Abstract We report the discovery of the first Triassic ‘shielded thrips’ of the family Iotacyphidae, represented by two species: Triassocypha primagen. et sp. nov. and T. secundasp. nov. The species are described and illustrated, and comparisons are made with other stem-Thysanoptera lineages. The unique wing venation of Iotacyphidae and related families is reinterpreted in the light of these new fossils. The venation pattern supports the diagnosis of the family, as well as of higher clades within the broader lineage that includes both thrips and their extinct relatives (in the total group Holothysanoptera, formerly Thripida), and contributes to clarifying the systematics of thrips.