Palaeodictyopteroidea

Extinct order of insects

Palaeodictyopteroidea Temporal range: Late Carboniferous–Late Permian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N

Dunbaria fasciipennis, Kansas
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Subclass:	Pterygota
Superorder:	†Palaeodictyopteroidea Rohdendorf, 1961
Orders
†Archodonata (also Dicliptera/Permothemistida) †Diaphanopterodea †Megasecoptera †Palaeodictyoptera

The Palaeodictyopteroidea or Paleodictyopterida are an extinct superorder of Palaeozoic beaked insects, characterised by unique mouthparts consisting of 5 stylets. They represent the first important terrestrial herbivores, and the first major group of herbivorous insects. They appear during the Middle Carboniferous (late Serpukhovian or early Bashkirian) and continue through to the Late Permian. This large and diverse group includes 50% of all known Paleozoic insects. Palaeodictyopteroidea nymphs possessed movable wing pads and appear to have been able to perform simple flapping flight.

References

Grimaldi, David & Engel, Michael S. (2005). Evolution of the Insects. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-82149-0.
Rasnitsyn, A.P. & Quicke, D.L.J. (2002). History of Insects. Kluwer Academic Publishers. ISBN 978-1-4020-0026-3.
Haug, Joachim T.; Haug, Carolin; Garwood, Russell J. (2014). "Evolution of Insect Wings and Development - New Details from Palaeozoic Nymphs". Biological Reviews. 91 (1): 53–69. doi:10.1111/brv.12159.