Plecoptera
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article does not have any sources. (December 2011) |
| Stoneflies Temporal range: Permian - Recent |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Adult of genus Eusthenia | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Hexapoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Subclass: | Pterygota |
| Infraclass: | Neoptera |
| Superorder: | Exopterygota |
| Order: | Plecoptera Burmeister, 1839 |
| Suborders | |
Plecoptera are an order of insects, commonly known as stoneflies. There are some 3,500 described species worldwide, and new ones are still being discovered. Although stoneflies are found worldwide, they are absent from Antarctica. Stoneflies are believed to be one of the most primitive groups of Neoptera, with close relatives identified from the Carboniferous and Lower Permian geological periods, while true stoneflies are known from fossils only a bit younger.
