Diversity, Form, and Postembryonic Development of Paleozoic Insects
Language English Country United States Media print
Document type Journal Article, Review, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
- Keywords
- Hexapoda, Insecta, deep divergences, evolution, functional morphology, metamorphosis,
- MeSH
- Biological Evolution * MeSH
- Extinction, Biological MeSH
- Phylogeny MeSH
- Insecta * anatomy & histology MeSH
- Wings, Animal anatomy & histology MeSH
- Fossils MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Check Tag
- Animals MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
- Review MeSH
While Mesozoic, Paleogene, and Neogene insect faunas greatly resemble the modern one, the Paleozoic fauna provides unique insights into key innovations in insect evolution, such as the origin of wings and modifications of postembryonic development including holometaboly. Deep-divergence estimates suggest that the majority of contemporary insect orders originated in the Late Paleozoic, but these estimates reflect divergences between stem groups of each lineage rather than the later appearance of the crown groups. The fossil record shows the initial radiations of the extant hyperdiverse clades during the Early Permian, as well as the specialized fauna present before the End Permian mass extinction. This review summarizes the recent discoveries related to the documented diversity of Paleozoic hexapods, as well as current knowledge about what has actually been verified from fossil evidence as it relates to postembryonic development and the morphology of different body parts.
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Kansas Lawrence Kansas USA
Department of Zoology Faculty of Science Charles University Prague Czech Republic; email
Division of Entomology University of Kansas Natural History Museum Lawrence Kansas USA; email
Division of Invertebrate Zoology American Museum of Natural History New York New York USA
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