Prehistoric insects
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Prehistoric insects are various groups of insects that lived before recorded history. Their study is the field of paleoentomology. Insects inhabited Earth since before the time of the dinosaurs. The earliest identifiable insect is the Devonian Rhyniognatha hirsti, estimated at 407 to 396 million years ago. Forms similar to many modern insects had already evolved before the dawning of the dinosaur and lived alongside them and beyond up to the present day. Like today, prehistoric insects were an important part of the food chain in their time.
The differences between modern and prehistoric varieties can be essential, and, like many other creatures of prehistory, the latter tended to be much larger than their contemporary equivalents. This size difference is thought to be due to higher atmospheric oxygen levels (allowing diffusion through spiracles over greater distances) and higher temperatures (enhancing metabolism).
Since insects have chitin exoskeletons rather than mineralized bones, their burial processes differ compared to the fossils of much larger vertebrates such as dinosaurs. Many insect remains are found preserved in the hardened sap of ancient trees (amber).
Examples of prehistoric insects include:
- Eobelinae
- Eriocampa tulameenensis[1]
- Fibla carpenteri
- Leptofoenus pittfieldae
- Meganeura
- Mesojassoides
- Microberotha
- Palaeodictyopteroidea
- Prodryas persephone
- Raphidia funerata
- Rhyniognatha
- Tainosia[2]
- Termitaradus mitnicki
- Pseudosiobla campbelli[1]
- Protosialis casca
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b Rice, H.M.A. (1968). "Two Tertiary sawflies, (Hymenoptera - Tenthredinidae), from British Columbia". Geological Survey of Canada 67 (59): 1–21.
- ^ Szwedo, J.; Stroiński, A. (2001). "Tainosia quisqueyae gen. and sp. nov. from the Oligocene/Miocene Dominican amber (Hemiptera: Fulgoroidea: Nogodinidae)". Genus 12 (1): 29–34. http://ag.udel.edu/delpha/5325.pdf.
- David Grimaldi & Michael S. Engel (2005). Evolution of the Insects. Cambridge University Press. p. 143. ISBN 0-521-82149-5.
- Alex Rasnitsyn & D. L. J. Quicke (2002). History of Insects. Kluwer Academic Publishers. ISBN 1-4020-0026-X.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Fossil Insecta |
- Insects in the Age of Reptiles
- Insect Fossils A timechart and evolutionary history
- International Palaeoentomological Society
- Palaeoentomology in Russia in both English and Russian
