''Labidura'' is a genus of
earwigs
Earwigs make up the insect order Dermaptera. With about 2,000 species in 12 families, they are one of the smaller insect orders. Earwigs have characteristic cerci, a pair of forcep-like pincers on their abdomen, and membranous wings folded ...
in the family
Labiduridae
Labiduridae, whose members are known commonly as striped earwigs, is a relatively large family of earwigs in the suborder Forficulina.See first entry in external links section for reference.
Taxonomy
The family contains a total of approximatel ...
.
Probably the earliest specimen of ''Labidura'' was found in
Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', " ...
amber. One of the ''Labidura'' species,
Saint Helena earwig
The Saint Helena earwig or Saint Helena giant earwig (''Labidura herculeana'') is an extinct species of very large earwig endemism, endemic to the oceanic island of Saint Helena in the south Atlantic Ocean.
Description
Growing as large as lon ...
(''
Labidura herculeana'') was
the largest of all earwigs before its possible extinction after the year of 1967.
Species
The genus contains the following species:
* ''
Labidura cryptera'' Liu, 1946
* ''
Labidura dharchulensis'' Gangola, 1968
* ''
Labidura elegans'' Liu, 1946
* ''
Labidura japonica'' (Haan, 1842)
* ''
Labidura minor'' Boeseman, 1954
* ''
Labidura orientalis'' Steinmann, 1979
* ''
Labidura riparia
''Labidura riparia'' is a species of earwig in the family Labiduridae characterized by their modified cerci as forceps, and light tan color.Tawfik, M., Abul-Nar, S., and El-hussein, M. 1973. The biology of ''Labidura riparia'' Pallas. Bulletin ...
'' (Pallas, 1773)
* ''
Labidura xanthopus'' (Stal, 1855)
* ''
Labidura herculeana'' (Fabricius, 1798)
References
Earwigs
Dermaptera genera
Taxa named by William Elford Leach
{{Earwig-stub