Palaeoentomology in Russia


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This is the web-site of the Laboratory of Arthropods, Palaeontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow

Fossil insect studies in Russia started just before the establishment of the Palaeontological Institute. They were initiated by a renowned entomologist A.V. Martynov, who became a founder of the Laboratory of Entomology in this Institute. During the years of its existence, the Laboratory of Arthropods accumulated the most extensive collection of fossil insects and arachnids comprising approximately 200 000 specimens and being one of the best collections in the World. Hundreds of fossil-bearing sites have been discovered and studied in detail for the first time; they include such unique faunistic and preservational Lagerstaetten as Permian Tshekarda and Soyana, Triassic Madygen and Dzhailaucho, Jurassic Karatau, Cretaceous Baissa and Bon-Tsagaan, and Late Cretaceous amber-like resins of Taimyr. From the origin of the Laboratory until the present day, research is mainly focused on phylogeny. For the first time in palaeoentomology, the Laboratory staff turned towards a deep investigation of the history of larger taxa, mainly those of the order rank, from the point of their appearance in the palaeontological record instead of investigaton of local faunas. The geological history of some orders (dragonflies and damselflies, mayflies, bugs, beetles, true flies, caddisflies, wasps, orthopterans, grylloblattids, stoneflies) has been traced comprehensively, and new phylogenetic schemes put major changes in previous opinions...   >>>


 News:
       November 16, 2016 We have lost Yuri Popov...

       December 9, 2014The file contains a database on the arthropods' records from Cretaceous resins of the World. The base is built up as by members of Arthropoda Laboratory of PIN RAS as a part of RFBR project 12-04-01177 (Succession and scale of changes in the Cretaceous non-marine biotas as displayed worldwide by fossil resins). The database mainly contains information on the texonomy and geological distribution of published and new (preliminarily) records of arthropods from Cretaceous resins and, in some cases, beyond. On Dec. 08, 2014 the base contains entries for 2200 arthropod species, 1823 genera, 532 families, 164 localities and 888 references
       January 23, 2009First Circular of the 5th International Conference FossilsX3 published.
       August 25, 2008 A.P. Rasnitsyn awarded a Distinguished Research Medal of the International Society of Hymenopterists.
    May 19, 2008Introduction into palaeoentomology has been published.
    January 16, 2008―A reputed Russian palaeontologist and entomologist Alex Ponomarenko celebrated his 70th birthday.
    October 17, 2006―Our friend and colleague Vadim Grachev passed away.

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E-mail: palaeoentomolog@mail.ru
Postal address: Arthropod Lab, Paleontological Institute
123 Profsoyuznaya Str., Moscow 117997, RUSSIA
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