Palaeodictyopteroida: Palaeodictyoptera

Taxa on This Page

1. Palaeodictyoptera

The Palaeodictyoptera are among the least derived of all flying insects, corresponding very nearly to the hypothetical common ancestral type (Zittel & Eastman 1913; a paraphyletic assemblage or ancestral grade, like Thecodontia, Condylartha, etc) although more recently it is argued that the Palaeodictyopteroida as a whole constitute a clade (Grimaldi & Engel 2005). Whether or not this is an artifact of cladistic analysis, like the old "Ceratosauria", remains to be seen. Many species are distinguished by a pair of winglets in front of the two standard wing pairs. MAK120522.

Descriptions

Stenodictya lobata Brongniart; wingspan 10 cm. Carboniferous, Stephanian Epoch (Upper Productive Coal Measures) - Gzhelian epoch, Commentry (Allier), France graphic from Rozvoj letenja - JTV page

Palaeodictyoptera

Range: Middle Carboniferous (Serpukhovian/Bashkirian) to Permian

Phylogeny: Palaeodictyopteroida :: Palaeodictyoptera + (Megasecoptera + (Permothemistida + Diaphanopterodea) + * ))

Comments: pollen- spore- or fruit- feeding insect - piercing mouthparts, probably frequented open areas with suitable vegetation,  MAK120516. The wing itself is very primitive: the cross-veins are numerous and more or less irregular; tlie anal lobe is not separated by a fold ; the anal veins are always well developed, more or less branched, C and curved regularly backward to the SC posterior margin ; and there is no anal fold nor fan - like plaitings. The Larvae are similar to the imago - Zittel & Eastman 1913 (public domain text) - slightly modified

Links: Wikipedia, Paleobiology database, Stenodictya, from Arthur's Prehistoric Life Clipart;