Dermaptera; Spongiphoridae; Phylogeny; Ovaries; Ovarioles

The Dermaptera is an insect order with ca. 2200 described species classified in 11 families. Interestingly, recent morphological and molecular data suggest that at least three dermapteran families (Diplatyidae, Pygidicranidae and Spongiphoridae) are paraphyletic. Here we present results of histological analyses of ovaries and ovarioles in two representatives of Spongiphoridae: Chaetospania borneensis and Irdex chapmani.We show that both the ovaries and ovarioles of studied species are morphologically disparate. The ovaries of C. borneensis consist of shortened ovarioles attached to elongated lateral oviducts and are apparently similar to the ovaries of the Eudermaptera. In contrast, I. chapmani share all the important ovarian characters with more basal taxa, i.e. Anisolabididae and Labiduridae. These findings lend additional support to the paraphyly of Spongiphoridae.