Polyneoptera represents the largest and most diverse radiation of non-holometabolous insect orders. Polyneoptera includes the orders Orthoptera, Phasmida, Plecoptera, Embioptera, Grylloblattaria, Dermaptera, Mantodea, Isoptera, Blattaria, and may include Zoraptera. Due in part to the vast diversity of morphological variation in this group, interordinal relationships are ambiguous, the monophyly of Polyneoptera is questionable, and the placement of Zoraptera within Polyneoptera is uncertain. Prior analyses have demonstrated that Dictyoptera is monophyletic, yet Isoptera and Blattaria appear to be sister taxa rather than Blattaria and Mantodea as proposed in other studies. Approximately 120 ingroup and outgroup taxa were analyzed using a combination of morphological characters, 18S and 28S ribosomal DNA sequences, and Histone 3 protein coding sequences. Analyses of these data provide the most comprehensive view of polyneopteran phylogeny to data, and suggest a specific placement for Zoraptera among the insect orders.
Species 1: Zoraptera
Species 2: Orthoptera
Species 3: Grylloblattodea
Keywords: Insect Phylogeny, Molecular Systematics
The ESA 2001 Annual Meeting - 2001: An Entomological Odyssey of ESA