Mischoderus

Mischoderus
Mischoderus annuliferus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Clade: Pancrustacea
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Tanyderidae
Genus: Mischoderus
Handlirsch, 1909

Mischoderus is a genus of primitive craneflies that are native to New Zealand. They lie in the family Tanyderidae.

Description

Mischoderus larvae differ from Tipulidae craneflies in that their head is outside of their body, instead of being retracted. Thoracic prolegs are not present in this genus. There are prolegs present at the end of the abdomen. The larvae also do not have a spiracular disk, but instead they have tentacle-like filaments. Some have only two filaments, while others have a large cluster.

Mischoderus larva © Auckland Museum
A Tipulidae larva, to compare to the Mischoderus larva

Taxonomy

There are five species in the genus Mischoderus:


References

  1. 1 2 "Primitive cranefly ([Mischoderus])". Manaaki Whenua. Retrieved 2026-08-21.
  2. 1 2 Anthon, Henning (1988). "Larval morphology of Mischoderus (Insecta, Diptera, Nematocera, Tanyderidae) with notes on tanyderid affinities". Zoologica Scripta. 17 (4): 381–397. doi:10.1111/j.1463-6409.1988.tb00114.x. ISSN 1463-6409.
  3. ↑ "Tanyderidae -a/o Catalog". hbs.bishopmuseum.org. Retrieved 2026-08-21.