Machilidae

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Machilidae
Pedetontus unimaculatus, female

Pedetontus unimaculatus , female

Systematics
Superclass : Six-footed (Hexapoda)
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Rock Diver (Archaeognatha)
Superfamily : Machiloidea
Family : Machilidae
Scientific name
Machilidae
Grassi , 1888
Trigoniophthalmus alternatus
Lepismachilis y-signata

The Machilidae are one of the two families of the superfamily Machiloidea within the order of the rock jumpers (Archaeognatha). It includes about 42 genera and 310 species. Their main area of ​​distribution is the northern hemisphere: the animals are distributed in Eurasia, in parts of Indonesia, in parts of Africa and in North America and Mexico. They are missing in South America, Australia, Madagascar and southern Africa. In Europe the family occurs with 19 genera and more than 200 species.

features

The animals are usually scaled on the head, the head appendages, the legs and the styli . Dorsally , the base of the maxillary palps lacks the processus basalis. Only an internal hump is formed on the first limb of the maxillary palp. The rear or the middle and rear legs wear styli on the hips ( Coxen ). The tarsi are always tripartite. On the second to the seventh abdominal segment, the sternites are large and triangular. On the first to the seventh abdominal segment, the coxites carry at least one pair of coxal vesicles on the caudal margin. There are up to two pairs on the second to sixth abdominal segment. In the second to ninth abdomen segment, the Coxite wear styli. There are three types of ovipositors in females.

Way of life

Representatives of the Machilidae are known from many different habitats, whereby, as is generally typical for rock divers, they often prefer rocky or stony places. Machilis , in particular, is highly petrophilic . In addition, there are also genera that colonize other habitats. Dilta hibernica from Europe can be found, for example, in the soil litter of forests, Dilta littoralis from Atlantic Western Europe is found in heaths and on grasslands.

The animals can be found from the coast up to very high mountains. For example, Allopsontus swani has been found in Nepal between 5100 and 5700 meters above sea level. Several species of the Machilis genus rise in the Alps to over 2500, some even to over 3000 meters above sea level. There are also species with strong adaptations in terms of moisture requirements. Thus one finds Allopsontus confaratus as in the southern parts of the Gobi . Unlike the sister family Meinertellidae, there are also halophilic species, such as Lepismachilis sturmi from Corsica.

Taxonomy and systematics

The two families Machilidae and Meinertellidae are sister taxa and thus form a monophyletic group, the superfamily Machiloidea.

The Machilidae are by far the most primitive family of the Machiloidea. This is due to the significantly higher number of plesiomorphic features, for example on the ovipositor, the penis, the paramers, the styli and vesicles of the hips and the tarsomeres, as well as the significantly stronger scaling of the body. These differences result on the one hand from the combination of primitive and newly developed features, such as the development of different ovipositor forms within the same genus, such as Machilis and Allopsontus , and on the other hand from the two different ways of sperm transport within the family. Kaplin (1985) divided the family into the three subfamilies Machilinae, Petrobiinae and Petrobiellinae based on the degree of scaling, especially on the antennae. The taxonomic status of the latter, which only includes the genus Petrobiellus , is uncertain. Of the three species in the genus, Petrobiellus takunagae is insufficiently described and only the females of Petrobiellus kusakini are described. The mating behavior and also the internal anatomy are unknown.

A broader examination of the characteristics shows that the subfamily Machilinae sensu Paclt (1972) and Kaplin (1985) forms a very heterogeneous group that includes both original forms and a presumably monophyletic group with around 11 genera. In the absence of further studies, it remains unclear whether and in what form the Machilinae form a monophyletic subfamily. The Petrobiinae sensu Kaplin (1985) form the only subfamily of the Machilidae whose monophyly seems to be well founded. The only synapomorphism of the species in this subfamily appears to be the absence of scales on the antennae flagellum. Monophyly can also find support through gradual changes in different evolutionary lines of the subfamily. However, further investigations into monophyly are necessary here as well, as the mating behavior of Lepismachilis y-signata and two species of the genus Pedetontus from California, as well as the sensory field on the front thighs of the males of the two genera, are very similar, so that several are closely related original genera of the two subfamilies is to be assumed. It is also unclear whether the Petrobius group, with its unique type of sperm transport and the heavily modified genital appendages of the males, represent a separate subfamily. The subfamily Petrobiellinae sensu Kaplin (1985) cannot be maintained as an independent taxonomic group. The two genera, Ditrigoniophthalmus and Petrobiellus , considered by Kaplin to be related, do not form a monphylum, since the unscaled antennae presumably represent a convergent feature.

