Prehistoric Insects
The first flying animals and the most diverse life forms on Earth — insects have a 400-million-year fossil record of extraordinary diversity and adaptation.
Overview
Insects were the first animals to fly and are the most diverse class of animals ever. Their fossil record includes the 70-cm-wingspan griffinflies of the oxygen-rich Carboniferous, Mesozoic pollinators alongside the first flowers, and exquisite amber-preserved faunas.
Quick Facts
Key Characteristics
- •Three body regions, six legs, one or two pairs of wings
- •Wings arose once — the first powered flight among animals
- •Metamorphosis (complete in holometabolous groups) drove explosive diversification
- •Carboniferous giants (Meganeura) reflect record-high atmospheric oxygen
- •Mouthparts specialise for chewing, piercing, siphoning and more
Fossil Record
Compression fossils occur in Carboniferous Coal Measures and Mazon Creek; complete insects in fine limestones (Solnhofen, Crato) and volcanic ash (Karoo); and unmatched three-dimensional preservation in Cretaceous and Cenozoic ambers.
Global Distribution
Global — insects occur wherever terrestrial sediments preserve fine detail.
Evolutionary & Scientific Importance
Insect fossils record the origin of flight, co-evolution with flowering plants, pollination history, and the assembly of modern terrestrial ecosystems — they are the backbone of palaeoentomology and palaeoecology of land.