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Archipsocetae

Archipsocidae

Emilie Bess and Kevin P. Johnson taxon links [down<--]Psocomorpha Interpreting the tree
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Containing group: Psocomorpha

Introduction

The family Archipsocidae contains about 80 species in 5 genera distributed worldwide, with highest diversity in Central and South America.  Seven species are known from North America in the genera Archipsocus, Archipsocopsis and Pararchipsocus.

These are small to medium-sized bark lice (1-3 mm, nymphs 1.5-2.5 mm).  Body colors are red- or orange-brown, sometimes pale. Almost all body surfaces are densely covered with long hairs. Wings are creamy white.  Archipsocids live on the surface of bark, often in groups under dense webs, and subsocial behavior has been observed in some species.

Morphological and molecular data both suggest that Archipsocidae is sister to the remainder of suborder Psocomorpha.  The family has been placed in its own infraorder, Archipsocetae (Yoshizawa 2002, Johnson et al. 2004).

Characteristics

Synapomorphies

General Characters

How to Know the Family

Family Monophyly

Monophyly of Archipsocidae is strongly supported by several morphological synapomorphies (see Characteristics; Yoshizawa 2002) and by molecular data including three mitochondrial and one nuclear gene (18S nDNA; 12S, 16S, COI mtDNA, Johnson & Mockford 2003, Johnson et al. 2004).

Other Names for Archipsocidae

References

Badonnel, A. 1966. Sur le genre Archipsocus Hagen (Psocoptera, Archipsocidae). Bulletin du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris 38:409-415.

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.

New, T.R. 2005. Psocids, Psocoptera (Booklice and barklice), 2nd edition: Handbooks for the Identification of British Insects. Vol. 1, Part 7. Royal Entomological Society, London, UK.

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.

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. Archipsocetae. Archipsocidae. Version 25 March 2009 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Archipsocidae/14477/2009.03.25 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

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