Evidence for Carboniferous origin of the order Mantodea (Insecta: Dictyoptera) gained from forewing morphology

Abstract

Homologies of the forewing venation pattern of the order Mantodea (Insecta: Dictyoptera) consistent with the accepted insect wing venation groundplan are proposed. A comparative morphological analysis was carried out based on a broad taxonomic sample of extant taxa. Besides macromorphological aspects, focus is given to the pattern of the tracheal system as a basis for establishing primary homologies. All extant praying mantids exhibit a composite stem composed of the posterior radius (RP) and the media (M) and most praying mantids exhibit a fusion of the anterior branch of RP + M with the anterior radius (RA). The wing venation of the species †Mesoptilus dolloi, previously assigned to the polyphyletic fossil assemblage ‘Protorthoptera’, is re‐interpreted in the light of the new homology statement. Our interpretation suggests that it is a putative stem‐Mantodea, as are some other ‘protorthopterous’ taxa. This hypothesis implies that the total‐group Mantodea arose as soon as the Late Carboniferous, i.e. about 175 million years earlier than previously estimated. This analysis contributes to the view that most of the Late Carboniferous ‘Protorthoptera’ are stem‐representatives of the major polyneopteran clades (e.g. cockroaches, grasshoppers and crickets, rock‐crawlers), suggesting a survivorship of several main Pterygota lineages at the end‐Permian extinction event higher than previously expected. © 2009 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2009, 156, 79–113.

The phylogenetic system of Mantodea (Insecta: Dictyoptera)

“…Béthoux & Wieland (2009) stated that crowngroup-Mantodea are morphologically characterized by the fusion of the RP and M from the wing base in the tegmina (Béthoux & Wieland 2009: 79, 101). Metallyticus and Chaeteessa on the other hand exhibit several plesiomorphic Paraoxypilinae is distributed throughout in Australia and New Guinea with a single species (Exparoxypilus africanus Beier, 1929) having been described from Tanzania.…”

X-ray micro-tomography of Carboniferous stem-Dictyoptera: new insights into early insects

“…cockroaches), asymmetry-which results in variation on a single individual-is common (Bell et al 2007). Venation is less problematic for family level taxonomy, but proves phylogenetically less useful at this level, being frequently convergent (Kristensen 1998), with vein translocation (rapid fusion) common (Béthoux & Wieland 2009). Additionally, different paradigms provide significantly different phylogenetic implications (Béthoux 2008).…”

“…Appendage details could provide new characters for phylogeny and greatly improve our knowledge of the palaeoecology of Carboniferous insects, but relatively few have hitherto been described (e.g. Béthoux 2009). Garwood et al (2009) demonstrated that a microtomography (mCT)-based 'virtual palaeontology' approach can extract appendage data from siderite nodule fossils; we apply this method here to a blattopteran fossil.…”

“…Additionally, different paradigms provide significantly different phylogenetic implications (Béthoux 2008). Limited venation data for extant insects compounds these problems (Béthoux & Wieland 2009). Perhaps unsurprisingly, the phylogeny of these taxa is poorly resolved.…”

Fossil evidence for key innovations in the evolution of insect diversity

“…Since 1994 there have been major changes to insect taxonomy (e.g. [25]), the estimated ages of deposits (e.g. [26]), about 400 additional insect families are known from the fossil record [27] and 21% of the families in Labandeira [24] have since been synonymized.…”