Carboniferous
Guides
Diplostraca
water fleas, clam shrimps
Diplostraca is a superorder of small branchiopod crustaceans encompassing over 1,000 described species, commonly known as water fleas and clam shrimps. Members range from 0.2 to 6.0 mm in length (with Leptodora reaching 18 mm), and are characterized by a folded bivalved carapace covering an unsegmented-appearing body. The group exhibits cyclical parthenogenesis, alternating between asexual and sexual reproduction to produce dormant eggs. While predominantly freshwater, eight species have colonized marine environments—the only branchiopods to do so.
Protorthoptera
Protorthoptera is an extinct order of Palaeozoic insects first appearing in the Middle Carboniferous (late Serpukhovian or early Bashkirian). It represents a paraphyletic assemblage of basal neopteran insects rather than a true monophyletic group. The order includes the ancestors of all other polyneopterous insects. Pronotal lobes in some forms were expanded to form a shield-like structure.