The Perlidae are a

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

of stoneflies, with more than 50 genera and 1,100 described species. The majority of the Perlidae are found in eastern North America, but they occur worldwide except for Antarctica and parts of Africa. Their lifecycles range between one and three years. They adults emerge in the summer; they are very active and known to be attracted to light sources. They are usually very sensitive to changes in environment. Perlidae are usually lotic and

lentic A lake ecosystem or lacustrine ecosystem includes biotic (living) plants, animals and micro-organisms, as well as abiotic (non-living) physical and chemical interactions. Lake ecosystems are a prime example of lentic ecosystems (''lentic'' re ...

erosional. They are found in cool, clear medium-sized to large streams and sometimes in larger, warm rivers that carry

silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension with water. Silt usually has a floury feel ...

. They are crawlers and can move quickly. In still water, no water moves over their

gills A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...

, so they move their bodies up and down to keep oxygen flowing over them. They are engulfer-predators. They consume all types of

invertebrates Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordat ...

. Very young larvae are collector-gatherers.

Genera

These 56 genera belong to the family Perlidae: * '' Acroneuria'' Pictet, 1841 * '' Agnetina'' Klapálek, 1907 * '' Anacroneuria'' Klapálek, 1909 * '' Attaneuria'' Ricker, 1954 * '' Beloneuria'' Needham & Claassen, 1925 * '' Brahmana'' Klapálek, 1914 * '' Calineuria'' Ricker, 1954 * '' Caroperla'' Kohno, 1946 * '' CHINOPERLa'' Zwick, 1980 * '' Claassenia'' Wu, 1934 * '' Dinocras'' Klapálek, 1907 * '' Doroneuria'' Needham & Claassen, 1925 * '' Eccoptura'' Klapálek, 1921 * '' Enderleina'' Jewett, 1960 * '' Eoperla'' Illies, 1956 * '' Etrocorema'' Klapálek, 1909 * '' Flavoperla'' Chu, 1929 * '' Furcaperla'' Sivec, 1988 * '' Gibosia'' Okamoto, 1912 * '' Hansonoperla'' Nelson, 1979 * '' Helenoperla'' Sivec, 1997 * '' Hemacroneuria'' Enderlein, 1909 * '' Hesperoperla'' Banks, 1938 * '' Inconeuria'' Klapálek, 1916 * '' Kamimuria'' Klapálek, 1907 * '' Kempnyella'' Illies, 1964 * '' Kempnyia'' Klapálek, 1914 * '' Kiotina'' Klapálek, 1907 * '' Klapalekia'' Claassen, 1936 * '' Macrogynoplax'' Enderlein, 1909 * '' Marthamea'' Klapálek, 1907 * '' Mesoperla'' Klapálek, 1913 * '' Miniperla'' Kawai, 1967 * '' Neoperla'' Needham, 1905 * '' Neoperlops'' Banks, 1939 * '' Nigroperla'' Illies, 1964 * '' Niponiella'' Klapálek, 1907 * '' Nishineuria'' Uchida, 1990 * '' Onychoplax'' Klapálek, 1914 * '' Oyamia'' Klapálek, 1907 * '' Paragnetina'' Klapálek, 1907 * '' Perla'' Geoffroy, 1762 * '' Perlesta'' Banks, 1906 * '' Perlinella'' Banks, 1900 * '' Phanoperla'' Banks, 1938 * '' Pictetoperla'' Illies, 1964 * '' Sinacroneuria'' Yang & Yang, 1995 * '' Tetropina'' Klapálek, 1909 * '' Togoperla'' Klapálek, 1907 * '' Tyloperla'' Sivec & Stark, 1988 * '' Xanthoneuria'' Uchida, Stark & Sivec, 2011 * † '' Archaeoperla'' Liu, Ren & Sinitshenkova, 2008 * † '' Dominiperla'' Stark & Lentz, 1992 * † '' Electroneuria'' Sroka, Staniczek & Kondratieff, 2018 * † '' Largusoperla'' Chen, Wang & Du, 2018 * † '' Pinguisoperla'' Chen, 2018

References

Plecoptera families {{Plecoptera-stub