Ebook: History of Insects

Insects are not dinosaurs – and they probably pose us more strange ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS puzzles and unexpected questions. A million extant species, that is sev- For A. P. Rasnitsyn, preparing of various parts of this book was s- eral times more than all other living taxa together, is still a very c- ported in part by grants: by the International Science Foundation, by servative estimate, and their real number is for sure many times more. the Leverhulme Trust to D. L. J. Quicke and M. G. Fitton; by the Royal They are incomparably diverse in terms of their size, structure and way Society Joint Project with the FSU to APR and E. A. Jarzembowski; by of life – and yet they are all small – by our standard at least – why? And ESF Project ‘Fossil Insects Network’; by RFFI grants 95-04-11105, they practically ignore the cradle of life, the sea – again, why? Of 98-04-48518; by the Smithsonian Institution and California Academy course, some survive and even reproduce in salt water, but nevertheless of Sciences; and by various help, including sharing unpublished very few of them are specialised for marine life.

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This is the first time that a single book has attempted to cover the whole of the fossil history of insects so comprehensively. The volume embraces the history of insect palaeontology, methods for studying fossils, the taphonomic processes leading to their formation, the diagnostic features of all insect orders, both extant and extinct, the major fossils of each order, and the implications that can be drawn from the palaeoentomological record about past ecology and climates. Many new insights are presented.
It is the product principally of the largest palaeoentomological group in the world, in Moscow, and makes full use of the remarkable collection that these workers have developed. It includes a very large number of illustrations showing both real fossils and reconstructions of extinct taxa. The systematic part is treated in a phylogenetic framework, with information on fossil groups being used to help interpret relationships. An appendix provides information on virtually all sites where fossil insects have been found.

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This is the first time that a single book has attempted to cover the whole of the fossil history of insects so comprehensively. The volume embraces the history of insect palaeontology, methods for studying fossils, the taphonomic processes leading to their formation, the diagnostic features of all insect orders, both extant and extinct, the major fossils of each order, and the implications that can be drawn from the palaeoentomological record about past ecology and climates. Many new insights are presented.
It is the product principally of the largest palaeoentomological group in the world, in Moscow, and makes full use of the remarkable collection that these workers have developed. It includes a very large number of illustrations showing both real fossils and reconstructions of extinct taxa. The systematic part is treated in a phylogenetic framework, with information on fossil groups being used to help interpret relationships. An appendix provides information on virtually all sites where fossil insects have been found.
Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xii
Introduction to Palaeoentomology....Pages 1-63
Class Insecta Linne, 1758. The Insects (=Scarabaeoda Laicharting, 1781)....Pages 65-324
General Features of Insect History....Pages 325-435
Appendix: Alphabetic List of Selected Insect Fossil Sites....Pages 437-446
Back Matter....Pages 447-517

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This is the first time that a single book has attempted to cover the whole of the fossil history of insects so comprehensively. The volume embraces the history of insect palaeontology, methods for studying fossils, the taphonomic processes leading to their formation, the diagnostic features of all insect orders, both extant and extinct, the major fossils of each order, and the implications that can be drawn from the palaeoentomological record about past ecology and climates. Many new insights are presented.
It is the product principally of the largest palaeoentomological group in the world, in Moscow, and makes full use of the remarkable collection that these workers have developed. It includes a very large number of illustrations showing both real fossils and reconstructions of extinct taxa. The systematic part is treated in a phylogenetic framework, with information on fossil groups being used to help interpret relationships. An appendix provides information on virtually all sites where fossil insects have been found.
Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xii
Introduction to Palaeoentomology....Pages 1-63
Class Insecta Linne, 1758. The Insects (=Scarabaeoda Laicharting, 1781)....Pages 65-324
General Features of Insect History....Pages 325-435
Appendix: Alphabetic List of Selected Insect Fossil Sites....Pages 437-446
Back Matter....Pages 447-517
....