The name Prosorrhyncha is a name (proposed by Sorensen et al. 1995) for a suborder of

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. ...

, comprising a grouping of the traditional taxon "

Heteroptera The Heteroptera are a group of about 40,000 species of insects in the order Hemiptera. They are sometimes called "true bugs", though that name more commonly refers to the Hemiptera as a whole. "Typical bugs" might be used as a more unequivocal al ...

" plus its

sister taxon In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and t ...

, the family

Peloridiidae The Peloridiidae or moss bugs are a family of true bugs, comprising eighteen genera and thirty-four species. They are small, ranging in length from 2 to 4 mm, rarely seen, peculiarly lumpy, flattened bugs found in Patagonia (Argentina and Chi ...

(often classified as a suborder itself). There is no agreement on the status of this taxon, as there are two competing classifications regarding this branch of the Hemiptera; while some hemipterists follow this classification (link below), it has by no means been accepted universally. See the

article for the detailed discussion, and a comparison of the two taxoboxes. Note that there is a "conflict within the conflict" regarding the use of the name "Prosorrhyncha", as it is not the oldest name suggested for this particular group of taxa; the name "Heteropteroidea" (Schlee 1969) is older, as is "Heteropterodea" (Zrzavy 1992). However, as the Code of Nomenclature does not regulate taxon names above the rank of family, there is no actual rule that the oldest name must be given precedence. Prosorrhyncha is therefore given preference over the other names specifically because the suffixes of the older names are conventionally reserved for taxonomic ranks other than suborder, thus their use would create internal conflict and confusion (e.g., the ending "-oidea" is used for the rank of

superfamily SUPERFAMILY is a database and search platform of structural and functional annotation for all proteins and genomes. It classifies amino acid sequences into known structural domains, especially into SCOP superfamilies. Domains are functional, str ...

, meaning that if "Heteropteroidea" were adopted, it would include, within it, groups such as

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 ...

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 ...

, etc.).

References

*Schlee D. 1969. Morphologie und symbiose; ihre Beweiskraft fur die Verwandtschaftsbeziehungen der Coleorrhyncha (Insecta, Hemiptera). ''Stuttgart Beitr. zur Naturk. Nr.'' 210: 1-27 *Sorensen J.T., Campbell B.C., Gill R.J., Steffen-Campbell J.D., 1995. Non-monophyly of Auchenorrhyncha ("Homoptera"), based upon 18S rDNA phylogeny: eco-evolutionary and cladistic implications with pre-Heteropteroidea Hemiptera (s.l.) and a proposal for new monophyletic suborders. ''Pan-Pacific Entomologist'', 71 (1): 31-60 *Zrzavy J. 1992. Evolution of antennae and historical ecology of the hemipteran insects (Paraneoptera). ''Acta Entomol. Bohemoslov.'', 89 (2): 77-86

External links

* Auchenorrhyncha website http://www.agric.nsw.gov.au/Hort/ascu/tymbal/tymbal.htm Hemiptera Insect suborders {{Hemiptera-stub