Entomologists reconstructed the origin and relationships of winged insects. According to the study's results, their common ancestor existed approximately at the beginning of the Devonian period.
After this clade, it split into two main groups: ancient-winged insects, which include dragonflies and mayflies, and new-winged insects, which encompass all other types of winged insects. Notably, the process of wing evolution in these two evolutionary branches proceeded independently.
In ancient-winged representatives, the wings acquired a rigid structure, which contributed to improving flight quality. Meanwhile, new-winged insects developed the ability to fold their wings along their abdomen, which provided this group with significantly greater adaptability to various environmental conditions.
The results of this scientific work were officially published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.