Two Middle-Late Triassic entomofaunas found in China provided not only the earliest known records of several modern insect elements, but also new insights into the early evolution of freshwater ecosystems. This study confirms that holometabolous and aquatic insects experienced extraordinary diversification about 237 million years ago.

Reference: ZHENG Daran et al., 2018, Middle-Late Triassic insect radiation revealed by diverse fossils and isotopic ages from China, Science Advances, 4: eaat1380. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aat1380.