The Fossil History of Insect Diversity

2018/05/23 by Conrad C. Labandeira · 1 citation
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Plant and animal studies #Fossil Insects in Amber #Plant Diversity and Evolution

paper · doi:10.1002/9781118945582.ch24

openalex publication_date 2018/05/23 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the major types of diversity documented in the insect fossil record. Diversity in the insect fossil record typically is provided either at the locality level, with an enumeration of all resident species (tax-onomic diversity), or more generally has been counts at the genus or, more commonly, the family level, expressed globally through time (taxic diversity). A wide range of techniques, morphological attributes, and modes of presentation document the morphological disparity of fossil (and modern) insects. The trend of insect diversity during the Paleogene and Neogene periods is best described as a sustained increase to the present day, with a capture rate of 63% of the approximately 980 modern insect families a rate that has not changed appreciably with more recent analyses. The concluding discussion incorporates an understanding of why fossil insect diversity is relevant for the current condition of terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems of the planet.

Citations

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Cited by

• Permian [wikipedia]