Notiothauma | |
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Oncol Park, Chile | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Mecoptera |
Family: | Eomeropidae |
Genus: | Notiothauma MacLachlan, 1877 |
Species: | N. reedi
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Binomial name | |
Notiothauma reedi MacLachlan, 1877
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Notiothauma is the sole living genus in the scorpionfly family Eomeropidae. The genus is monotypic with a lone species Notiothauma reedi which is native to the Valdivian temperate rain forests of central Chile, especially the forests with Nothofagus stands. N. reedi is flattened with a notedly cockroach-like appearance. They are nocturnal and inhabit the forest floor where the adults feed on plants and decaying animals.[1] The larvae are still unknown. Because this is the last extant species of Eomeropidae, N. reedi can be characterized as a living fossil taxon.[2]