#jurassic insect

[nemfrog]

Fossilized dragonflies. Annual report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. 1953.

Internet Archive

[vickysaurus-art]

In a dense Sequoia forest where the darkness is broken by only a single solarbeam, a Caihong curiously inspects a Kalligrammatid, seeing a face not unlike its own staring back from the strange insect's transparent wings.

A bit of an experimental piece. Although kalligrammatids superficially look like butterflies, these Jurassic insects are in fact lacewings, entirely unrelated to butterflies! One of the differences this implies is that their gorgeously patterned wings were in fact transparent. This gave me the idea to use some extreme backlighting to really show them off, as well as the gloriously iridescent Caihong's feathers. This watercolour, for which I gratefully used this fantastic guide to restoring Kalligrammatids, features Affinigramma myrioneura; Kallihemerobius almacellus, aciedentatus, and feroculus; Kalligramma circularia, and the Maniraptoran-mimic Kalligramma brachyrhyncha.

[kosmonauttihai]

Hello! Just wanted to pop in and tell you that I love your JW/Paleo content to bits! Your raptor AU was a big inspiration for my Indoraptor blog!

Thank you so much! I'm so happy to hear you like my dino things, yours are absolutely adorable and I love them, too!

Please have this Pea, Ham, and Bean:

[despairforme]

I've watched some videos about mantises and there are often comments like "imagine if mantises would be at least a size of dog we humans would be damned" and I can't help but think about Nnoi))))

❝ 'Daz right I'm fuckin' monster sized. ❞

[favoriteliar]

girl help i'm petrified

[vickysaurus]

Look at these gorgeous dragonflies!

[richarddamota]

23 to 33.9 million years old!!!

Prehistoric praying mantis encased in amber

[trendynewsnow]

The Evolutionary Journey of Cicadas: Adapting to Predation

The Evolutionary Journey of Cicadas Today, cicadas are among the most ubiquitous insects on the planet. With thousands of species found across various ecosystems, some cicada populations emerge in astounding numbers, sometimes by the trillions. However, during the late Jurassic Period, these remarkable insects were not nearly as plentiful. The cicadas of that era were significantly bulkier than…

[tenth-sentence]

As everyone soon knew, that warning took the form of a story about recreating a variety of dinosaurs from cloned DNA recovered from insects preserved in amber.

"Frankenstein's Footsteps: Science, Genetics and Popular Culture" - Jon Turney

[vhsdruid]

terribly sorry if this is a weird question but i would LOVE to hear more about wasps . funky little dudes

wasps are a relatively new species in terms of insect evolution, having appeared in the jurassic period alongside the first dinosaurs. there are hundreds of thousands of species, which could include ants and bees depending on your exact definition. they're all included in the group apocrita, or the "wasp waisted" hymenoptera. they are some of the most successful insects on the planet.

DID YOU KNOW?: the stinger of apocrita is a highly adapted ovipositor, the organ used for egg laying.

STEP ONE: their ancestors, the sawflies, had evolved a serrated ovipositor that could bore into plant material as a safe place to lay their eggs.

STEP TWO: the first wasps would use the ovipositor to instead lay their eggs inside of other animals (parasitoidism), which then provides the developing young plenty of food. many of these wasps would develop a unique variety of venoms to aid in the capture of prey, often by paralysis.

DID YOU KNOW?: there are more parasitoid wasps than any other kind of wasp, with an estimated 100,000 species! this includes the iconic cicada killer wasp.

STEP THREE: the transition from egg laying to defense is not entirely understood, but is believed by some to have been a direct response to predation by vertebrates. if you think about it, it's not all that easy to sting through a tough exoskeleton (though it can be done), it's much easier to sting soft, fleshy things that are trying to eat your delicious grub children. these wasps no longer lay eggs with the ovipositor, instead having an opening at the base of the stinger. the venom would be adapted to illicit a pain response, a harsh lesson to not mess with wasps!

DID YOU KNOW?: male wasps CANNOT sting as they do not have an ovipositor. though, some males will still mimic stinging, or even have pointed abdomens to help sell the illusion.

QUICKFIRE ROUND:

while wasps are famously eusocial and will often live in large communal hives, the vast majority of wasps are solitary and live on their own.

the largest species of wasp is the northern giant hornet, who's queens are around 2 inches in length. the smallest species of wasp is also the smallest insect ever! dicopomorpha echmepterygis males have been measured as small as 139 micrometres in length.

its common knowledge that wasps can sting multiple times and honey bees cant. this is a unique adaptation of the honey bee, who deliver a more potent sting by leaving the stinger embedded in the victim as it continues to pump rounds and rounds of venom. unfortunately, the stinger is directly attached to many vital organs, which are then damaged in the process, causing the honey bee to die.

insects breathe by absorbing oxygen directly into their "blood". wasps aid in this by rapidly expanding and collapsing their abdomen to force air in and out. if her butt is vibrating, shes just taking a breath :)

the iconic coloration of the wasp, usually yellow and black, is part of their defensive strategy! this is a form of aposematism, the advertising of danger to potential predators. they want you to notice them, so you know to steer clear!

