Protophasma

Extinct genus of insects

Protophasma Temporal range: Carboniferous

Protophasma dumasii
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Hexapoda
Class:	Insecta
Superorder:	Orthopterida
Order:	incertae sedis
Family:	Protophasmatidae
Genus:	Protophasma Brongniart, 1878
Species
P. dumasii P. galtieri P. multidiffusa

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.^[1]

Sources

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Protophasma.

^ ^a ^b Béthoux, O. (2003). "Protophasma dumasii Brongniart 1879, a link between Orthoptera and the 'dictyopterid' orders?". Journal of Orthoptera Research. 12 (1): 57–62. doi:10.1665/1082-6467(2003)012[0057:PDBALB]2.0.CO;2. ISSN 1082-6467.
^ "Fossilworks: Protophasma galtieri". www.fossilworks.org. Retrieved 2022-05-13.
^ Aristov, D. (2015-11-01). "Classification of the order eoblattida (insecta: Blattidea) with description of new taxa". Far Eastern Entomologist. V. 301.
^ 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. doi:10.1017/S1477201904001488. ISSN 1477-2019.