The Protorthoptera are an extinct order of Palaeozoic insects, and represent a wastebasket taxon and paraphyletic assemblage of basal neoptera[citation needed]. They appear during the Middle Carboniferous (late Serpukhovian or early Bashkirian), making them among the earliest known winged insects in the fossil record. Pronotal lobes may be expanded to form a shield. The group includes the ancestors of all other polyneopterous insects.

Families and genera

Protorthoptera[1]

References

  1. ^ order †Protorthoptera, Species File (Version 5.0/5.0; retrieved 20 October 2021)