Insects

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(15 total)

Rhagionidae
Rhagionidae
© 1998 UCMP

Diptera
Diptera
© 2005 The Virtual Fossil Museum

Cixiidae
Cixiidae
© 1998 UCMP

What are Insects? Insects generally have a body divided into three segments: head, thorax, and abdomen. They belong to the group Hexapoda, meaning “six-footed,” because they have six legs on the thorax. Also included here are three groups of wingless hexapods, Collembola, Protrura, and Diplura, because they are close relatives of insects, and their relationships are still being studied. Some paleontologists consider Collembola (springtails), whose fossils have been found in Devonian rocks, to be the oldest known insects. Members of the other groups first appear in the Carboniferous.

First known fossil occurrence: Devonian.

Last known fossil occurrence: Quaternary. This group has living relatives.

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See Insects from the:

Quaternary
Tertiary
Cretaceous
Jurassic
Triassic
Permian
Carboniferous
Devonian
Silurian
Ordovician
Cambrian
Precambrian
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