Enicocephalidae, also calledunique-headed bugs andgnat bugs, are afamily of around 300species of thesuborderHeteroptera. They are typically 4 mm (0.16 in) long, and found throughout the world. They have an elongated head, constricted in places, hence their head is 'unique'.
They are classified into about 47 genera placed in five subfamilies. The family members can be separated from those of theAenictopecheidae on the basis of the pronotal division into three lobes (except in the genusAlienates). They also show polymorphism with winged males and wingless or short-winged females.[1]
^Fernandes, José Antônio Marin; Weirauch, Christiane (2015). "The Unique-Headed Bugs (Enicocephalomorpha)".True Bugs (Heteroptera) of the Neotropics. Entomology in Focus. Vol. 2. pp. 91–98.doi:10.1007/978-94-017-9861-7_4.ISBN978-94-017-9860-0.
^Davranoglou, Leonidas‐Romanos; Pérez‐de la Fuente, Ricardo; Baňař, Petr; Peñalver, Enrique (March 2024). "The first unique‐headed bug (Hemiptera, Enicocephalomorpha) from Cretaceous Iberian amber, and the Gondwanan connections of its palaeoentomological fauna".Papers in Palaeontology.10 (2).doi:10.1002/spp2.1550.hdl:10261/369826.
