Jump to content

Corydalus

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 184.186.6.124 (talk) at 19:58, 16 August 2016. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Corydalus
Corydalus cornutus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Phylum:
Class:
Order:
Family:
Subfamily:
Genus:
Corydalus

Species
see text

Corydalus is a genus of large flying insects in the Corydalidae family, commonly known as dobsonflies. They are endemic to North, Central and South America and there are about 35 known species. Members of the genus have wing lengths of up to 85 millimetres. They are sexually dimorphic, with the males having large mandibles used to grasp the females during mating while the females have smaller jaws. The larvae are known as hellgrammites and are aquatic predators.[1][2]

Etymology

Corydalus (also transcribed corydalis) comes from the Greek (κορυδαλλις) meaning a crested lark or the flower, larkspur, apparently related to Greek corys (κορυς) a helmet crest.[3] The name probably refers to the long mandibles of the male which might be considered to resemble the crest of a lark, or perhaps, the decorative crests of a helmet.[2]

Species

[4] [5]

References

  1. ^ DigiMorph
  2. ^ a b BugGuide
  3. ^ Borror, D. J. Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms, Mayfield Publishing Company, 1960. ISBN 0-87484-053-8, Cite: 20598
  4. ^ Encyclopedia of Life
  5. ^ Tree of Life Web Project