Family OLIGOTOMIDAE
Compiler and date details
Gerasimos Cassis, Australian Museum, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Introduction
The Oligotomidae occur mostly in Asia and Australia. One genus is found in the Mediterranean region. Ross (1982) indicated that six genera are known but only three are described. About 200 species are recognised but most are undescribed.
Oligotomids are best characterised by apomorphies of the males. Their mandibles are dentate apically. The wings may be present, the anterior branch medial vein not branched, or absent. The left cercus is clearly segmented. The hind basitarsus usually has only one ventral papilla (Ross 1963, 1982).
Oligotomids are found in a variety of habitats, including deserts and rainforests. The most speciose genus, Aposthonia Krauss, occurs mainly in crevices in bark, soil and rocks, and in lichens (Ross 1991).
Ross (1963) recognised 25 Australian Aposthonia species, of which only six are described. Most are found in Western Australia. Aposthonia gurneyi (Froggatt), which contains numerous subspecies, is found also in the Australian Capital Territory, Northern Territory and New South Wales. Aposthonia is also known from the Oriental Region and Melanesia (Ross 1963). Oligotoma Westwood is represented in Australia by the tramp species Oligotoma saundersii (Westwood) and Oligotoma nigra Hagen, both of which are also broadly distributed in the tropical regions of the world.
General References
Ross, E.S. 1963. The families of Australian Embioptera, with descriptions of a new family, genus and species. Wasmann Journal of Biology 21: 121-136
Ross, E.S. 1982. Embiidina. pp. 387–389 in Parker, S.P. (ed.) Synopsis and Classification of Living Organisms. New York : McGraw Hill Book Co
Ross, E.S. 1991. Embioptera. Embiidina (Embiids, web-spinners, foot-spinners). Naumann, I.D. (ed.) The Insects of Australia. A textbook for students and research workers. Melbourne : Melbourne University Press Vol. 1 2nd Edn. 405–409 pp.