Notable plesiomorphies and notable specializations: head structure of the primitive "tongue moth" Acanthopteroctetes unifascia (Lepidoptera: Acanthopteroctetidae).

The Acanthopteroctetidae are one of the first-originated family-group lineages within "tongue moths" (Lepidoptera-Glossata). The purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive account (based on whole mount preparations, serial sections, and Scanning electron microscopy) of the cephalic structure of an adult exemplar of the family, to supplement the sparse available information. Notable plesiomorphies include the retention of frontal retractors of the narrow labrum, a high supraocular index linked to strong development of cranio-mandibular ad- and abductors, and perhaps the unusually short but still coilable (just ca.

A history of entomological classification.

The classification of insects has attempted to most effectively communicate information about this hyperdiverse lineage of life and, not surprisingly, has had a considerably rich historical development. This history can be coarsely segregated into four periods: the Pre-Linnean era, the first century spanning Linnaeus's Systema Naturae to Darwin's On the Origin of Species, the Darwinian era up to the Cladistic Revolution, and the Hennigian era leading to today. The major events of each of these episodes are briefly summarized and some of the more notable researchers highlighted, along with their influence on our current understanding of insect relationships and how this is reflected in the current classification of the Hexapoda.

The female postabdomen and genitalia of the basal moth family Heterobathmiidae (Insecta: Lepidoptera): structure and phylogenetic significance.

Female Heterobathmia have the segments behind VIII forming a compact 'terminal unit' with a large saddle-shaped dorsal plate and a membranous ventroposterior surface bearing the separate gonopore and anus. While females of most of the nine known species are overall similar, Heterobathmia valvifer is unique amongst lepidopterans in possessing paired ventral appendages ('ovipositor valves') arising from the intersegmental groove following segment VIII; evidence from musculature contradicts an interpretation of these appendages structures as 'true' ovipositor valves. The ventroposterior wall of the terminal unit in H.

Derived morphology in a basal moth: The uniquely specialized sternum V glands of Agathiphaga (Lepidoptera: Agathiphagidae).

The sternum V gland is a notable specialization shared by basal Lepidoptera and most Trichoptera; it is generally present in both sexes or in females only. In both orders the secretory cells usually discharge into a sac-like reservoir from which a duct leads to the opening on sternum V. In contrast, the gland in agathiphagid moths is only present in males and it exhibits several unique specialisations: the glandular portion being the apical (morphologically anterior) part of a long tubular cuticular invagination covered with contiguous 'type-3' glandular units; together with the following part of the efferent duct it is coiled like a ball of yarn; the duct expands into a fusiform reservoir, and a separate small sac surrounded by a complex muscular coat is present just inside the gland opening.

Resolving insect phylogeny: The significance of cephalic structures of the Nannomecoptera in understanding endopterygote relationships.

The Nannomecoptera are among the most enigmatic and controversial taxa of endopterygote insects, the phylogenetic resolution of which is crucial to understanding the evolution of neopteran insects. Once considered a subordinate lineage within the Mecoptera, renewed interest in nannochoristids has been prompted by evidence that the Nannomecoptera are not admissible to the clade of extant scorpion flies but are more likely to belong to the clade Siphonaptera + Nannomecoptera + Diptera. The overarching purpose of the present account is to provide novel and extensive morphological character traits in addition to those already existing for adult structures.

Mantophasmatodea: a new insect order with extant members in the Afrotropics.

A new insect order, Mantophasmatodea, is described on the basis of museum specimens of a new genus with two species: Mantophasma zephyra gen. et sp. nov.