Permopsocida is an extinct order of insects known from the Carboniferous (Moscovian) to the Mid-Cretaceous. It is part of Paraneoptera, alongside bark lice (including lice), bugs and thrips. Within Paraneoptera it is considered to be closer to the clade containing bugs and thrips rather than bark lice, with an estimated divergence during the Late Carboniferous. The group was first named as a suborder by Robert John Tillyard in 1926, and was raised to a full order by Huang et al. in 2016.[1] It is currently divided up into three families, Psocidiidae which is known from the Late Carboniferous to Liassic. Permopsocidae which is only known from the Permian, and Archipsyllidae, which is known from the Late Triassic[2] to mid-Cretaceous (Cenomanian). While most members of the group are known from compression fossils, several members of Archipsyllidae are 3 dimensionally preserved in Burmese amber, which has helped clarify the morphology and phylogenetic position of the group.[1][3][4][5] The morphology of the mouthparts suggests that they were capable of suction feeding and chewing, with preserved angiosperm pollen grains in the gut of Psocorrhyncha suggesting that at least some members of the group were pollenivorous.[1]
Taxonomy
From Huang et al 2016 and subsequent literature
†Psocidiidae Tillyard, 1926
†Carbonopsocus Prokop et al., 2024 Osnabrück Formation, Germany, Carboniferous (Moscovian)[6]
^Liang, F.; Zhang, W.; Liu, X. (2016). "A new genus and species of the paraneopteran family Archipsyllidae in mid-Cretaceous amber of Myanmar". Zootaxa. 4105 (5): 483–90. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4105.5.4. ISSN1175-5334. PMID27394792.
^Beutel, R. G.; Prokop, J.; Müller, P.; Pohl, H. (2019). "†Bittacopsocus—a new bizarre genus of †Permopsocida (Insecta) from Burmese Cretaceous amber". Zootaxa. 4576 (2): 357–366. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4576.2.9. PMID31715767.
^Prokop, J.; Rosová, K.; Pecharová, M.; Sroka, P.; Leipner, A.; Nel, A. (2024). "The structure of wing in the earliest Permopsocida". Arthropod Structure & Development. 80. 101358. doi:10.1016/j.asd.2024.101358. PMID38704966.