Austroperla | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Plecoptera |
Family: | Austroperlidae |
Genus: |
Austroperla Needham, 1905 |
Species: | A. cyrene
|
Binomial name | |
Austroperla cyrene (
Newman, 1845)
|
Austroperla cyrene, the black stonefly, is a species of austroperlid stonefly endemic to New Zealand. It is the single species in the genus Austroperla. The species is a 'shredder' that lives and feeds on decomposing wood and leaves in streams throughout New Zealand. [1] [2] It is particularly common in forested streams but relatively rare or absent from deforested streams. [3] [4]
A. cyrene nymphs and adults contain hydrogen cyanide [3] and as a result are toxic to predators. [5] To advertise their toxicity, A. cyrene adults have striking aposematic (warning) colouration, with bright yellow and white colour features against a black background. [6]
This distinctive warning coloration is mimicked by melanic specimens of the non-toxic stoneflies Zelandoperla fenestrata and Taraperla pseudocyrene. [1] [5]
A fossilised specimen of Austroperla has been recorded from early Miocene sediments of Foulden Maar in Central Otago. A phylogenetic study of Southern Hemisphere stoneflies [7] similarly suggests an ancient history for this New Zealand lineage, with Austroperla estimated to have diverged from Australian and Chilean austroperlids around 37 million years ago.
Austroperla | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Plecoptera |
Family: | Austroperlidae |
Genus: |
Austroperla Needham, 1905 |
Species: | A. cyrene
|
Binomial name | |
Austroperla cyrene (
Newman, 1845)
|
Austroperla cyrene, the black stonefly, is a species of austroperlid stonefly endemic to New Zealand. It is the single species in the genus Austroperla. The species is a 'shredder' that lives and feeds on decomposing wood and leaves in streams throughout New Zealand. [1] [2] It is particularly common in forested streams but relatively rare or absent from deforested streams. [3] [4]
A. cyrene nymphs and adults contain hydrogen cyanide [3] and as a result are toxic to predators. [5] To advertise their toxicity, A. cyrene adults have striking aposematic (warning) colouration, with bright yellow and white colour features against a black background. [6]
This distinctive warning coloration is mimicked by melanic specimens of the non-toxic stoneflies Zelandoperla fenestrata and Taraperla pseudocyrene. [1] [5]
A fossilised specimen of Austroperla has been recorded from early Miocene sediments of Foulden Maar in Central Otago. A phylogenetic study of Southern Hemisphere stoneflies [7] similarly suggests an ancient history for this New Zealand lineage, with Austroperla estimated to have diverged from Australian and Chilean austroperlids around 37 million years ago.