Endopterygota
clade of insects
The Endopterygota (or Holometabola), are insects of the subclass Pterygota.
| Endopterygota Temporal range: Pennsylvanian – Recent
| |
|---|---|
| |
| Panorpa communis, a scorpionfly (order Mecoptera) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Phylum: | |
| Class: | |
| Infraclass: | |
| Superorder: | Endopterygota Sharp, 1898
|
| Orders | |
They have complete metamorphosis. This means they go through different larval, pupal, and adult stages. The larval and adult stages differ very much in their anatomy and behavior. This is called holometabolism, or complete metamorphism.
They are distinguished from the Exopterygota (or Hemipterodea) by the way in which their wings develop. Endopterygota ("internal winged forms") develop wings inside the body during metamorphosis.[1]
The earliest endopterygote fossils date from the Carboniferous.[2]
References
change- ↑ Rolf G. Beutel & Hans Pohl (2006). "Endopterygote systematics – where do we stand and what is the goal (Hexapoda, Arthropoda)?". Systematic Entomology. 31 (2): 202–219. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3113.2006.00341.x. S2CID 83714402.
- ↑ A. Nel; et al. (2007). "The earliest holometabolous insect from the Carboniferous: a "crucial" innovation with delayed success (Insecta Protomeropina Protomeropidae)". Annales de la Société Entomologique de France. 43 (3): 349–355. doi:10.1080/00379271.2007.10697531. S2CID 86235521.
