Disparification and extinction trade-offs shaped the evolution of Permian to Jurassic Odonata

Isabelle Deregnaucourt; Jérémie Bardin; Loïc Villier; Romain Julliard; Olivier Béthoux

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2023.107420

Disparification and extinction trade-offs shaped the evolution of Permian to Jurassic Odonata

iScience. 2023 Jul 21;26(8):107420. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107420. eCollection 2023 Aug 18.

Authors

Isabelle Deregnaucourt^{1

2}, Jérémie Bardin¹, Loïc Villier¹, Romain Julliard², Olivier Béthoux¹

Affiliations

¹ Centre de Recherche en Paléontologie - Paris (CR2P), Sorbonne Université, MNHN, CNRS, 57 rue Cuvier, CP38, F-75005 Paris, France.
² Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la Conservation (CESCO), Sorbonne Université, MNHN, CNRS, 43 rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France.

Abstract

Owing to their prevalence in nowadays terrestrial ecosystems, insects are a relevant group to assess the impact of mass extinctions on emerged land. However, limitations of the insect fossil record make it difficult to assess the impact of such events based on taxonomic diversity alone. Therefore, we documented trends in morphological diversity, i.e., disparity, using wings of Permian to Jurassic Odonata as model. Our results show a decreasing trend in disparity while species richness increased. Both the Permian-Triassic and Triassic-Jurassic transitions are revealed as important events, associated with strong morphospace restructuring due to selective extinction. In each case, a recovery was assured by the diversification of new forms compensating the loss of others. Early representatives of Odonata continuously evolved new shapes, a pattern contrasting with the classical assertion of a morphospace fulfilled early and followed by selective extinctions and specialization within it.

Keywords: Entomology; Evolutionary biology; Paleobiology.