Scales Than Anticipated |
| title_sort | morphological diversity of dragon lacewing larvae nevrorthidae neuroptera changed more over geological time scales than anticipated |
| topic | Nevrorthidae Neuroptera Burmese amber quantitative morphology morphometrics |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/14/9/749 |
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