Zoraptera wing structures: evidence for new genera and relationship with blattoid orders (Insecta: Blattoneoptera)

• Published in: Systematic entomology Vol. 18; no. 4; pp. 333 - 350
• Main Authors: Kukalova-Peck, J, Peck, S.B
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.10.1993
• Subjects: anatomy and morphology; insects; new combination; new genus; taxonomy; wings; zorotypus
• ISSN: 0307-6970; 1365-3113
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-3113.1993.tb00670.x

The order Zoraptera has traditionally been thought to contain only one family (Zorotypidae) and one genus (Zorotypus Silvestri). An analysis of known zorapteran wings shows that the wing venation contains character sets indicative of the existence of seven genera: Zorotypus, Brazilozoros gen.n., Centrozoros gen.n., Floridazoros gen.n., Latinozoros gen.n., Meridozoros gen.n. and Usazoros gen.n. The wing venation of Meridozoros leleupi (Weidner) from the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador and Venezuela is described here for the first time. The major wing structures show that Zoraptera belong to the blattoid lineage. Head and abdomen characters indicate that Zoraptera probably diverged from the Blattoneoptera stock early, almost certainly before the (Protelytroptera + Dermaptera) line, and much before the (Isoptera + (Blattodea + Mantodea)) line. A homologized wing vein system is proposed for the Isoptera. The homologized wing vein system is based on the hypothesis that the Pterygota originated with the development of protowings, which then diverged through separate but characteristic adaptations for flapping flight. Therefore the basic wing venation pattern is monophyletic, but the changes in wing musculature, articulation and basic braces between main veins are different in the major (super-ordinal) pterygote lineages (Pleconeoptera, Orthoneoptera, Blattoneoptera, Hemineoptera and Endoneoptera). Thus, these characters provide an extremely useful, almost untapped, source of data for higher-level systematics. Both higher-level and lower-level wing characters have been applied here to the phylogeny of Zoraptera and are discussed.