Palaeodictyoptera

Palaeodictyoptera Temporal range: 318–251  Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Late Permian
Reconstruction of Dunbaria fasciipennis
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Superorder:	†Palaeodictyopteroidea
Order:	†Palaeodictyoptera Goldenberg, 1877
Superfamily
Spilapteroidea

The Palaeodictyoptera are an extinct order of medium-sized to very large, primitive Palaeozoic

Overview

They were characterized by beak-like mouthparts, used to pierce plant tissues for feeding. There is a similarity between their fore- and hindwings, and an additional pair of winglets on the prothorax, in front of the first pair of wings. They are known as "six-winged insects" because of the presence of a pair of wings on each of the thoracic segments.^[1][2][3][4] Their winglets provide clues to the origins of the first insect wings.

The

Some types attained huge size. For example, Mazothairos is estimated to have a wingspan of about 55 centimetres (22 in). Another distinctive feature was the presence of unusually long cerci, about twice the length of the abdomen.^[5]

The Palaeodictyoptera are a