A new assessment of Rhyniella, the earliest known insect, from the Devonian of Rhynie, Scotland

Four Rhyniella praecursor head capsules and roughly ten additional Rhynie-chert body specimens, including an abdomen with a springtail-like furcula, support collembolan affinity without establishing the origin, global first appearance or ecology of Hexapoda.

The Early Hexapoda evidence route navigation entity is source-linked only to the named specimen, dataset and analysis dossiers already cited by its range ledger. Its displayed span is a study-bounded route or sample envelope, not a biological taxon, ancestor sequence, global FAD/LAD or exact origin interval.

Rhyniella praecursor is bounded here by four head capsules and roughly ten additional body specimens from the Rhynie Chert, Aberdeenshire, Scotland; this named specimen series is not a complete species history or global range.

The reassessed Rhynie Chert material is treated as Rhyniella praecursor, a springtail sample whose furcula supports collembolan affinity; this does not establish a direct ancestor or a complete Hexapoda history.

The profiled Rhyniella material is restricted to the Rhynie Chert in Aberdeenshire, Scotland; this locality sample does not establish a complete geographic distribution.

The described head capsules, body specimens and furcula provide anatomical context, but they do not directly record diet, habitat use, locomotor performance, body-size variation or ecological guild.

Four Rhyniella head capsules and roughly ten additional body specimens include an abdomen with a springtail-like furcula; those observations are confined to the described material.