RETRODEFORMATION OF FOSSIL INSECT WINGS: A CASE STUDY

The fossil record of Paleozoic and Early Mesozoic insects is dominated by specimens from a few highly productive deposits. In order to most accurately reconstruct paleodiversity of insects and address evolutionary questions, there needs to be consistency in taxonomic interpretations. A possible source of taxonomic inconsistency is the misinterpretation of post-depositional distortion. Where specimens have been distorted, it is important that morphological descriptions be preceded by restoration of the original shape. Because isolated wings have neither inner symmetry nor inner orthogonal axes, morphometric landmark methodology is a tool that can be used to distinguish actual morphospecies. Two tests of the landmark method are conducted based upon described insect material from Moravia (Lower Permian; Czech Republic): one on the representatives of the order Grylloblattida (Neoptera: Polyneoptera), and the second on the representatives of the order Diaphanopterodea (Paleoptera). In order to assess the amount of morphological variation within species, several related, well known, and contemporaneous species are included in the analyses (mainly from the Wellington Formation; Lower Permian; USA). Finally, the actual species as determined by the landmark analyses are outlined, and the taxonomy is reviewed and compared with previous taxonomic treatments. The implications in global paleodiversity studies based on taxonomy are significant, if one considers that nearly 20% of the Lower Permian insect species are from Moravia (EDNA database, by the time of the writing of this abstract).