Xyela, the type genus of Xyelidae, from British Entomology
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Hymenoptera
Superfamily:
Xyeloidea Newman, 1834
Family:
Xyelidae Newman, 1834
Genera
See text
The Xyelidae are a comparatively species-poor family of sawflies, comprising about 80 extant species in five genera worldwide, and is the only family in the superfamily Xyeloidea.[2][3] The fossil record of the family is extensive, comprising more than 120 species[4] and including the oldest fossil Hymenoptera species dating back to the Triassic, between 245 and 208 million years ago. Xyelidae are to be regarded as living fossils since they represent one of the oldest lineages of insects and include still extant forms.
The extant species occur in the Northern Hemisphere, especially in boreal regions of the Holarctic, though there are a few Oriental species. Two genera and about 15 species occur in Europe.[5][6] Considering additional fossil records from Australia,[7] South Africa[8] and Argentina,[9] the extant species display a relict distribution.
The species in the subfamily Xyelinae are associated with conifers (esp. Pinus and Abies), where the larvae feed on pollen or within buds. The larvae of the subfamily Macroxyelinae feed on the leaves of deciduous trees (various Juglandaceae and Ulmus).
The family is characterized by the appendages of the head, which are remarkable in that the antennae and palpi are nearly leg-like in structure, with a long basal segment followed by a series of tiny segments, as in the tibia-tarsus.
^Wang, Yan-hui; Engel, Michael S.; Rafael, José A.; Wu, Hao-yang; Rédei, Dávid; Xie, Qiang; Wang, Gang; Liu, Xiao-guang; Bu, Wen-jun (2016). "Fossil record of stem groups employed in evaluating the chronogram of insects (Arthropoda: Hexapoda)". Scientific Reports. 6: 38939. doi:10.1038/srep38939. PMC 5154178. PMID 27958352.
^Taeger, A., Liston, A.D., Prous, M., Groll, E.K., Gehroldt, T. & Blank S.M. 2018: ECatSym – Electronic World Catalog of Symphyta (Insecta, Hymenoptera). Program version 5.0 (19 Dec 2018), data version 40 (23 Sep 2018). Senckenberg Deutsches Entomologisches Institut (SDEI), Müncheberg.
^"ITIS". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
^Cite error: The named reference TaegerBlankListon2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Taeger, A., Blank, S.M. & Liston, A. D. 2006: European Sawflies (Hymenoptera: Symphyta) – A Species Checklist for the Countries. Pp. 399-504. In: Blank, S.M., Schmidt, S. & Taeger, A. (eds): Recent Sawfly Research: Synthesis and Prospects. Goecke & Evers, Keltern.
^Blank, S.M. 2002: Biosystematics of the extant Xyelidae with particular emphasis on the Old World taxa (Insecta: Hymenoptera). Dissertation, Freie Universität Berlin.
^Riek, E. F. 1955: Fossil insects from the Triassic beds at Mt. Crosby, Queensland. Australian Journal of Zoology 3: 654-690.
^Schlüter, T. 2000: Moltenia rieki n. gen., n. sp. (Hymenoptera: Xyelidae?), a tentative sawfly from the Molteno Formation (Upper Triassic), South Africa. Paläontologische Zeitschrift 74(1/2): 75-78.
^Lara, M. B., Rasnitsyn, A. P. & Zavattieri, A. M. 2014: Potrerilloxyela menendezi gen. et sp. nov. from the Late Triassic of Argentina: The Oldest Representative of Xyelidae (Hymenoptera: Symphyta) for Americas. Paleontological Journal 48(2): 182-190.
The Xyelidae are a comparatively species-poor family of sawflies, comprising about 80 extant species in five genera worldwide, and is the only family in...
date back to the Middle or Late Triassic. These fossils, from the family Xyelidae, are the oldest of all Hymenoptera. One fossil, Archexyela ipswichensis...
originated in the Triassic, with the oldest fossils belonging to the family Xyelidae. Social hymenopterans appeared during the Cretaceous. The evolution of...
Xyela is a genus of sawflies, belonging to the family Xyelidae. The genus was described in 1819 by Dalman. The genus has cosmopolitan distribution. Subgenus...
members of the subfamily Polistinae. Hymenoptera in the form of Symphyta (Xyelidae) first appeared in the fossil record in the Lower Triassic. Apocrita, wasps...
the thesis "The Mesozoic Hymenoptera Symphyta and the early evolution of Xyelidae". After defending in 1978 his Dr. hab. (doktor nauk) thesis "The origin...
Carabidae, the Staphylinidae, and the Trachypachidae. Hymenoptera included the Xyelidae. Diptera included the Anisopodidae, the Chironomidae, and the Tipulidae...