Dermaptera

Heleodoro, Raphael A. & Rafael, José Albertino, 2023, The taxonomic catalog of the Brazilian fauna: Dermaptera and Phasmatodea (Insecta), with commentaries on species list, types, authorship and distribution, Zoologia (e 22060) 40, pp. 1-17 : 1

Dermaptera general information

Dermaptera , also known as earwigs (in Brazil, they are popularly known as tesourinhas), can be easily recognized by the pincer-shaped, modified cerci. They are relatively small, ranging from 3 to 85 mm (generally ranging from 10 to 15 mm) and have a uniform morphology across the entire order, which includes a cordiform head, elongated body, and body varying from dark brown to black ( Haas 2012). Earwigs inhabit a diversity of environments, from the litter at ground level, under loose bark of fallen trees, to the highest canopies ( Haas 2012). They have adopted different feeding strategies: some species are mostly predators of other small arthropods, while there are more generalist species that feed on decomposing organic matter ( Haas 2012). Currently, this insect order includes over 2,200 species described worldwide, distributed in 12 families: Anisolabididae , Apachyidae , Arixeniidae , Chelisochidae , Diplatyidae , Forficulidae , Haplodiplatyidae , Hemimeridae , Karschiellidae , Labiduridae , Pygidicranidae , and Spongiphoridae ( Hopkins et al. 2022) . Out of the total species, 303 have been recorded from South America ( Hopkins et al. 2022). Currently, there is strong support for the hypothesis that Dermaptera and Zoraptera are sister groups, mostly based on molecular evidence ( Misof et al. 2014, Wipfler et al. 2019).

The New World checklist of Dermaptera species was presented in a series of publications by Reichardt: 1968a – Pygidicranoidea; 1968b – Anisolabididae I; 1970 – Anisolabididae II and Spongiphoridae ; 1971a – Chelisochidae , Forficulidae and Labiduridae ; and 1971b – Amendments, additions and bibliography. These were followed by the World Catalog of Steinmann (1989a) and his taxonomic works (1986 and 1989b – Catadermaptera; 1990 and 1993 – Eudermaptera) and Srivastava (1995 – Spongiphoridae ; 1999 – Anisolabididae ). The works of Reichardt, Srivastava, and Steinmann complement one another: Srivastava and Steinmann updated the checklist with species that were described after Reichardt’s checklist; further, there are species cited by Reichardt and Srivastava that are not mentioned by Steinmann. An important reference is Domenico (2005), a Brazilian author who published the type catalogue of Dermaptera housed at the Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo (São Paulo, Brazil).