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How many insect orders lived during the Permian Period?
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Permian Period
Distribution of landmasses, mountainous regions, shallow seas, and deep ocean basins near the end of the Permian Period. Included in the paleogeographic reconstruction are the locations of the interval's subduction zones.
During the Permian Period, insects underwent rapid evolution and diversification as they adapted to new habitats and formed specialized associations with plants. The fossil record indicates that there were at least 23 insect orders present during this time, 11 of which are now extinct.1