Notiothauma is the sole living genus in the scorpionfly family Eomeropidae. The genus is monotypic with a lone species Notiothauma reedi which is native to the Valdivian temperate rain forests of central Chile, especially the forests with Nothofagus stands. N. reedi is flattened with a notedly cockroach-like appearance. They are nocturnal and inhabit the forest floor where the adults feed on plants and decaying animals.[1] The larvae are still unknown. Because this is the last extant species of Eomeropidae, N. reedi can be characterized as a living fossil taxon.[2]
| Notiothauma | |
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| Oncol Park, Chile | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Mecoptera |
| Family: | Eomeropidae |
| Genus: | Notiothauma MacLachlan, 1877 |
| Species: | N. reedi
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| Binomial name | |
| Notiothauma reedi MacLachlan, 1877
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Phylogeny edit
The proposed phylogenetic relationships of N. reedi based on Soszyńska-Maj et al 2016.[3]
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References edit
- ^ Ortloff, A.; Albornoz, S.; Romero, M.; Vivallo, G. (2016). "Skin artefacts due to post-mortem damage caused by Notiothauma reedi: A insect of forensic importance in forest communities of Chile". Egyptian Journal of Forensic Sciences. 6 (4): 411–415. doi:10.1016/j.ejfs.2016.06.006.
- ^ Archibald, S. B.; Rasnitsyn, A. P.; Akhmetiev, M. A. (2005). "Ecology and distribution of Cenozoic Eomeropidae (Mecoptera), and a new species of Eomerope Cockerell from the Early Eocene McAbee locality, British Columbia, Canada". Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 98 (45): 503–514.
- ^ Soszyńska-Maj, A.; Krzemiński, W.; Kopeć, K.; Coram, R. A. (2016). "Phylogenetic relationships within the relict family Eomeropidae (Insecta, Mecoptera) based on the oldest fossil from the Early Jurassic (Sinemurian) of Dorset, southern England". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 14 (12): 1025–1031. doi:10.1080/14772019.2016.1139007. ISSN 1477-2019.
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