Abstract
WHEN Handlirsch completed his great work “Die Fossilen Insekten” in 1908, it was possible to take a wide survey of the problem of fossil insects. The outstanding feature of this was the great gap in our knowledge of Permian and Triassic forms. On one side it was seen that the present type of insect fauna could be traced back with little essential modification right to the English Lias, in which all the chief existing orders of insects are known except the Lepidoptera and Hymenoptera; on the other, there layL the very different Upper Carboniferous faunas of the Age of Giant Insects. The only connecting type common to both was the cockroaches, which are thus seen rightly to merit the name of aristocrats of the insect world, and, like other aristocracies, are in this democratic age a small and disappearing unit. Between these two were known only Permian cockroaches and a few Permian and Triassic types, not enough to enable us to trace a good connexion.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
"Mesozoic Insects of Queensland", R. J. Tillyard, Proceedings Linnean Soc. N.S.W., 1916–1924, 10 parts; various papers on fossils from the Belmont Beds by same author, l.c., 1916–1926; Kansas Permian Insects, American Journal of Science, 9 parts, C. O. Dunbar and R. J. Tillyard, 1923–1926.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
TILLYARD, R. Fossil Insects in Relation to Living Forms. Nature 117, 828–830 (1926). https://doi.org/10.1038/117828a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/117828a0
This article is cited by
-
At last, a Pennsylvanian stem-stonefly (Plecoptera) discovered
BMC Evolutionary Biology (2011)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.