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Palaeontinidae
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<p>Palaeontinidae, commonly known as giant cicadas, is an <a href="/facts/Extinct/24p5NP2q">extinct</a> <a href="/facts/Family_(biology)/qTrn6E8E">family</a> of <a href="/facts/Cicadomorpha/9BeTn0V4">cicadomorphs</a>. They existed from the <a href="/facts/Late_Triassic/TazKYWQN">Late Triassic</a> to the <a href="/facts/Early_Cretaceous/5uWEJGYC">Early Cretaceous</a>. The family contains around 30 to 40 <a href="/facts/Genus/m8EFjSms">genera</a> and around a hundred <a href="/facts/Species/oDg6b96r">species</a>. They are thought to have had a similar ecology to modern cicadas as feeders on plant <a href="/facts/Xylem/6lovdKuF">xylem</a> fluids. Despite being described as "giant cicadas"(with the wingspan of some species exceeding 15 centimetres (5.9 in)), they are not particularly closely related to true <a href="/facts/Cicada/cYYh0HVr">cicadas</a>. </p>