Mantophasmatodea now in the Jurassic.
The Mantophasmatodea is the most recently discovered insect order. The fossil records of all other 'polyneopteran' orders extend far in the past, but the current absence of pre-Cenozoic fossils of the Mantophasmatodea contradicts a long evolutionary history, which has to be assumed from the morphological distinctness of the group. In this paper, we report the first Mesozoic evidence of a mantophasmatodean from the Middle Jurassic of Daohugou, Inner Mongolia, China. Furthermore, the new fossil shares apomorphic characters with Cenozoic and recent Mantophasmatodea, suggesting a longer evolutionary history of this order.
Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Chinese Academia of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008 People's Republic of China. huangdiying@sina.com
Di-Ying
DY
Huang
André
A
Nel
Oliver
O
Zompro
Alain
A
Waller
D017954:Africa South of the Sahara; D000818:Animals; D049628:Body Size; D017753:Ecosystem; D005260:Female; D005580:Fossils; D007313:Insecta / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D008297:Male; D010058:Oviposition; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D013909:Thorax / Q000033:anatomy & histology