Recalibration of the insect evolutionary time scale using Monte San Giorgio fossils suggests survival of key lineages through the End-Permian Extinction

A groundbreaking recalibration of the insect evolutionary time scale, using exceptionally preserved 240-million-year-old fossils from Monte San Giorgio, reveals that key insect lineages survived the catastrophic End-Permian Extinction. These findings, derived from phylogenomic dating analysis, push back the origins of major groups like Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies), Hemiptera: Heteroptera (true bugs), and Diptera (flies) by up to 200 million years. The study suggests that critical evolutionary innovations, such as flight and metamorphosis, emerged much earlier than previously thought, challenging long-held assumptions about insect resilience during mass extinction events.

Montagna, M., Tong, K. J., Magoga, G., Strada, L., Tintori, A., Ho, S. Y. W., & Lo, N. (2019). Recalibration of the insect evolutionary time scale using Monte San Giorgio fossils suggests survival of key lineages through the End-Permian Extinction. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 286(1912), 20191854. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.1854