Protorthoptera

Protorthoptera Temporal range: 318–299Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N Middle Carboniferous
Protophasma woodwardi
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Hexapoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	†Protorthoptera Handlirsch, 1906

The Protorthoptera are an extinct order of Palaeozoic insects, and represent a wastebasket taxon and paraphyletic assemblage of basal neoptera. They appear during the Middle Carboniferous (late Serpukhovian or early Bashkirian), making them among the earliest known winged insects in the fossil record. Pronotal lobes may be expanded to form a shield. The group includes the ancestors of all other polyneopterous insects.

References

• Carpenter, F. M. 1992. Superclass Hexapoda. Volume 3 of Part R, Arthropoda 4; Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology, Boulder, Colorado, Geological Society of America.
• Grimaldi, David and Engel, Michael S. (2005-05-16). Evolution of the Insects. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-82149-5.