Late Paleozoic–Early Mesozoic Insects: State of the Art on Paleoentomological Studies in Southern South America

Abstract

A state of the art of the insects collected and described from different Permian and Triassic units in South America is given, accompanied by their brief historical record (e.g., collectors, taxonomic revision) and new high-quality photos in color. Likewise, we succinctly provide data on the paleodiversity and paleoecology of the entomological assemblages from the different units. Finally, we discuss the South American paleoentomological records in relation to equivalent deposits worldwide. The thorough, updated review of fossil insect faunas in this paper will help settling the bases for future taxonomic, diversity, and ecological studies during a time that comprised the evolutionary history of insects through two key episodes of the geological record: the end-Permian mass extinction (EPME, ~252 Ma) and the Carnian Pluvial Event (CPE, ~234-232 Ma).