Insect biodiversityInsect biodiversity accounts for a large proportion of all biodiversity on the planet—over half of the estimated 1.5 million organism species described are classified as insects. Species diversityEstimates of the total number of insect species or those within specific orders are often highly variable.
InsectClass of arthropodsInsects live in a world of motion. This leaf-footed bug climbs windblown grass and flies off.Insects (from Latininsectum) are invertebrates of the classInsecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have an exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and a pair of antennae.
DevonianFourth period of the Paleozoic EraSubdivision of the Devonian according to the ICS, as of 2024Vertical axis scale: Millions of years agoEtymologyName formalityFormalNickname(s)Age of FishesUsage informationCelestial bodyEarthRegional usageGlobal (ICS)Time scale(s) usedICS Time ScaleDefinitionChronological unitPeriodStratigraphic unitSystemTime span formalityFormalLower boundary definitionFAD of the GraptoliteUncinatograptus uniformisLower boundary GSSPKlonk, Czech Republic49°51′18″N13°47′31″E / 49.8550°N 13.7920°E / 49.8550; 13.7920Lower GSSP ratified1972Upper boundary definitionFAD of the ConodontSiphonodella sulcata (discovered to have biostratigraphic issues as of 2006).Upper boundary GSSPLa Serre, Montagne Noire, France43°33′20″N3°21′26″E / 43.5555°N 3.3573°E / 43.5555; 3.3573Upper GSSP ratified1990Atmospheric and climatic dataSea level above present dayRelatively steady around 189 m, gradually falling to 120 m through periodThe Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoicera during the Phanerozoiceon, spanning 60.7 million years from the end of the preceding Silurian period at 419.62 million years ago (Ma), to the beginning of the succeeding Carboniferous period at 358.86 Ma.
PaleontologyPaleontology or palaeontology is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geologic time, and assess the interactions between prehistoric organisms and their natural environment.
EvolutionChange in the heritable traits of populationsEvolution is the change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as genetic drift and natural selection act on genetic variation, resulting in certain characteristics becoming more or less common within a population over successive generations. The process of evolution has given rise to biodiversity at every level of biological organisation.
Terrestrial plantA terrestrial plant is a plant that grows on, in or from land. Other types of plants are aquatic (living in or on water), semiaquatic (living at edge or seasonally in water), epiphytic (living on other plants), and lithophytic (living in or on rocks). The distinction between aquatic and terrestrial plants is often blurred because many terrestrial plants are able to tolerate periodic submersion and many aquatic species have both submersed and emersed forms.
OrdovicianSecond period of the Paleozoic EraSubdivision of the Ordovician according to the ICS, as of 2024.Vertical axis scale: Millions of years agoEtymologyName formalityFormalName ratified1960Usage informationCelestial bodyEarthRegional usageGlobal (ICS)Time scale(s) usedICS Time ScaleDefinitionChronological unitPeriodStratigraphic unitSystemFirst proposed byCharles Lapworth, 1879Time span formalityFormalLower boundary definitionFAD of the ConodontIapetognathus fluctivagusLower boundary GSSPGreenpoint section, Green Point, Newfoundland, Canada49°40′58″N57°57′55″W / 49.6829°N 57.9653°W / 49.6829; -57.9653Lower GSSP ratifiedJanuary 2000Upper boundary definitionFAD of the GraptoliteAkidograptus ascensusUpper boundary GSSPDob's Linn, Moffat, U.K.55°26′24″N3°16′12″W / 55.4400°N 3.2700°W / 55.4400; -3.2700Upper GSSP ratified1984Atmospheric and climatic dataSea level above present day180 m; rising to 220 m in Caradoc and falling sharply to 141 m in end-Ordovician glaciationsThe Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and system, the second of six periods of the PaleozoicEra, and the second of twelve periods of the PhanerozoicEon.
CrustaceanCrustaceans (from Latin word "crustacea" meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are mandibulatearthropods that are traditionally a part of the paraphyleticsubphylumCrustacea (). Crustaceans are mainly aquatic, including decapods (shrimps, prawns, crabs, lobsters, and crayfish), seed shrimps, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, opossum shrimps, amphipods and mantis shrimp.
BioinformaticsComputational analysis of large, complex sets of biological dataEarly bioinformatics—computational alignment of experimentally determined sequences of a class of related proteins; see § Sequence analysis for further information.Map of the human X chromosome (from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) website)Bioinformatics ( ) is an interdisciplinary field of science that develops computational methods and software tools for understanding biological data, especially when the data sets are large and complex.
EmbryologyEmbryology (from Greekἔμβρυον, embryon, 'the unborn, embryo'; and -λογία, -logia) is the branch of zoology that studies the prenatal development of gametes (sex cells), fertilization and development of embryos and fetuses. It is a subset of, and predecessor to, developmental biology. Embryology includes teratology, the study of congenital disorders that occur before birth.
Molecular biologyBranch of biology that studies biological systems at the molecular levelMolecular biology is a branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecular structures and chemical processes that are the basis of biological activity within and between cells. It is centered largely on the study of nucleic acids (such as DNA and RNA) and proteins.
RhyniognathaRhyniognatha 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 ago, when Earth’s first terrestrial ecosystems were being formed. The type, and only species is R. hirsti, which was named and described in 1928.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.