the coloration is SO iconic that thousands of insect species mimic it in hopes of also warding off predators. this includes flies, moths and butterflies, and even their own ancestors, the sawflies.

parasitoid wasps are very specific in their choice of prey, likely due to the unique cocktail of venom they must possess to influence any given species. for any arthropod, there is a species of wasp that specializes in parasitizing THAT specific arthropod.

because i know some people are wondering, the venom of parasitoid wasps can only effect arthropods, there will be no wasp based mind control within the next few million years. some parasitoids have been known to sting defensively, which is still quite painful depending on the exact species.

some wasps are HYPERPARASITOIDS, meaning they will lay their eggs on other parasitoids that are already parasitizing something. its parasitoids all the way down.

one of these hyperparasitoids is the velvet ant. despite it's common name, they're actually a species of wasp with flightless females. the males do possess wings, and in some species, will assist the female by carrying her to an environment with better resources.

the venom of gall wasps will, when inserted into a tree or other vegetation, cause it to grow a mass, known as a gall. basically a bootleg fruit, filled with nutrients. these wasp galls will then safely house the wasp's young which eat it from the inside out, before emerging as adult wasps.

obviously, theres wasps that parasitize the gall wasps inside the gall.

fig wasps are the only animals that can pollinate figs, and do so by crawling inside to lay their eggs before dying inside the fruit. well, the only animal other than humans, which find figs quite tasty but don't typically enjoy eating dead wasps.

i probably wont ever get a better opportunity to share this information, sorry: the queen honey bee mating with a drone is audible to the human ear, making a popping sound. the drone's endophallus (penis) is violently detached in the process and he dies soon after.

lastly, lets just marvel at the beauty of the wasp. they have some of the most striking appearances of any animals on earth.

i am just fillled with awe when i look at them. a powerful and intimidating predator that takes great care in raising the next generation. perhaps my favorite animal.

[alphynix]

Wukongopterus lii was a pterosaur that lived during the mid-to-late Jurassic, about 164 million years ago, in what is now northeastern China. It was fairly small, with a wingspan of around 70cm (~2'4"), and showed a mixture of anatomical features in-between the long-tailed short-headed 'rhamphorhynchoids' and the short-tailed long-headed pterodactyloids.

Its long jaws were lined with tiny pointed conical teeth, suggesting it was adapted for primarily feeding on insects. It also had a very slight overbite, with the first two pairs of teeth in its upper jaw protruding almost vertically over the end of its lower jaw.

As a fully mature adult it would have had a low bony crest on its head that probably supported a larger keratinous structure – similar to other known wukongopterids – although the exact size and shape is unknown since the one confirmed specimen of Wukongopterus is missing that particular part of its skull. Another fossil nicknamed "Ian" may represent a second individual of this species, showing a different crest arrangement further forward on its snout, so I've made two different versions of today's image to reflect that possibility.

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NixIllustration.com | Tumblr | Patreon

References:

Cheng, Xin, et al. "New information on the Wukongopteridae (Pterosauria) revealed by a new specimen from the Jurassic of China." PeerJ 4 (2016): e2177. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.2177/supp-1

Garland, Nick. “Ian the Wukongopterid.” Pteros, https://www.pteros.com/pterosaurs/ian-the-wukongopterid.html

Wang, Xiaolin, et al. "An unusual long-tailed pterosaur with elongated neck from western Liaoning of China." Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências 81 (2009): 793-812. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0001-37652009000400016

Wikipedia contributors. “Wukongopterus.” Wikipedia, 8 Dec. 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wukongopterus

XuanYu Zhou 周炫宇. Anatomy, Systematics and Paleopathology of Pterosaurs: insights based on new specimens from China. 2023. Hokkaido University, PhD thesis. https://doi.org/10.14943/doctoral.k1560

[vickysaurus-art]

Two Hadrocodium who have made their nest in a patch of moss on a tree are rudely disturbed by a curious snakefly. Meanwhile a Tatisaurus has developed a sudden craving for moss.

[jenfoundabug]

Snakeflies (order Raphidioptera) are interesting creatures. I like to call them "dinosaur bugs" because they're a group of insects that evolved in the early Jurassic, reaching peak diversity during the Cretaceous. Snakeflies are what's known as a relict group, meaning they used to be way more widespread than they are now. They're a remnant of a more abundant past. These insects undergo complete metamorphosis. Both the larva and the adult are predators of soft-bodied arthropods. Snakeflies have four wings, so they're neither flies nor snakes :-) Agulla sp., Northern California.

