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Issue: Vol. 8 No. 6: (In progress) November 2025
Type: Article
Published: 2025-12-24
DOI: 10.11646/palaeoentomology.8.6.6
Page range: 661–667
Abstract views: 62
PDF downloaded: 21

A new Triassic insect assemblage from the southern Ordos Basin, Shaanxi, North China

Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing 100037, China; Wuhan Center, China Geological Survey (Geosciences Innovation Center of Central South China), Wuhan 430074, China
Wuhan Center, China Geological Survey (Geosciences Innovation Center of Central South China), Wuhan 430074, China
State Key Laboratory of Geomicrobiology and Environmental Changes, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
State Key Laboratory of Geomicrobiology and Environmental Changes, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
State Key Laboratory of Geomicrobiology and Environmental Changes, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
State Key Laboratory of Geomicrobiology and Environmental Changes, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
State Key Laboratory of Geomicrobiology and Environmental Changes, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
State Key Laboratory of Geomicrobiology and Environmental Changes, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
Triassic entomofauna Ordos Basin Yanchang Formation

Abstract

Insects are among the most diverse and ecologically significant groups in the fossil record, providing key insights into palaeoecology and diversity evolution of terrestrial ecosystems. This study reports a new insect fossil assemblage from the Chang 6 Member of the Yanchang Formation in the Ordos Basin, Huanglong, Shaanxi Province of China. The assemblage is dominated by Hemiptera and Coleoptera, with additional taxa belonging to Blattodea, and Plecoptera. Comparative analyses of entomofaunal composition show that Mesoblattinidae and Cupedidae co-occurred in both the Huanglong and Madygen entomofaunas, whereas Zygophlebiidae and Thaumatomeropidae, characteristic taxa of Madygen, are also documented in the Tongchuan entomofauna, highlighting ecological connectivity among these insect assemblages. The occurrence of Plecoptera (stoneflies), together with lithological evidence, could have indicated stronger hydrodynamic conditions than those of the Tongchuan fauna, consistent with a palaeogeographic scenario of enhanced water mobility during the contraction phase of the Chang 6 Member lacustrine basin. Furthermore, the warm, humid climate and extensive swamp forests of the Middle–Late Triassic likely promoted cross-regional insect dispersal and radiation.

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