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Rhyniella Praecursor
''Rhyniella'' is a genus of fossil springtails (Collembola) from the Rhynie chert, which formed during the Pragian stage of the Early Devonian. One species has been described, ''Rhyniella praecursor''. For some time it was believed to be the only hexapod from the Early Devonian ( ). It was once considered to be the same animal as '' Rhyniognatha''.R. J. Tillyard. 1928. Some remarks on the Devonian fossil insects from the Rhynie chert beds, Old Red Sandstone. ''Transactions of the Entomological Society of London'' 76:65-71 History Its remains were discovered in 1919. Reconstructed from the scattered bits and pieces of its exoskeleton, ''R. praecursor'' was described in 1926, and at first believed to be a larval insect. Mouthparts initially assigned to ''R. praecursor'' were redescribed as '' Rhyniognatha hirsti'' in 1928. In later studies, ''Rhyniognatha hirsti'' was found to be an insect or myriapod Myriapods () are the members of subphylum Myriapoda, containing arthropods ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Early Devonian
The Early Devonian is the first of three Epoch (geology), epochs comprising the Devonian period, corresponding to the Lower Devonian Series (stratigraphy), series. It lasted from and began with the Lochkovian Stage , which was followed by the Pragian from and then by the Emsian, which lasted until the Middle Devonian began, . During this time, the first Ammonoidea, ammonoids appeared, descending from Bactritida, bactritoid Nautiloidea, nautiloids. Ammonoids during this time period were simple and differed little from their nautiloid counterparts. These ammonoids belong to the order Agoniatitida, which in later epochs evolved to new ammonoid orders, for example Goniatite, Goniatitida and Clymeniida. This class of cephalopod molluscs would dominate the marine fauna until the beginning of the Mesozoic Era. References {{Geological history Early Devonian, Geological epochs Devonian geochronology, *01 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved in amber, hair, petrified wood and DNA remnants. The totality of fossils is known as the ''fossil record''. Paleontology is the study of fossils: their age, method of formation, and evolutionary significance. Specimens are usually considered to be fossils if they are over 10,000 years old. The oldest fossils are around 3.48 billion years old to 4.1 billion years old. Early edition, published online before print. The observation in the 19th century that certain fossils were associated with certain rock strata led to the recognition of a geological timescale and the relative ages of different fossils. The development of radiometric dating techniques in the early 20th century allowed scientists to quantitatively measure the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Springtail
Springtails (Collembola) form the largest of the three lineages of modern hexapods that are no longer considered insects (the other two are the Protura and Diplura). Although the three orders are sometimes grouped together in a class called Entognatha because they have internal mouthparts, they do not appear to be any more closely related to one another than they are to all insects, which have external mouthparts. Collembolans are omnivorous, free-living organisms that prefer moist conditions. They do not directly engage in the decomposition of organic matter, but contribute to it indirectly through the fragmentation of organic matter and the control of soil microbial communities. The word ''Collembola'' is from the ancient Greek "glue" and "peg"; this name was given due to the existence of the collophore, which was previously thought to stick to surfaces to stabilize the creature. Some DNA sequence studies suggest that Collembola represent a separate evolutionary line fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Collembola
Springtails (Collembola) form the largest of the three lineages of modern hexapods that are no longer considered insects (the other two are the Protura and Diplura). Although the three orders are sometimes grouped together in a class called Entognatha because they have internal mouthparts, they do not appear to be any more closely related to one another than they are to all insects, which have external mouthparts. Collembolans are omnivorous, free-living organisms that prefer moist conditions. They do not directly engage in the decomposition of organic matter, but contribute to it indirectly through the fragmentation of organic matter and the control of soil microbial communities. The word ''Collembola'' is from the ancient Greek "glue" and "peg"; this name was given due to the existence of the collophore, which was previously thought to stick to surfaces to stabilize the creature. Some DNA sequence studies suggest that Collembola represent a separate evolutionary line fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhynie Chert
The Rhynie chert is a Lower Devonian sedimentary deposit exhibiting extraordinary fossil detail or completeness (a Lagerstätte). It is exposed near the village of Rhynie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland; a second unit, the Windyfield chert, is located some 700 m away. The Rhynie chert contains exceptionally preserved plant, fungus, lichen and animal material preserved in place by an overlying volcanic deposit. The bulk of the Devonian fossil bed consists of primitive plants (which had water-conducting cells and sporangia, but no true leaves), along with arthropods, lichens, algae and fungi. This fossil bed is remarkable for two reasons. First, the age of the site ( Pragian, Early Devonian, formed about ) places it at an early stage in the colonisation of land. Second, these cherts are famous for their exceptional state of ultrastructural preservation, with individual cell walls easily visible in polished specimens. Stomata have been counted and lignin remnants detected in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pragian
