Ancient Insect Genitals Found in 50-Million-Year-Old Fossil


Jan 19, 2021

The fossil record is a lot more than just giant dinosaurs. In fact, some of the most impressive fossils are not hulking, pillar-like bones but the remains of small, delicate organisms that were buried in just the right conditions to reveal lost worlds to us millions of years after their deaths. A fossil bug recovered from the ancient strata of Colorado offers one such window into the past.

The fossil assassin bug, described today in Papers in Palaeontology, has perked paleontological attention because the rare specimen has its genitals intact. Chipped out of 50 million-year-old rock, the bug is so exquisitely-preserved that it almost looks ready to crawl out of the stone.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/scien...sil-180976779/