Martynov became interested in studying fossil insects during the early 1920s. The Scientist Keeper at the Zoological Museum RAS, he already was a well known zoologist, an expert on the taxonomy and ecology of caddisflies, stoneflies, and Gammaridae. His research on the wing structure and phylogeny of major insect groups posed questions that could only be answered by studying the actual documents of insect evolution–their fossils. So, he began to study a small collection of fossil insects described by Anton Handlirsch and kept at the Geological Museum, St. Petersburg.

In 1924 and 1925 Martynov collected numerous Jurassic insects in the mountains of Karatau, southern Kazakhstan, and in 1926 Permian insects at the Kama River (the Silent Mountains site). Since then he started his fossil insect studies. About that time he gets a second position as the head of the Arthropoda Department at the Geological Museum. Later his department became part of the Paleontological Institute. In 1928 Martynov presented a report on fossil insects at the 4th International Congress of Entomology in Ithaca, United States. In 1933 he was awarded a doctoral degree in biological sciences and the Professor title.

Martynov moved from the Zoological Institute to the Paleontological Institute in 1935, and in 1936 he moved to Moscow. Unfortunately, the new period of his career was very brief and overshadowed by a serious illness. During his last two years the first, small group of paleoentomologists formed at the Institute: Elena Becker-Migdisova, an expert on Hemiptera, joined Martynov in 1936, and Boris Rohdendorf, an expert on Diptera, in 1937.

Martynov and other paleoentomologists, especially M.D. and Yu.M. Zalessky, discovered in Russia over 50 localities and at least ten rich and diverse faunas of fossil insects. These discoveries radically altered the state of knowledge of fossil insects in our country, where only some ten localities and two rich entomofaunas had been previously known. Martynov studied these Permian insect faunas and described numerous taxa that characterized them. He compared the Permian fauna of Chekarda in the Urals with that of Elmo, Kansas and demonstrated their similarity.

Martynov’s extensive studies of fossil insects became a basis for his studies of the insect classification and phylogeny. He published two fundamental papers, on Polyneoptera and Palaeoptera, the latter being the first part of his intended compendium on the phylogeny of fossil insects.

Martynov was convinced that insect fossils should be studied by experts on modern insect orders. He invited such researchers to join the staff of the Institute or recruited experts from other institutions, especially the Zoological Institute, to describe fossils. Martynov drew attention of geologists to insects as stratigraphically important fossils, and soon a stream of specimens from all over the country began flowing to the Institute. The ideas of Martynov determined the direction of palaeoentomology research at the Institute for many years ahead. For these reasons, Andrey Vasilyevich Martynov is justly regarded as the founder of the Soviet and Russian palaeoentomological school.

Obituary

Carpenter F.M. 1938. Andreas Vassilievitch Martynov. Psyche 45: 80-83 pdf

List of publications, see

Martynova O.M. 1990. On the entomologist A.V. Martynov (1879–1938). Latvijas Entomologs 33: 111-124 [in Russian] pdf

Selected papers

Martynov A.B. 1925. Uber zwei Grundtypen der Flugel bei den Insecten und ihre Evolution. Zeitschrift fur Morphologie und Okologie der Tiere 4: 465-501 pdf

Martynov A. 1925. To the knowledge of fossil insects from Jurassic beds in Turkestan. 1. Raphidioptera. Bulletin de l'Academie des Sciences de Russie. VI serie, 1925, 19(6-8): 233–246 pdf

Martynov A. 1925. To the knowledge of fossil insects from Jurassic beds in Turkestan. 2. Raphidioptera (continued), Orthoptera (s.1.), Odonata, Neuroptera. Bulletin de l'Academie des Sciences de Russie. VI serie, 1925, 19(12-15): 569–598 pdf

Martynov A. 1925. To the knowledge of fossil insects from Jurassic beds in Turkestan. 3. Hymenoptera, Mecoptera. Bulletin de l'Academie des Sciences de Russie. VI serie, 1925, 19(16-17): 753–762 pdf

Martynov A. 1927. Jurassic fossil Insects from Turkestan. 6. Homoptera and Psocoptera. Bulletin de l'Academie des Sciences de l'URSS. VI serie, 1926, 20(13-14): 1349–1366 pdf

Martynov A. 1927. Jurassic fossil Mecoptera and Paratrichoptera from Turkestan and Ust-Balei (Siberia). Bulletin de l'Academie des Sciences de l'URSS. VI serie, 1927, 21(4): 651–666 pdf

Martynov A. 1927. Jurassic fossil Insects from Turkestan. 7. Some Odonata, Neuroptera, Thysanoptera. Bulletin de l'Academie des Sciences de l'URSS. VI serie, 1927, 21(5): 757–768 pdf

Martynov A. 1927. Uber eine Neue Ordnung der fossilen Insekten, Miomoptera nov. Zoologischer Anzeiger 72(3/4): 99–109 pdf

Martynov A. 1930. Permian fossil insects from Tikhije gory. Order Miomoptera. First Part. Bulletin de l'Academie des Sciences de l'URSS. VII serie, 1930, no. 9: 951–975 pdf

Martynov AV. 1930. The interpretation of the wing venation and tracheation of the Odonata and Agnatha. Translated, with an introductory note, by F. M. Carptenter. Psyche 37: 245-280 pdf

Martynov A. 1931. On some new remarkable Odonata from the Permian of Archangelsk district. Bulletin de l'Academie des Sciences de l'URSS. Classe des sciences mathematiques et naturelles 1931, no. 1: 141–147 pdf

Martynov A. 1933. On the Permian family Archescytinidae (Homoptera) and its relationships. Bulletin de l'Academie des Sciences de l'URSS. Classe des sciences mathematiques et naturelles 1933, no. 6: 883–894 pdf

Martynov A.B. 1935. Three fossil insects from the Koltchugian series of the Kusnetzk basin. Bulletin de l'Academie des Sciences de l'URSS. Classe des sciences mathematiques et naturelles 1935, no. 3: 441–448 pdf

Martynov AV. 1938. Essays on geological history and phylogeny of insect orders (Pterygota). Pt. I. Palaeoptera and Neoptera-Polyneoptera. Travaux de l’Institut Paleontologique de l’Academie des Sciences de l’URSS 7(4): 1-149 [in Russian] pdf

Martynov AV. 1940. Permian fossil insects from Tshekarda. Travaux de l’Institut Paleontologique de l’Academie des Sciences de l’URSS 11(1): 1-62 pdf