Uncommon Dasyleptus Mazon Creek Monuran Insect Fossil

Description: The Mazon Creek deposits of the region near Braidwood, Illinois rival the other famous Lagerstatten of the Burgess Shale, Solnhofen, and Liaoning for the variety of detailed life preserved. Many exquisitely-preserved specimens are found in the ironstone nodules that make up the deposits. This fine example is a member of the Monura known as Dasyleptus. The Monura are members of the stem-group Archaeognatha, and comes from Mazon Creek itself. There are some who believe that all Monura are actually members of the Cercopodata, but until such time as the taxonomy has been clearly established, I will use the term Monura. Part of the difficulty lies in the fact that few fossil Archaeognatha are known, making their study problematic. I have recently been able to procure specimens from a family who has been collecting this material in the field for three generations, and will continue posting material as it becomes available to me. I have included an representation of what this one is thought to have looked like.