A New Theory of the Evolution of the Insects

Abstract

A CRITICAL study of the various theories extant concerning the origin and evolution of the insects as a class reveals that there is so far no general agreement amongst biologists on the point at issue. Handlirsch derives them direct from Trilobites. A long line of authors champion the theory of derivation from Crustacea; well-known exponents of this theory are Hansen, G. H. Carpenter, and Crampton. Versluys would derive them, with all other Arthropoda, from the Onychophora, by way of the Myriopoda, considering both Trilobites and Crustacea as side-branches which took to the sea. The famous Campodea Theory of Brauer is only one of a number of more or less diverging views which would derive the insects more or less directly from some type of Myriopoda.