Deposits with exceptional preservation (re-)discovered in recent decades have led to a Renaissance of fossil insect research around the world. Konservat-Lagerstätten such as the Triassic Tongchuan and Karamay faunas in China, the mid-Jurassic Daohugou biota, the Early Cretaceous Jehol biota and Crato fossil beds, mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber from Myanmar, and Eocene Baltic amber in northern Europe, have yielded tens of thousands of exquisitely preserved fossils that offer unparalleled insights into the pattern and timescale of the evolution of the most diverse animal group – the hexapods.
We aim to present systematic research investigating the diversity of fossil insects and what they can tell us about the origin and evolution of living groups. We are further interested in integrative papers that place fossil taxa into a phylogenetic context, and/or utilize fossil insect datasets to interrogate broader macroevolutionary questions. By doing so, we hope to capture the state of the art in palaeoentomology, encourage the expression of a wide range of existing views regarding current controversies in insect evolution, and identify fruitful areas for further research.
We aim to present systematic research investigating the diversity of fossil insects and what they can tell us about the origin and evolution of living groups. We are further interested in integrative papers that place fossil taxa into a phylogenetic context, and/or utilize fossil insect datasets to interrogate broader macroevolutionary questions. By doing so, we hope to capture the state of the art in palaeoentomology, encourage the expression of a wide range of existing views regarding current controversies in insect evolution, and identify fruitful areas for further research.
Potential topics include (but are not limited to):
• Insect taxa from deposits with exceptional preservation, especially Mesozoic and Cenozoic ambers, placed within a broader phylogenetic context.
• Phylogenetic studies integrating fossil groups alongside their extant relatives.
• Macroevolutionary studies exploring the fossil record of hexapods.
• Paleontological methods enabling the study of exceptionally preserved specimens in fossil resins.
• Taphonomic work exploring the biases and controls of exceptional preservation of terrestrial arthropods.
*This Research Topic has been put together in collaboration with the researchers Yan-Da Li (Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology) and Erik Tihelka (University of Bristol).
Deposits with exceptional preservation (re-)discovered in recent decades have led to a Renaissance of fossil insect research around the world. Konservat-Lagerstätten such as the Triassic Tongchuan and Karamay faunas in China, the mid-Jurassic Daohugou biota, the Early Cretaceous Jehol biota and Crato fossil beds, mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber from Myanmar, and Eocene Baltic amber in northern Europe, have yielded tens of thousands of exquisitely preserved fossils that offer unparalleled insights into the pattern and timescale of the evolution of the most diverse animal group – the hexapods.
We aim to present systematic research investigating the diversity of fossil insects and what they can tell us about the origin and evolution of living groups. We are further interested in integrative papers that place fossil taxa into a phylogenetic context, and/or utilize fossil insect datasets to interrogate broader macroevolutionary questions. By doing so, we hope to capture the state of the art in palaeoentomology, encourage the expression of a wide range of existing views regarding current controversies in insect evolution, and identify fruitful areas for further research.
We aim to present systematic research investigating the diversity of fossil insects and what they can tell us about the origin and evolution of living groups. We are further interested in integrative papers that place fossil taxa into a phylogenetic context, and/or utilize fossil insect datasets to interrogate broader macroevolutionary questions. By doing so, we hope to capture the state of the art in palaeoentomology, encourage the expression of a wide range of existing views regarding current controversies in insect evolution, and identify fruitful areas for further research.
Potential topics include (but are not limited to):
• Insect taxa from deposits with exceptional preservation, especially Mesozoic and Cenozoic ambers, placed within a broader phylogenetic context.
• Phylogenetic studies integrating fossil groups alongside their extant relatives.
• Macroevolutionary studies exploring the fossil record of hexapods.
• Paleontological methods enabling the study of exceptionally preserved specimens in fossil resins.
• Taphonomic work exploring the biases and controls of exceptional preservation of terrestrial arthropods.
*This Research Topic has been put together in collaboration with the researchers Yan-Da Li (Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology) and Erik Tihelka (University of Bristol).