 Description:
The Araripe Basin of Brazil is home to a fantastic array of exquisitely
detailed Early Cretaceous fossils, some of which have been preserved
in three dimensions. While the entire formation has until the last
decade or so been termed the Santana Formation, David Martill has
separated out the slightly older insect-bearing strata as the Nova
Olinda Member of the Crato Formation. Quarrying operations for the
purposes of obtaining paving stones exposes the remarkable insect
fauna in much the same way that quarrying for lithographic limestone
in Solnhofen has afforded a panoply of wonderfully-preserved Jurassic
fossils in Germany. In addition to the many orders of insects, spiders,
scorpions, decapod crustaceans, and many plants have been found.
Interestingly, to date no pterosaurs or terrestrial vertebrates
have been found, in stark contrast to the overlying Santana Formation
deposits.
This fine example
shows a cockroach with its wings extended, frozen in its last flight
for the past 125 million years. Notice the cerci extending from
the rear of the abdomen and the delicate venation of the wings.
Little material from this treasure trove ever becomes available. |
