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The skimming hypothesis of the origin of insect flight is considered in several possible scenarios. No scenario is found to be in agreement with available information about the insect fossil record and the environments of early insect evolution.
Amphiesmenopterans are represented in the Lower Toarcian marine insect taphocoenoses of Germany by stem group members (Necrotaulius HANDLIRSCH, 1906, Mesotrichopteridium HANDLIRSCH, 1906). Female terminalia of Necrotaulius resembling the ovipositor indicate that these insects laid their eggs rather in soil than in water. One species of genuine Trichoptera (Liadotaulius HANDLIRSCH, 1939) exhibited...
Very few species of fossils properly attributed to Mutillidae have been described: several Myrmosinae (Protomutilla BISCHOFF) from Late Eocene Baltic amber and two Sphaeropthalminae (Dasymutilla ASHMEAD) from Early Miocene Dominican amber. This paper describes the first fossil species of Mutillinae (Ephuta clavigera sp. nov.), also from Dominican amber. It differs from all modern species, most strikingly...
Until now, Thyridates was considered an American genus. In this work seven African species of Bittacus are transferred toThyridates: T. stanleyi (BYERS, 1968), T. erythrostigma (BYERS, 1975), T. weelei (ESBEN-PETERSEN, 1913), T. nebulosus (KLUG, 1838), T. testaceous (KLUG, 1838), T. oreinus (NAVÁS, 1914), and T. chevalieri (NAVÁS, 1908). A new species of Thyridates from the late Paleocene of Argentina...
Insects (Superclass Hexapoda) are the most palaeodiverse as well as the most biodiverse organisms of all time but probably total under 20 million species. Familial/generic data agree with an exponential growth model of the evolution of terrestrial life. Ordinal data is consistent with a logistic model but with a major perturbation superimposed (the Triassic extinction). The global taxonomic carrying...
Some structural characters and morphometric variables – size, body shape and proportions, wing shape and structure – that appear in insects to be linked with flight performance, are discussed and evaluated, and methods are described for deriving these from fossil material. Some wing design categories associated with particular flight techniques and capabilities are identified. Their use in reconstructing...
The faunal history of insects in the various fragments of Gondwana is presented. The first part of the paper summarizes the current knowledge of its insect-bearing localities, particularly their stratigraphy and fossil content, emphasizing the record of the higher systematic groups. The second part discusses some trends of their palaeobiodiversity as evidenced from the above mentioned sites. Generally,...
The meaning, contents, and nomenclature of insect taphonomy is briefly reviewed. A combinatory system is proposed for the classification for insect trace fossils.
In the Carboniferous no one undoubtedly aquatic insect remain is found. Mayflies and stoneflies were the oldest aquatic insects found in the Early Permian. Permian was the time when the aquatic insects became diverse and probably colonized different types of waters. Only one mayfly is found in the Early Triassic. The Middle and Late Triassic aquatic insect assemblages are characterized by combination...
First representatives of the extinct family Eoptychopteridae (all males), belonging to Leptychoptera dimkina and L. vovkina gen. et spp. nov. (subfamily Eoptychopterinae), from the Early Cretaceous Lebanese amber are described. Many of their characters are similar to extant Ptychopteridae, among them the presence of prehalter is the most interesting. The larval mite in the feeding position is found...
The first known fossils of the mite family Rhagidiidae, representing at least two species, are recorded from Baltic amber (Eocene). One of these is described as Zachardia flexipes n. gen. n. sp., which appears to differ from extant Rhagidiidae in having the femur of legs I and II divided into three segments. A second species is tentatively assigned to the extant genus Poecilophysis CAMBRIDGE, but...
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