The Pentatomomorpha comprise an

infraorder Order ( la, ordo) is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and ...

insects Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of j ...

in the true bug order

Hemiptera Hemiptera (; ) is an order (biology), order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising over 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, Reduviidae, assassin bugs, Cimex, bed bugs, and shield bugs. ...

. It unites such animals as the stink bugs (Pentatomidae),

flat bug Aradidae is a family of flat bugs, and a member of true bugs ( Heteroptera). The common name for these insects refers to their dorsoventrally flattened bodies. With few exceptions, these cryptic insects are of no economic importance. This fami ...

s (Aradidae), seed bugs (

Lygaeidae The Lygaeidae are a family in the Hemiptera (true bugs), with more than 110 genera in four subfamilies. The family is commonly referred to as seed bugs, and less commonly, milkweed bugs, or ground bugs. However, while many of the species feed on ...

and

Rhyparochromidae The Rhyparochromidae are a large family of true bugs (order Hemiptera), many of which are commonly referred to as seed bugs. The family includes two subfamilies, more than 420 genera, and over 2,100 described species. Rhyparochromidae are small ...

), etc. They are closely related to the

Cimicomorpha The Cimicomorpha are an infraorder of insects in the order Hemiptera, the true bugs. The rostrum and other morphology of all members apparently is adapted to feeding on animals as their prey or hosts. Members include bed bugs, bat bugs, assassi ...

. Based on the fossil morphology, the common ancestor of Pentatomomorpha must be older than the fossils in the late Triassic. They play an important role in agriculture and forestry industries and they are also used as controlling agents in studies.

Systematics

Five superfamilies are usually placed in the Pentatomomorpha. The

Aradoidea Aradoidea is a superfamily of true bugs. The Piesmatidae, usually placed in the Lygaeoidea The Lygaeoidea are a sizeable Taxonomic rank, superfamily of true bugs, containing seed bugs and allies, in the order Hemiptera. There are about 16 fam ...

represent the most basal extant lineage, while the others, often united as

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

Trichophora, are more modern: *

Brullé, 1836 *

Coreoidea Coreoidea is a superfamily of true bugs in the infraorder Pentatomomorpha which includes leaf-footed bugs and allies. There are more than 3,300 described species in Coreoidea. There are five extant families presently recognized, but the Coreoi ...

Leach, 1815 *

Lygaeoidea The Lygaeoidea are a sizeable superfamily of true bugs, containing seed bugs and allies, in the order Hemiptera. There are about 16 families and more than 4,600 described species in Lygaeoidea, found worldwide. Most feed on seeds or sap, but a ...

Schilling, 1829 *

Pentatomoidea The Pentatomoidea are a superfamily of insects in the Heteroptera suborder of the Hemiptera order. As Hemiptera, they share a common arrangement of sucking mouthparts. The roughly 7000 species under Pentatomoidea are divided into 21 families (16 ...

Leach, 1815 *

Pyrrhocoroidea Pyrrhocoroidea is a superfamily of true bugs in the infraorder Pentatomomorpha The Pentatomomorpha comprise an infraorder of insects in the true bug order Hemiptera. It unites such animals as the stink bugs (Pentatomidae), flat bugs (Aradida ...

Amyot & Serville, 1843 Among these, the

seem to represent a by and large

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...

lineage as traditionally understood, while the other three form a close-knit group and are in serious need of redelimitation. The Idiostolidae are usually considered a family of the

, but in the past have been placed in a distinct

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

superfamily Idiostoloidea, for example. The

Piesmatidae Piesmatidae is a small family of true bugs, commonly called ash-grey leaf bugs. The Piesmatidae are distributed mostly in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, with some occurring in Africa, Australia and South America. A common species found throu ...

, usually placed in the Lygaeoidea also, are sometimes considered ''

incertae sedis ' () or ''problematica'' is a term used for a taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Alternatively, such groups are frequently referred to as "enigmatic taxa". In the system of open nomenclature, uncertainty ...

'', or placed in a

superfamily Piesmatoidea with the discovery of ''Cretopiesma''. However a cladistic analysis rejected ''Cretopiesma'' from Piesmatidae and placed the genus in the family

Aradidae Aradidae is a family of flat bugs, and a member of true bugs (Heteroptera). The common name for these insects refers to their dorsoventrally flattened bodies. With few exceptions, these cryptic insects are of no economic importance. This famil ...

.Cassis, G., & R.T. Schuh (2010) Systematic methods, fossils, and relationships within Heteroptera (Insecta). Cladistics 26:262-280.

References

External links

* Heteroptera {{Pentatomomorpha-stub