Family AUSTRALEMBIIDAE
Compiler and date details
Gerasimos Cassis, Australian Museum, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Introduction
The Australembiidae are endemic to Australia. Two genera are included, Australembia Ross and Metoligotoma Davis. Ross (1963) described the family on the basis of apterous males with complex male terminalia and indicated that they have numerous plesiomorphic features. This indigenous component of the Australian fauna is composed of many closely related species and subspecies.
Australembiids are apterous and larviform. The body is stout and very large. The head is large and transverse, the molar region of the mandibles is expanded and with enlarged teeth. The hind basitarsi often have two ventral papillae. The terminal segment of the left cercus is partly or completely fused with the basal segment. The basal segment of the right cercus is shortened and hemispherical (Ross 1963, 1982).
The biology of the group was described by Ross (1963, 1991). All species live in leaf litter, particularly of Eucalyptus species. Ross (1963) indicated that silk galleries associated with ground habitats may provide protection against desiccation and bushfires. The genus Australembia contains two species that are known from the tropical coastal areas of Queensland. Metoligotoma contains 15 species and numerous subspecies, most of which occur in the coastal, temperate parts of New South Wales, with a single species restricted to Victoria and Tasmania. Davis (1936a, 1936b, 1938, 1942, 1943) described all the species of Metoligotoma.
Miller et al. (2012) summarised the history of studies on Australembiidae, and gave a diagnosis.
General References
Davis, C. 1936a. Studies in Australian Embioptera. Part I. Systematics. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 61: 229-253
Davis, C. 1936b. Studies in Australian Embioptera. Part II. Further notes on systematics. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 61: 254-258 pl. xii
Davis, C. 1938. Studies in Australian Embioptera. Part III: Revision of the genus Metoligotoma, with descriptions of new species, and other notes on the family Oligotomidae. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 63: 226-272
Davis, C. 1940. Studies in Australian Embioptera. Part IV: Supplementary taxonomic notes. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 65: 155-160
Davis, C. 1942. Studies in Australian Embioptera. Part V: Geographical variation in Metoligotoma reducta Davis. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 67: 331-334
Davis, C. 1943. Studies in Australian Embioptera. Part VI: Records of the genus Metoligotoma from Victoria. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 68: 65-66
Davis, C. 1944. Studies in Australian Embioptera. Part VII: New Embioptera from tropical Australia. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 69: 16-20
Miller, K.B., Hayashi, C., Whiting, M.F., Svenson, G.J. & Edgerly, J.S. 2012. The phylogeny and classification of Embioptera (Insecta). Systematic Entomology 37: 550-570 [558]
Ross, E.S. 1963. The families of Australian Embioptera, with descriptions of a new family, genus and species. Wasmann Journal of Biology 21: 121-136
Ross, E.S. 1970. Biosystematics of the Embioptera. Annual Review of Entomology 15: 157-172
History of changes
| Published | As part of group | Action Date | Action Type | Compiler(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25-Oct-2012 | MODIFIED |