Pterygota

Pterygota; Temporal range: Serpukhovian–Recent PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
	Giant honey bee Apis dorsata (order Hymenoptera) on Tribulus terrestris
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
(unranked):	Dicondylia
Subclass:	Pterygota; Gegenbaur, 1878
Subdivisions
	† Palaeodictyopteroidea; Panephemeroptera (total group Ephemeroptera); Odonatoptera; Neoptera Polyneoptera; Eumetabola Paraneoptera; Holometabola; ; ;

Pterygota (/ˌtɛrəˈɡoʊtə/ terrə-GOH-tə^[2] Ancient Greek: πτερυγωτός, romanized: pterugōtós, lit. 'winged') is a subclass of insects that includes all winged insects and groups who lost them secondarily.^[3]

Pterygota group comprises 99.9% of all insects.^[4] The orders not included are the Archaeognatha (jumping bristletails) and the Zygentoma (silverfishes and firebrats), two primitively wingless insect orders. Unlike Archaeognatha and Zygentoma, the pterygotes do not have styli or vesicles on their abdomen (also absent in some zygentomans), and with the exception of the majority of mayflies, are also missing the median terminal filament which is present in the ancestrally wingless insects.^[5]^[6]^[7]

The oldest known representatives of the group appeared during the mid-Carboniferous, around 328–324 million years ago, and the group subsequently underwent rapid diversification. Claims that they originated substantially earlier during the Silurian or Devonian based on molecular clock estimates are unlikely based on the fossil record, and are likely analytical artefacts.^[8]

Systematics

Traditionally, this group was divided into the infraclasses Paleoptera and Neoptera.^[10] The former are nowadays strongly suspected of being paraphyletic, and better treatments (such as dividing or dissolving the group) are presently being discussed^{[citation needed]}. In addition, it is not clear how exactly the neopterans are related among each other. The Exopterygota might be a similar assemblage of rather ancient hemimetabolous insects among the Neoptera like the Palaeoptera are among insects as a whole. The holometabolous Endopterygota seem to be very close relatives, indeed, but nonetheless appear to contain several clades of related orders, the status of which is not agreed upon.

The following scheme uses finer divisions than the one above, which is not well-suited to correctly accommodating the fossil groups.

Infraclass Palaeoptera

(probably paraphyletic)

Ephemeroptera (mayflies)
Palaeodictyoptera †(extinct)
Megasecoptera †(extinct)
Archodonata †(extinct)
Diaphanopterodea †(extinct)
Protodonata or Meganisoptera †(extinct; sometimes included in Odonata)
Protanisoptera †(extinct; sometimes included in Odonata)
Triadophlebioptera †(extinct; sometimes included in Odonata)
Protozygoptera or Archizygoptera †(extinct; sometimes included in Odonata)
Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies)

Infraclass Neoptera

Superorder Exopterygota

Caloneurodea †(extinct)
Titanoptera †(extinct)
Protorthoptera †(extinct)
Plecoptera (stoneflies)
Embioptera (webspinners)
Zoraptera (angel insects)
Dermaptera (earwigs)
Orthoptera (grasshoppers, etc.)
Phasmatodea (stick insects – tentatively placed here)
Grylloblattodea (ice-crawlers – tentatively placed here)
Mantophasmatodea (gladiators – tentatively placed here)
Proposed superorder Dictyoptera
- Blattodea (cockroaches and termites)
- Mantodea (mantises)
- Alienoptera †(extinct)
Proposed superorder Paraneoptera
- Psocoptera (booklice, barklice)
- Thysanoptera (thrips)
- Phthiraptera (lice)
- Hemiptera (true bugs)

Superorder Endopterygota

Hymenoptera (ants, bees, etc.)
Coleoptera (beetles)
Strepsiptera (twisted-winged parasites)
Raphidioptera (snakeflies)
Megaloptera (alderflies, etc.)
Neuroptera (net-veined insects)
Proposed superorder Mecopteroidea/Antliophora
- Mecoptera (scorpionflies, etc.)
- Siphonaptera (fleas)
- Diptera (true flies)
- Protodiptera †(extinct)
Proposed superorder Amphiesmenoptera
- Trichoptera (caddisflies)
- Lepidoptera (butterflies, moths)

Neoptera orders incertae sedis

Glosselytrodea †(extinct)
Miomoptera †(extinct)

