Chelisochidae

Chelisochidae
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Dermaptera
Suborder:	Forficulina
Family:	Chelisochidae Burr, 1907
Subfamilies[1][2]
Chelisochellinae Chelisochinae Genitalatinae

Chelisochidae is a family of earwigs^[3][4] whose members are commonly known as black earwigs.^[5] The family contains a total of approximately 96 species, spread across sixteen genera in three subfamilies.^[6][7]

They are primarily located in the more tropical Afrotropical, Australasian, and Oriental ecozones, even though some species, such as Chelisoches morio, are cosmopolitan.^[7] They are often dark in color, lending to their common name, and can vary in size. They can be easily identified due to a certain characteristic in their tarsi, involving a ventral projection on the second tarsal segment. Like most earwigs, they are omnivores, and their diet consists of the larvae of leaf-mining insects, as well as certain types of vegetation.^[7]

References

1. http://www.taxonomy.nl/main/classification/18211.htm[]
2. http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=102459
3. "Checklist for CHELISOCHIDAE". Australian Faunal Directory. Australia: Australian Government: Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. 2008-10-09. Retrieved 2009-06-26.
4. See first entry in external links section for reference.
5. "Discover Life - Dermaptera: Chelisochidae - Black earwig, Black earwigs". Discover Life. Retrieved 2009-06-26.
6. Steinmann, H. (1993). "Dermaptera. Eudermaptera II". Das Tierreich. 108.
7. "Family CHELISOCHIDAE". Australian Faunal Directory. Australia: Australian Government: Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. 2008-10-09. Retrieved 2009-06-26.

External links

• The Earwig Research Centre's Chelisochidae database Source for references: type Chelisochidae in the "family" field and click "search".
• Australian Faunal Directory: Chelisochidae
• An image of the family.