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Science 16 July 1993:
Vol. 261. no. 5119, pp. 310 - 315
DOI: 10.1126/science.11536548
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Articles

Science, Vol 261, Issue 5119, 310-315
Copyright © 1993 by American Association for the Advancement of Science

articles

Insect diversity in the fossil record

CC Labandeira and JJ Sepkoski Jr

Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC 20560.

Insects possess a surprisingly extensive fossil record. Compilation of the geochronologic ranges of insect families demonstrates that their diversity exceeds that of preserved vertebrate tetrapods through 91 percent of their evolutionary history. The great diversity of insects was achieved not by high origination rates but rather by low extinction rates comparable to the low rates of slowly evolving marine invertebrate groups. The great radiation of modern insects began 245 million years ago and was not accelerated by the expansion of angiosperms during the Cretaceous period. The basic trophic machinery of insects was in place nearly 100 million years before angiosperms appeared in the fossil record.


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