Rhachiberothidae

Taxobox
name = Thorny lacewings
fossil_range=Early Cretaceous - Recent
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Arthropoda
subphylum = Hexapoda
classis = Insecta
subclassis = Pterygota
infraclassis = Neoptera
superordo = Endopterygota or Neuropterida
ordo = Neuroptera
subordo = Hemerobiiformia
superfamilia = Mantispoidea
familia = Rhachiberothidae
familia_authority =
subdivision_ranks = Genera
subdivision = Several, including:
"Mucroberotha"
"Rhachiberotha"
and see text

The thorny lacewings, Rhachiberothidae, are a family of winged insects of the order Neuroptera.

Long included in the Berothidae (beaded lacewings), they are usually considered a separate family by current authors. Another closely-related group are the mantidflies (Mantispidae), and at least some of the probably paraphyletic group of fossil forms collectively called "Mesithonidae" also seem to be quite close. [See references in Haaramo (2008)]

A considerable number of prehistoric genera have been described from fossils dating back to the Early Cretaceous:
* "Alloberotha"
* "Chimerhachiberotha"
* "Eorhachiberotha"
* "Oisea"
* "Paraberotha" - formerly in Mantispidae
* "Retinoberotha" - formerly in Mantispidae
* "Rhachibermissa"
* "Spinoberotha"
* "Whalfera" - tentatively placed here; formerly in Mantispidae

Footnotes

References

* (2008): Mikko's Phylogeny Archive: [http://www.helsinki.fi/~mhaaramo/metazoa/protostoma/arthropoda/insecta/neuropterida/neuroptera.html Neuroptera] . Version of 2008-MAR-11. Retrieved 2008-APR-27.