According to Sturm & Machida 2001, the Machilidae family is divided as follows:

  • Subfamily Machilinae (Machilinae sensu Kaplin (1985) without Mesomachilis and Charimachilis )
    • Promesomachilis group
      • Genus Bachilis Mendes, 1977 (1 species; Portugal)
      • Genus Catamachilis Silvestri, 1923 (5 species; Spain, Portugal, southern France)
      • Genus Promesomachilis Silvestri, 1923 (2 species; Southern Europe, North Africa)
      • Genus Pseudocatamachilis Gaju-R. & Bach, 1991 (1 Arte; Spain)
    • Trigonophthalmos group
    • Allopsontus group
      • Genus Allopsontus Silvestri, 1911 (29 species; Eastern Europe, Asia)
      • Genus Stachilis Janetschek, 1957 (3 species; Southern Europe)
      • Genus? Pseudomachilanus Paclt, 1969 (1 species; Seychelles)
      • Genus? Coreamachilis Mendes, 1993 (1 species; East Asia)
      • Genus? Metamachilis Silvestri, 1936 (1 species; East Asia, China)
    • Silvestrichilis group
      • Genus Haslundichilis Wygodzinsky, 1950 (5 species; Himalaya)
      • Genus Himalayachilis Wygodzinsky, 1952 (2 species; Afghanistan, Northern India)
      • Genus Haslundiella Janetschek, 1954 (2 species; Asia, Turkmenistan, Israel)
      • Genus Silvestrichilis Wygodzinsky, 1950 (11 species; Southern Europe, Cyprus, Asia)
      • Genus Silvestrichiloides Mendes, 1990 (2 species; Central Asia)
      • Genus Dilta Strand, 1911 (21 species; Europe, North Africa)
    • Machilis group
      • Genus Afrochilis Sturm, 2001 (1 species; Socotra)
      • Genus Afromachilis Mendes, 1981 (1 species; Republic of the Congo)
      • Genus Janetschekilis Wygodzinsky, 1958 (7 species; tropical Africa)
      • Genus Lepismachilis Verhoeff, 1910 (28 species; Europe, North Africa, West Asia)
      • Genus Machilis Latreille, 1832 (94 species; Europe, West Asia, North Africa)
      • Genus Paramachilis Wygodzinsky, 1941 (4 species; Spain, North Africa)
      • Genus? Heteropsontus Mendes, 1990 (1 species; Texas, Mexico)
    • Genus Mendeschilis Gaju-Ricart et al., 2000 (1 species; Mallorca)
  • Subfamily Petrobiinae Kaplin (1985)
    • Pedetontus group
      • Genus Pedetontus Silvestri, 1911 (+25 species; North America, East Asia)
      • Genus Pedetontoides Mendes, 1981 (1 species; USA)
      • Genus Pedetontinus Silvestri, 1943 (6 species; Japan)
      • Genus Petridiobius Paclt, 1970 (3 species; western North America, East Asia)
    • Neomachilis group
      • Genus Neomachilis Silvestri, 1911 (4 species; California, Hawaii)
      • Genus Leptomachilis Sturm, 1991 (1 species; California)
    • Petrobius group
      • Genus Petrobius Leach, 1809 (6 species; Europe, East Asia, North America)
      • Genus Parapetrobius Mendes, 1980 (1 species; Azores)
    • Genus Meximachilis Wygodzinsky, 1945 (3 species; Mexico, North America)
  • Subfamily Petrobiellinae
      • Genus Petrobiellus Silvestri, 1943 (3 species; Japan, Eastern Russia)

literature

  • Helmut Sturm, Ryuichiro Machida (Ed.): Archaeognatha (= Handbook of Zoology. Volume 4: Arthropoda: Insecta. Part 37). de Gruyter, Berlin et al. 2001, ISBN 3-11-017058-2 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Helmut Sturm, Ryuichiro Machida (ed.): Archaeognatha. 2001, p. 23.
  2. ↑ a b Helmut Sturm, Ryuichiro Machida (ed.): Archaeognatha. 2001, p. 63.
  3. ↑ Machilidae. Fauna Europaea, accessed May 1, 2015 .
  4. ↑ a b Helmut Sturm, Ryuichiro Machida (ed.): Archaeognatha. 2001, p. 25.

Web links

Commons : Machilidae  - Collection of images, videos and audio files