Chresmodidae is an extinct family of Mesozoic insects within the superorder Polyneoptera.Delclos X, Nel A, Azar D, Bechly G, Dunlop JA, Engel MS, Heads SW
Genera Chresmoda Late Jurassic-Cenomanian, Worldwide Jurachresmoda Zhang, Ren & Shih, 2008 Middle Jurassic, Jiulongshan Formation Sinochresmoda Zhang, Ren & Pang, 2008 Early Cretaceous, Yixian Formation
Prochresmoda from the Triassic of Kyrgyzstan is not currently considered part of the group and is considered to be more closely related to Triassophasma and Palaeochresmoda.
Their affinities within the Polyneoptera have long been considered uncertain. Some authors have suggested that they represent a derived group of cockroaches.
Description Chresmodidae are large enigmatic insects with very long specialized legs, probably adapted for skating on the water surface, similar to extant water skaters. They can reach a size of about . and even .
These Polyneoptera of uncertain position have been considered aquatic, living on the water surface, probably predaceous on nektonic small animals.A. G. Ponomarenko Fossil insects from the Tithonian «Solnhofener Plattenkalke» in the Museum of Natural History, ViennaA. Nel, D. Azar, X. Martinez-Delclos and E. Makhoul
They lived during the Cretaceous of Brazil, China, Lebanon, Spain, United Kingdom, as well as in the Jurassic of Germany and China, from ~166.0 to 94.3 Ma.
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