Incredibly Well Preserved Cockroach Insect Fossil

Dictyoptera indet. (Cockroach Fossil)

Insect Order Dictyoptera

Geological Time: Lower Cretaceous (125 million years ago)

Size (25.4 mm = 1 inch): Cockroach: 20 mm long 33 mm across Matrix: 90 mm by 60 mm

Fossil Site: Yixian Formation, Chaoyang, Liaoning Province of China


Insect FossilDescription: The Class Insecta is well represented in Liaoning and Hebei Provinces of China, with over 500 species referable to over 100 families based upon over 10,000 specimens. This fantastic diversity and exquisite detail is unprecedented throughout the world. The most obvious example is a large, detailed member of the Dictyoptera, or Cockroaches. Notice the incredible detail in the venation of the wings. The many freshwater clams as well as three Ephemeroptera larvae (to left) present are indications of the aquatic environment in which these types of specimens were preserved. There is one repaired matrix crack which does little to detract from this one which appears to have been caught in flight over the lake.

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l Paleontology & Fossils l Paleobiology and Geologic Timeline l
l Fossil Amber l Ammonite Fossils l Dinosaur and Reptile Fossils l Fossil Kits l
l Crinoids and Echinoderms l Fish Fossils l Fossil Dealers l Insect Fossils l Invertebrate Fossils l
l Plant Fossils l Stromatolites l Trace & Ichnofossils l Trilobite Fossils l Vertebrate Fossils l