Trichome

Nymphidae
Temporal range: Middle Jurassic - Recent
Nymphes myrmeleonides
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Neuroptera
Clade: Myrmeleontiformia
Family: Nymphidae
Rambur, 1842
Genera
  • See text
Synonyms
  • Myiodactylidae
  • Nymphitidae Handlirsch, 1906

Nymphidae, sometimes called split-footed lacewings, are a family of winged insects of the order Neuroptera.[1] There are 35 extant species native to Australia and New Guinea.

Nymphidae stand somewhat apart from other living Myrmeleontoidea. The antlions (Myrmeleontidae) and the owlflies (Ascalaphidae) are more closely related to them, but the bulk of the Nymphidae sister groups include extinct taxa known only from fossils, such as the Nymphitidae, Osmylopsychopidae or Babinskaiidae. The spoonwings (Nemopteridae) were at one time also believed to be quite closely related, but they seem to belong to another lineage of Myrmeleontiformia altogether. The family is divided into two major subfamilies, Nymphinae and Myiodactylinae. The larvae of nymphines are similar to antlions, with relatively elongate bodies, and camouflage themselves in debris, living and hunting on the ground, while myiodactylines have wide, disc shaped bodies, and are arboreal, living on plants.[2][3]

Fossil genera are known from Europe, Asia as well as North and South America, extending back to the Middle Jurassic.[4]

Genera[edit]

Extant genera[edit]

Extinct genera[edit]

References[edit]

Data related to Nymphidae at Wikispecies

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