References

^ Gegenbaur, C (1878). Grundriss der vergleichenden Anatomie. Zweite verbesserte Auflage (in German). Vol. 2nd ed. Leipzig: W. Engelmann. p. 244.
^ "Pterygota". Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
^ Vincent H. Resh; Ring T. Cardé (4 April 2003). Encyclopedia of Insects. Academic Press. p. 64. ISBN 978-0-08-054605-6.
^ "The Evolution and Genetics of Migration in Insects".
^ Weyda, František (25 June 1988). "Coxal Setal Organs in Archaeognatha and Zygentoma (Insecta)". In Hník, Pavel; Soukup, Tomáš; Vejsada, Richard; Zelená, Jiřina (eds.). Mechanoreceptors: Development, Structure, and Function. Springer US. pp. 365–367. doi:10.1007/978-1-4899-0812-4_70. ISBN 978-1-4899-0814-8 – via Springer Link.
^ Drummond, F. H. (25 December 1953). "THE EVERSIBLE VESICLES OF CAMPODEA (THYSANURA)". Proceedings of the Royal Entomological Society of London. Series A, General Entomology. 28 (10–12): 145–148. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3032.1953.tb00643.x – via CrossRef.
^ Gullan, P. J.; Cranston, P. S. (3 November 2014). The Insects: An Outline of Entomology. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-118-84615-5 – via Google Books.
^ Schachat, Sandra R; Goldstein, Paul Z; Desalle, Rob; Bobo, Dean M; Boyce, C Kevin; Payne, Jonathan L; Labandeira, Conrad C (2 February 2023). "Illusion of flight? Absence, evidence and the age of winged insects". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 138 (2): 143–168. doi:10.1093/biolinnean/blac137. ISSN 0024-4066.
^ Kjer, Karl M.; Simon, Chris; Yavorskaya, Margarita & Beutel, Rolf G. (2016). "Progress, pitfalls and parallel universes: a history of insect phylogenetics". Journal of the Royal Society Interface. 13 (121): 121. doi:10.1098/rsif.2016.0363. PMC 5014063. PMID 27558853.
^ Maddison, David (1 January 2002). "Pterygota Winged Insects". Tree of Life.

[1] Gegenbaur, C (1878). Grundriss der vergleichenden Anatomie. Zweite verbesserte Auflage (in German). Vol. 2nd ed. Leipzig: W. Engelmann. p. 244.

[2] "Pterygota". Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved 17 September 2024.

[ReshCardé2003-3] Vincent H. Resh; Ring T. Cardé (4 April 2003). Encyclopedia of Insects. Academic Press. p. 64. ISBN 978-0-08-054605-6.

[4] "The Evolution and Genetics of Migration in Insects".

[5] Weyda, František (25 June 1988). "Coxal Setal Organs in Archaeognatha and Zygentoma (Insecta)". In Hník, Pavel; Soukup, Tomáš; Vejsada, Richard; Zelená, Jiřina (eds.). Mechanoreceptors: Development, Structure, and Function. Springer US. pp. 365–367. doi:10.1007/978-1-4899-0812-4_70. ISBN 978-1-4899-0814-8 – via Springer Link.

[6] Drummond, F. H. (25 December 1953). "THE EVERSIBLE VESICLES OF CAMPODEA (THYSANURA)". Proceedings of the Royal Entomological Society of London. Series A, General Entomology. 28 (10–12): 145–148. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3032.1953.tb00643.x – via CrossRef.

[7] Gullan, P. J.; Cranston, P. S. (3 November 2014). The Insects: An Outline of Entomology. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-118-84615-5 – via Google Books.

[8] Schachat, Sandra R; Goldstein, Paul Z; Desalle, Rob; Bobo, Dean M; Boyce, C Kevin; Payne, Jonathan L; Labandeira, Conrad C (2 February 2023). "Illusion of flight? Absence, evidence and the age of winged insects". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 138 (2): 143–168. doi:10.1093/biolinnean/blac137. ISSN 0024-4066.

[Kjer-9] Kjer, Karl M.; Simon, Chris; Yavorskaya, Margarita & Beutel, Rolf G. (2016). "Progress, pitfalls and parallel universes: a history of insect phylogenetics". Journal of the Royal Society Interface. 13 (121): 121. doi:10.1098/rsif.2016.0363. PMC 5014063. PMID 27558853.

[10] Maddison, David (1 January 2002). "Pterygota Winged Insects". Tree of Life.

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