Protophasma Explained

Protophasma (meaning "first phantom") is an extinct genus of Protorthopteran insect from the Carboniferous of Europe and North America.

Description

Three species of Protophasma are described, type species, Protophasma dumasii (sometimes mistyped as P. dumasi) is known from Late Carboniferous (Stephanian) Coal Measures of Commentry, France.^[1] Protophasma galtieri is known from Mazon Creek fossil beds in Illinois,^[2] and Protophasma multidiffusa, originally described as Heterologellus (?) multidiffusus, is known from Germany.^[3] Previously assigned species, P. gaudryi later moved to the genus Protodiamphipnoa, and P. woodwardi moved into genus Cnemidolestes.^[4]

P. dumasii have forewings with morphology that allows the assignment of Archaeorthoptera, but hindwings have morphological similarity to Blattodea.

Sources

• Evolution of the Insects by David Grimaldi and Michael S. Engel

Notes and References

1. Béthoux . O. . 2003 . https://bioone.org/journals/journal-of-orthoptera-research/volume-12/issue-1/1082-6467_2003_012_0057_PDBALB_2.0.CO_2/Protophasma-dumasii-Brongniart-1879-a-link-between-Orthoptera-and-the/10.1665/1082-6467(2003)012[0057:PDBALB2.0.CO;2.full Protophasma dumasii Brongniart 1879, a link between Orthoptera and the ‘dictyopterid’ orders? ]. Journal of Orthoptera Research . 12 . 1 . 57–62 . 10.1665/1082-6467(2003)012[0057:PDBALB]2.0.CO;2 . 1082-6467. free .
2. Web site: Fossilworks: Protophasma galtieri . 2022-05-13 . www.fossilworks.org.
3. Aristov . D. . 2015-11-01 . Classification of the order eoblattida (insecta: Blattidea) with description of new taxa . Far Eastern Entomologist . V. 301.
4. Béthoux . O. . Nel . A. . 2005-01-01 . Some palaeozoic ‘protorthoptera’ are ‘ancestral’ orthopteroids: Major wing braces as clues to a new split among the ‘protorthoptera’ (Insecta) . Journal of Systematic Palaeontology . 2 . 4 . 285–309 . 10.1017/S1477201904001488 . 1477-2019.