Abstract Orthoptera constitutes an important ecological component of the global fauna, but the order's Early Jurassic record is limited in China and its evolution is poorly understood after the end-Triassic mass extinction. Several orthopterans are described herein from the Lower Jurassic Badaowan and Sangonghe formations of the southern Junggar Basin, Xinjiang, NW China. From the Badaowan Formation, a new species, Parahagla cheni sp. nov., is established and assigned to Chifengiinae (Hagloidea: Prophalangopsidae), which represents the oldest record of this subfamily. From the Sangonghe Formation, a forewing fragment is attributed to Sinagryllus xinjiangensis Wang et al. , 2019 (Grylloidea: Baissogryllidae); another forewing fragment and a metathoracic leg without attribution are also described. The discovery of these fossils increases the biodiversity of Orthoptera in the Early Jurassic, and further indicates that orthopterans probably flourished in the Junggar area during the Early Jurassic. An analysis of orthopteran biodiversity at generic and species levels reveals an extinction in Orthoptera in the Late Triassic, especially for the superfamilies Hagloidea and Oedischioidea, which suffered a substantial extinction. This extinction occurred in the Late Triassic, earlier than the mass extinction of marine animals at the end of the Triassic.

Abstract Studies of Triassic insects in China began in 1956, and, so far, a total of 89 genera and 109 species have been found from the Triassic of China. The fossil records from 17 provinces (or regions) in China are assigned to 11 orders, except for two genera and species considered incertae sedis in Insecta. These Chinese Triassic insects, including one Early Triassic, 53 Middle Triassic and 55 Late Triassic species, are briefly reviewed in taxonomy and distribution, and listed here with detailed taxonomic and stratigraphic information. The Middle Triassic Tongchuan and Late Triassic Toksun entomofaunas are introduced in detail from the perspectives of composition and taxonomy. Existing data indicate that the Chinese Triassic entomofauna is dominated by Hemiptera, Mecoptera and Coleoptera; the Chinese Early Triassic insects are only known from Fuyuan in Yunnan Province, Middle Triassic insects are mainly known from northern China and sporadically from Guizhou Province, southern China, and Late Triassic insects are seen widely in both northern and southern China. The Middle and Late Triassic entomofaunas have a similar abundance but show a pattern of being more common in northern China than in southern China.