Fishflies are members of the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

Chauliodinae, belonging to the

megaloptera Megaloptera is an order of insects. It contains the alderflies, dobsonflies and fishflies, and there are about 300 known species. The order's name comes from Ancient Greek, from ''mega-'' (μέγα-) "large" + ''pteryx'' (πτέρυξ) "wi ...

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Corydalidae. They are most easily distinguished from their closest relatives,

dobsonflies Dobsonflies are a subfamily of insects, Corydalinae, part of the Megalopteran family Corydalidae. The larvae (commonly called hellgrammites) are aquatic, living in streams, and the adults are often found along streams as well. The nine genera ...

, by the jaws (mandibles) and antennae. In contrast to the large jaws (especially in males) of dobsonflies, fishfly mandibles are not particularly noticeable or distinctive, and the males have feathery antennae similar to many large

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

s. '' Chauliodes pectinicornis'', the "summer fishfly", is a well-known species in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. Fishflies lay their eggs upon vegetation overhanging streams, whence the larvae, as soon as hatched, drop into the water, and go about preying upon aquatic animals. When ready to transform to

pupa A pupa (; : pupae) is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their life cycle, the stages th ...

e, they crawl out upon the bank and are then found in cavities under stones or even under the bark of trees. Fishflies are quite large, with a wingspan of . They will eat aquatic plants as well as small animals including

vertebrate Vertebrates () are animals with a vertebral column (backbone or spine), and a cranium, or skull. The vertebral column surrounds and protects the spinal cord, while the cranium protects the brain. The vertebrates make up the subphylum Vertebra ...

s like

minnow Minnow is the common name for a number of species of small freshwater fish, belonging to several genus, genera of the family Cyprinidae and in particular the subfamily Leuciscinae. They are also known in Ireland as wikt:pinkeen, pinkeens. While ...

s and

tadpole A tadpole or polliwog (also spelled pollywog) is the Larva, larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully Aquatic animal, aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial animal, ...

s, and may live up to seven days as adults. Their entire lifespan is several years, but most of this time is spent as

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e. There are about 15 genera with nearly 110 species. The New World genera include ''Dysmicohermes'', ''Orohermes'', ''Neohermes'', ''Nothochauliodes'', ''Protochauliodes'', ''Archichauliodes'', ''Chauliodes'' and ''Nigronia''. Three genera are endemic to the Afrotropical Realm and are found in Madagascar and South Africa - ''Platychauliodes'', ''Madachauliodes'' and ''Taeniochauliodes. Archichauliodes'' and ''Protochauli-odes'' found in the Australian Realm. The genera endemic to the Oriental Realm are ''Anachauliodes'', ''Ctenochauliodes'', ''Neochauliodes'' and ''Parachauliodes.''

Extinct genera

* †'' Cretochaulus'' Ponomarenko 1976

Zaza Formation The Zaza Formation is a geological formation located in Buryatia (Russia). It dates to the Lower Cretaceous. The age of the formation is disputed, and is considered likely to be Valanginian-Hauterivian, or Aptian in age. It comprises sandstones, ...

, Gidarinskaya Formation, Russia, Early Cretaceous (

Aptian The Aptian is an age (geology), age in the geologic timescale or a stage (stratigraphy), stage in the stratigraphic column. It is a subdivision of the Early Cretaceous, Early or Lower Cretaceous epoch (geology), Epoch or series (stratigraphy), S ...

) * †'' Eochauliodes'' Liu et al. 2012 Daohugou, China, Middle/Late Jurassic * †'' Jurochauliodes'' Wang and Zhang 2010 Daohugou, China, Middle/Late Jurassic

References

External links

*
BugGuide.net

InsectIdentification.org

University of Virginia

InsectIdentification.org
Fishfly photos Corydalidae Aquatic insects Insect subfamilies {{Megaloptera-stub