Eodermaptera

Definition

An extinct suborder of earwigs (Dermaptera) known from the Middle Jurassic to the Mid-Cretaceous, characterized by three-segmented tarsi, tegmina that retain venation, and distinctive female abdominal morphology in which the 8th and 9th tergites are narrowed but remain separate from the 10th tergite, not covered by the 7th tergite, with the ovipositor exposed. Eodermaptera represents an intermediate grade between the more basal Archidermaptera and the crown-group Neodermaptera.

Etymology

Example

Fossil earwigs from the Jurassic Yanliao Biota, such as those assigned to Eodermaptera, preserve wing venation patterns that help trace the evolutionary transition from the fully winged ancestral condition to the reduced or absent wings typical of modern earwigs.

Related Terms

• Neodermaptera
• Archidermaptera
• Dermaptera
• tegmen
• ovipositor
• Tarsus
• tergite

Usage Notes

The suborder is defined by a combination of plesiomorphic and derived traits: retention of wing venation and three-segmented tarsi are ancestral features, while the modified female abdominal tergites represent an intermediate condition between the fully exposed ovipositor of Archidermaptera and the concealed condition of Neodermaptera. Eodermaptera is paraphyletic with respect to Neodermaptera in some phylogenetic analyses.