The Pragian is one of three faunal stages in the Early Devonian Epoch. It lasted from 410.8 ± 2.8 million years ago to 407.6 ± 2.8 million years ago. It was preceded by the Lochkovian Stage and followed by the Emsian Stage. The most important Lagerstätte of the Pragian is Rhynie chert in Scotland. It is named after the city of Prague. The GSSP is located within the Prague Formation at Velká Chuchle, Prague. In North America the Pragian Stage is represented by Siegenian or Deerparkian time. Pragian life The first ammonoids (order Agoniatitida) appeared in later parts of this stage (at the lower boundary of the Zlichovian stage as it was known in Siberian representations). They were descended from bactritoid nautiloid Nautiloids are a group of marine cephalopods ( Mollusca) which originated in the Late Cambrian and are represented today by the living ''Nautilus'' and ''Allonautilus''. Fossil nautiloids are diverse and speciose, with over 2,500 recorded species ... ances ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hexapoda
The subphylum Hexapoda (from Greek for 'six legs') comprises most species of arthropods and includes the insects as well as three much smaller groups of wingless arthropods: Collembola, Protura, and Diplura (all of these were once considered insects). The Collembola (or springtails) are very abundant in terrestrial environments. ''Hexapods'' are named for their most distinctive feature: a consolidated thorax with three pairs of legs (six legs). Most other arthropods have more than three pairs of legs. Most recent studies have recovered Hexapoda as a subgroup of Crustacea. Morphology Hexapods have bodies ranging in length from 0.5 mm to over 300 mm which are divided into an anterior head, thorax, and posterior abdomen. The head is composed of a presegmental ''acron'' that usually bears eyes (absent in Protura and Diplura), followed by six segments, all closely fused together, with the following appendages: :Segment I. None :Segment II. Antennae (sensory), absent in Pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhyniognatha
''Rhyniognatha'' is an extinct genus of arthropod of disputed placement. It has been considered in some analyses as the oldest insect known, as well as possibly being a flying insect. ''Rhyniognatha'' is known from a partial head with preserved mouthparts from the Early Devonian aged Rhynie chert around 400 million years old, when Earth’s first terrestrial ecosystems were being formed. The type, and only species is ''R. hirsti'', which was named and described in 1928.R. J. Tillyard. 1928. Some remarks on the Devonian fossil insects from the Rhynie chert beds, Old Red Sandstone. ''Transactions of the Entomological Society of London'' 76:65-71 Other analyses have interpreted the specimen as a myriapod. Evidence The head part of a specimen, preserved in a fragment of Rhynie Chert, was collected in 1919 by the Reverend W. Cran, who provided it to S. Hirst, Samarendra Maulik and D.J. Scourfield. Hirst and Maulik published a report in 1926; in it they described '' Rhyniella praecurso ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Larva
A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The larva's appearance is generally very different from the adult form (''e.g.'' caterpillars and butterflies) including different unique structures and organs that do not occur in the adult form. Their diet may also be considerably different. Larvae are frequently adapted to different environments than adults. For example, some larvae such as tadpoles live almost exclusively in aquatic environments, but can live outside water as adult frogs. By living in a distinct environment, larvae may be given shelter from predators and reduce competition for resources with the adult population. Animals in the larval stage will consume food to fuel their transition into the adult form. In some organisms like polychaetes and barnacles, adults are immobil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Insect
Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes and one pair of antennae. Their blood is not totally contained in vessels; some circulates in an open cavity known as the haemocoel. Insects are the most diverse group of animals; they include more than a million described species and represent more than half of all known living organisms. The total number of extant species is estimated at between six and ten million; In: potentially over 90% of the animal life forms on Earth are insects. Insects may be found in nearly all environments, although only a small number of species reside in the oceans, which are dominated by another arthropod group, crustaceans, which recent research has indicated insects are nested within. Nearly all insects hatch from eggs. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Insect Mouthparts
Insects have mouthparts that may vary greatly across insect species, as they are adapted to particular modes of feeding. The earliest insects had chewing mouthparts. Most specialisation of mouthparts are for piercing and sucking, and this mode of feeding has evolved a number of times idependently. For example, mosquitoes and aphids (which are true bugs) both pierce and suck, however female mosquitoes feed on animal blood whereas aphids feed on plant fluids. Evolution Like most external features of arthropods, the mouthparts of Hexapoda are highly derived. Insect mouthparts show a multitude of different functional mechanisms across the wide diversity of insect species. It is common for significant homology to be conserved, with matching structures forming from matching primordia, and having the same evolutionary origin. However, even if structures are almost physically and functionally identical, they may not be homologous; their analogous functions and appearance might be the pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhyniognatha Hirsti
''Rhyniognatha'' is an extinct genus of arthropod of disputed placement. It has been considered in some analyses as the oldest insect known, as well as possibly being a flying insect. ''Rhyniognatha'' is known from a partial head with preserved mouthparts from the Early Devonian aged Rhynie chert around 400 million years old, when Earth’s first terrestrial ecosystems were being formed. The type, and only species is ''R. hirsti'', which was named and described in 1928.R. J. Tillyard. 1928. Some remarks on the Devonian fossil insects from the Rhynie chert beds, Old Red Sandstone. ''Transactions of the Entomological Society of London'' 76:65-71 Other analyses have interpreted the specimen as a myriapod. Evidence The head part of a specimen, preserved in a fragment of Rhynie Chert, was collected in 1919 by the Reverend W. Cran, who provided it to S. Hirst, Samarendra Maulik and D.J. Scourfield. Hirst and Maulik published a report in 1926; in it they described '' Rhyniella praecurso ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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