Blattida Insect Fossil Class
Insecta,
Order Blattida (cockroach)
Geological
Time: Lower Cretaceous Late Aptian-Cenomanian (108-92 million years
ago)
Size: 22
mm
Fossil
Site: Crato Formation (Santana), Nova Olinda Member, Ceara, Brazil
| 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 preserved in ventral mode. Notice the
exception detail to the pronotum (head shield), and the venation of
the wings. |
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