Protorthoptera

Distinguished from other Palaeozoic insect orders by combination of basal neopteran wing venation and expanded pronotal lobes forming a shield in some taxa. As a paraphyletic wastebasket taxon, precise diagnostic features are problematic and the group is defined primarily by exclusion from more derived polyneopteran orders.

Terrestrial environments during the Carboniferous period.

Known from Carboniferous fossil deposits. Specific localities not detailed in available sources.

Significant for understanding early insect evolution and the origin of polyneopteran insects. Represents one of the earliest appearances of winged insects in the fossil record.

• Other Palaeozoic insect ordersProtorthoptera is distinguished as a basal neopteran group, but precise differentiation requires detailed wing venation analysis. The paraphyletic nature means some members are more closely related to derived polyneopteran orders than to each other.

Despite its name suggesting an orthopteran affinity, Protorthoptera is not closely related to modern Orthoptera in a direct linear sense; rather, it represents a grade of basal neopteran organization from which multiple polyneopteran lineages evolved.

• extinct
• fossil
• Carboniferous
• paraphyletic
• basal neoptera
• polyneoptera
• wastebasket taxon

• BugGuide
• Wikipedia
• GBIF taxonomy match
• Catalogue of Life