[mindblowingscience]

Researchers reporting in the journal Current Biology on December 4 have found the earliest-known fossil mosquito in Lower Cretaceous amber from Lebanon. What's more, the well-preserved insects are two males of the same species with piercing mouthparts, suggesting they likely sucked blood. That's noteworthy because, among modern-day mosquitoes, only females are hematophagous, meaning that they use piercing mouthparts to feed on the blood of people and other animals. "Lebanese amber is, to date, the oldest amber with intensive biological inclusions, and it is a very important material as its formation is contemporaneous with the appearance and beginning of radiation of flowering plants, with all what follows of co-evolution between pollinators and flowering plants," says Dany Azar of the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Lebanese University. "Molecular dating suggested that the family Culicidae arose during the Jurassic, but previously the oldest record was mid-Cretaceous," says André Nel of the National Museum of Natural History of Paris (Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle de Paris). "Here we have one from the early Cretaceous, about 30 million years before." The Culicidae family of arthropods includes more than 3,000 species of mosquitoes. The new findings suggest that male mosquitoes in the past fed on blood as well, according to the researchers. They also help to narrow the "ghost-lineage gap" for mosquitoes, they say.

Continue Reading.

[saritapaleo]

Archovember 2024 Day 16 - Caelestiventus hanseni

Hailing from Late Triassic North America, Caelestiventus hanseni turned what we knew about pterosaurs on its head. Before its description in 2015, it was thought that all of the early pterosaurs of the Late Triassic were small coastal animals, feeding on fish and insects by the shore. But Caelestiventus lived in a desert, 65 million years before other known desert-dwelling pterosaurs. Also, up until its discovery, only some pterodactyloid pterosaurs were known to he desert-dwellers, but Caelestiventus was a dimorphodontid. Dimorphodon itself being found in the Early Jurassic, this puts the origins of the dimorphodontid family much further back than originally thought, and in North America. Caelestiventus is also the oldest known pterosaur from North America.

While most Triassic pterosaurs are very small, Caelestiventus was (comparatively) large with a 17.8 cm (7.0 in) long skull and estimated 1.5 meters (4.9 ft) long wingspan. The only known specimen is a subadult, so it’s possible Caelestiventus could have grown larger. It had three different tooth shapes: long fang-like spikes, large "leaf-shaped" blades, and tiny blades, which it may have used to catch and eat lizards and small insects.

Found in the Nugget Sandstone Formation, Caelestiventus would have of course lived in a large desert full of sandy dunes, dotted by seed plants of the extinct, cycad-like order Bennettitales. No other named fossils are known from this area, though theropod tracks have been found, and indeterminate fragments of theropods, sphenosuchians, drepanosaurids, sphenodontians, and lepidosaurs are known.

This art may be used for educational purposes, with credit, but please contact me first for permission before using my art. I would like to know where and how it is being used. If you don’t have something to add that was not already addressed in this caption, please do not repost this art. Thank you!

[jollyfunvoid]

Bucci gang - incorrect quotes (but as things my friends said)

Fugo: "So is he an alcoholic or something?" Bucciarati: "Nooo don't say that. He is... more like a... recreational drinker." Abbacchio: "You could say I'm a wine taster." Fugo: "I doubt drinking 2 and half bottles is called tasting."

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Mista: "What does being a workaholic mean?" Narancia: "It's a person who doesn't drink anymore."  Fugo: "I swear your IQ is equivalent to your shoe size."

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Trish, helping Giorno pick out outfit from his closet: "I don't know... what's something you haven't had in a long time?" Giorno: "Full 8 hours of sleep, a proper meal, good mood..." Trish: "I ment clothes, dumbass!"

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Narancia: "There is a spider in my room! Giorno, come pick it up and throw it out!" Giorno: "Oh come on, we throw insects out all the time. Why can't they live with us? Give me one good reason why I should throw this poor spider out." Narancia: "Well, first of all, he lives here rent free." Fugo: "So do you and yet we let you stay."

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Abbacchio: "This is a very tricky situation. We should get the adults." Bucciarati: "WE ARE THE ADULTS!"

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Narancia: "How in the hell am I supposed to concentrate when all I can hear in my head is Phineas & Ferb theme song?"

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*watching Jurassic World* Mista: "Oh he is SO hot..." Giorno: "The dinosaur?" Mista: "No, Chris Pratt. What the hell, man?!"

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Giorno, flirting: "What's your favorite constellation?" Fugo, with zero relationship experience: "Is this some kind of a psychological test? Why are you asking these weird questions?"

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Mista, counting money: "Here is your euro" Mista: *holds out 0,50€ coin* Narancia: "Listen up, asshole, I might not know what 5+7 is, but I know what 1 euro coin looks like."

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Abbacchio: "My good mood is just like the pen you are using right now." Bucciarati: "Please elaborate..." Abbacchio: "Throughout the day it randomly vanishes. Especially when I need it the most."

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Narancia: "Is there like an official term you would use when describing people who drive under the influence?" Fugo: "Idiots."

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Trish: "Can I ask you something?" Mista: "Hold on, I'm doing 3 things at once. And that is a lot for a man." Narancia: "Yeah, Trish, hold your thought. Boys can't multitask."