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Caeciliusidae

Emilie Bess and Kevin P. Johnson
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taxon links [up-->]Disialacaecilia [up-->]Phymocaecilius [up-->]Maoripsocus [up-->]Lienhardiella [up-->]Austrocaecilius [up-->]Fuelleborniella [up-->]Paracaecilius [up-->]Dypsocus [up-->]Asiocaecilius [up-->]Isophanopsis [up-->]Isophanes [up-->]Smithersiella [up-->]Coryphaca [up-->]Pericaecilius [up-->]Bivalvicaecilia [up-->]Kodamaius [up-->]Coryphosmila [up-->]Anoculaticaeca [up-->]Caecilius [up-->]Orocaecilius [up-->]Mockfordiella [up-->]Amphicaeciliinae [up-->]Chilenocaecilius [up-->]Hageniola [up-->]Thorntoniella [up-->]Valenzuela [up-->]Parvialacaecilia [up-->]Ypsiloneura [up-->]Xanthocaecilius [up-->]Stenocaecilius [up-->]Maoripsocopsis [up-->]Licaecilius [up-->]Enderleinella [up-->]Aphyopsocinae [up-->]Epicaecilius [up-->]Dypsocopsis [up-->]Protodypsocus Not MonophyleticPhylogenetic position of group is uncertainPhylogenetic position of group is uncertainPhylogenetic position of group is uncertainPhylogenetic position of group is uncertainPhylogenetic position of group is uncertainPhylogenetic position of group is uncertainPhylogenetic position of group is uncertain[down<--]Caeciliusetae Interpreting the tree
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Containing group: Caeciliusetae

Introduction

Caeciliusidae (formerly called Caeciliidae) contains about 600 described species in more than 35 genera.  The family is distributed worldwide with most diversity in Asia and Africa.  There are about 35 species of the family in North America.

Caeciliusids are small to medium-sized bark lice (~3 mm in length).  Body color is generally yellow.  Caeciliusids are leaf-inhabiting bark lice that live on conifers and broad-leaf trees.  Most are long-winged, but some of the few ground litter species have both long- and short-winged females. This is the largest family of leaf-inhabiting bark lice.

Characteristics

Synapomorphies

None.

General Characters

How to Know the Family

Discussion of Phylogenetic Relationships

Caeciliusidae is one of the best studied families within Psocomorpha, due primarily to morphological work by E. L. Mockford.  Recent studies, however, have revealed that Caeciliusidae is not monophyletic.  While molecular data strongly supported the monophyly of the infraorder Caeciliusetae, the Caeciliusidae taxa included in the analysis (10 species in 8 genera)  are scattered throughout the infraorder (18S nDNA; Johnson et al. 2004).  An analysis of 12S, 16S, COI mtDNA and 18s nDNA that included two Caeciliusidae genera also showed a paraphyletic relationship, with Valenzuela and Xanthocaecilius grouped with a species of Stenopsocidae (Johnson & Mockford 2003).  Morphological analysis of the Caeciliusidae also indicates paraphyly, with no synapomorphic characters supporting the family (Yoshizawa 2002).

Other Names for Caeciliusidae

References

Johnson, K. P. & E. L. Mockford. 2003. Molecular Systematics of Psocomorpha (Psocoptera). Systematic Entomology 28: 409-40.

Johnson, K. P., K. Yoshizawa, and V. S. Smith. 2004. Multiple origins of parasitism in lice. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 271:1771-1776.

Lienhard, C. and C. N Smithers. 2002. Psocoptera (Insecta) World Catalogue and Bibliography. Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle, Geneva, Switzerland.

Mockford, E. L. 1993. North American Psocoptera (Insecta). Gainesville, Florida: Sandhill Crane Press.

Mockford, E. L. 1999. A Classification of the Psocopteran Family Caeciliusidae (Caeciliidae Auct.). transaction fo the American Entomological Society 125: 325-417.

Smithers, C. N. 1996. Psocoptera. Pp. 1-80, 363-372 (Index) in Wells A. (ed.) Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Vol. 26. Psocoptera, Phthiraptera, Thysanoptera. Melbourne: CSIRO Publishing, Australia.

Yoshizawa, K. 2002. Phylogeny and higher classification of suborder Psocomorpha (Insecta: Psocodea:'Psocoptera'). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 136: 371-400.

Title Illustrations
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Scientific Name Valenzuela flavidus
Location Groton, Ma.
Comments 10/28/2007
Specimen Condition Live Specimen
Life Cycle Stage adult
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Copyright © Tom Murray
Scientific Name Valenzuela flavidus
Location Groton, Ma.
Comments 9/22/2007
Specimen Condition Live Specimen
Life Cycle Stage adult
View frontal
Copyright © Tom Murray
Scientific Name Xanthocaecilius quillayute
Location Groton, Ma.
Comments 10/28/2007
Specimen Condition Live Specimen
Life Cycle Stage adult
View lateral
Copyright © Tom Murray
About This Page

Emilie Bess
Illinois Natural History Survey, Champaign, Illinois, USA

Kevin P. Johnson
Illinois Natural History Survey, Champaign, Illinois, USA

Correspondence regarding this page should be directed to Emilie Bess at and Kevin P. Johnson at

All Rights Reserved.

Citing this page:

Bess, Emilie and Kevin P. Johnson. 2009. Caeciliusidae. Version 25 March 2009 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Caeciliusidae/14467/2009.03.25 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

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