Time Travel

[Garland-Green]

A Caddisfly, trapped in Baltic amber, from the Eocene 56 to 33.9 million years ago.





The caddisflies are an order, Trichoptera, of insects with approximately 12,000 described species. Also called sedge-flies or rail-flies, they are small moth-like insects having two pairs of hairy membranous wings.

 

[Garland-Green]

Protoischnurus axelrodorum, a scorpion said to be from the lower Cretaceous.



Scorpions have been found in many fossil records, including marine Silurian (The Silurian is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Ordovician Period, at 443.8 ±* 1.5 million years ago) and estuarine Devonian (The Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic Era spanning from the end of the Silurian Period, about 419.2 ± 3.2 Mya (million years ago)) deposits, coal deposits from the Carboniferous Period (the Carboniferous Period lasted from about 359.2 to 299 million years ago* during the late Paleozoic Era. The term "Carboniferous" comes from England, in reference to the rich deposits of coal that occur there) and in amber. They have adapted to a wide range of environmental conditions and can now be found on all continents except Antarctica. Scorpions number about 1750 described species, with 13 extant families recognized to date. Only about 25 of these species are known to have venom capable of killing a human being. The taxonomy* has undergone changes and is likely to change further, as genetic studies are bringing forth new information. - Wikipedia

*(from Ancient Greek: τάξις taxis, "arrangement," and -νομία -nomia, "method".) is the science of defining groups of biological organisms on the basis of shared characteristics and giving names to those groups.

* «±» is a mathematic symbol signifying «pluss or minus»

 

[Garland-Green]

Cricket, of the order Orthoptera, discovered in the Crato Formation of Brazil, 108 million to 92 million years old*.

Not my words, but the ones selling the fossil.



There are more than 900 species of crickets; the Gryllidae are distributed all around the world except at latitudes 55° or higher, with the greatest diversity being in the tropics. They occur in varied habitats from grassland, bushes and forest to marshes, beaches and caves. Crickets are mainly nocturnal, and are best known for the loud persistent chirping song of males trying to attract females, although some species are mute. The singing species have good hearing, via the tympani (eardrums) on the tibiae of the front legs.

 

[Garland-Green]

Unidentified bird, Green River Formation. Eocene (56 to 33.9 million years ago).





The common blackbird is a species of true thrush. It is also called Eurasian blackbird, or simply blackbird where this does not lead to confusion with a similar-looking local species.

Resource; Without a Leg to Stand On

 

[Garland-Green]

Fossilized crocodile, listed for sale at CuratorsEye.com.
Supposed age; 51 000 000 million years old.




Crocodiles (subfamily Crocodylinae) or true crocodiles are large aquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. Crocodiles are found in sedimentary layers imagined to be roughly 250 to 200 Mya.

 

[Garland-Green]

Wollemi pine, Jurassic fossil. The Jurassic extends from 201.3± 0.6 Ma (million years ago) to 145± 4 Ma. On display in Australian Museum.





Discovered as recently as 1994, the Wollemi Pine has been referred to as the 'botanical find of the 20th Century' and 'the equivalent of finding a small living dinosaur on Earth'.

 

[Garland-Green]

Lungfish, Scaumenacia curta, Dipnoi. Quebec. Canada. Late Devonian; 350 Million years old.




The Queensland lungfish, Neoceratodus forsteri (also known as the Australian lungfish, Burnett salmon, and barramunda), is the sole surviving member of the family Ceratodontidae and order Ceratodontiformes.

 

[Garland-Green]

Ginkgo leaf from the Eocene (56 to 33.9 million years ago).



Ginkgo is a genus of highly unusual non-flowering plants. The scientific name is also used as the English name. The order to which it belongs, Ginkgoales, first appeared in the Permian, 250 million years ago according to some paleontologists.

 

[Garland-Green]

Kaliningrad District, Russia. Upper Eocene - Lower Oligocene (56 to 33.9 million years ago).



Carpenter ant.

Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae, and belong to the order Hymenoptera. More than 12,500 of an estimated total of 22,000 species have been classified.They are easily identified by their elbowed antennae and the distinctive node-like structure that forms their slender waists.

 

[Garland-Green]

Encrinus liliiformi Crinoid. Fossil site; Upper Muschelkalk Formation, Alverdissen, Germany. Dated to the Triassic (230 mya).



A red stalked sea lily crinoid (Proisocrinus ruberrimus).

Crinoids are marine animals that make up the class Crinoidea of the echinoderms (phylum Echinodermata). Crinoidea comes from the Greek word krinon, "a lily", and eidos, "form".They live both in shallow water and in depths as great as 6,000 metres (20,000 ft). Sea lilies refer to the crinoids which, in their adult form, are attached to the sea bottom by a stalk. Feather stars or comatulids refer to the unstalked forms.

 

[Garland-Green]

Sea pen, Charnia masoni, Late Precambrian. The Precambrian spans from the formation of Earth about 4.6 billion years ago to the beginning of the Cambrian Period, about 541.0 ± 1.0 million years ago.



Living Virgularia sea pen.



Painting from Evolution of the Earth, 1994 edition, credited to the Smithsonian Institute.

 

[Garland-Green]

Woodlouse trapped in Baltic amber (40-50 MYO).



A woodlouse (plural woodlice), also known by many common names (see below), is an isopod with a rigid, segmented, long exoskeleton and fourteen jointed limbs. Woodlice form the suborder Oniscidea within the order Isopoda, with over 5,000 known species.

Woodlice in the genus Armadillidium and in the family Armadillidae can roll up into an almost perfect sphere as a defensive mechanism, hence some of the common names such as pill bug or roly-poly. Most woodlice, however, cannot do this.

 

[Garland-Green]

Stick bug, 126 million years old.



The Phasmatodea (sometimes called Phasmida or Phasmatoptera) are an order of insects, whose members are variously known as stick insects (in Europe and Australasia), walking sticks or stick-bugs (in the United States and Canada), phasmids, ghost insects and leaf insects (generally the family Phylliidae). The ordinal name is derived from the Ancient Greek φάσμα phasma, meaning an apparition or phantom, and refers to the resemblance of many species to sticks or leaves. Their natural camouflage can make them extremely difficult to spot. Phasmatodea can be found all over the world in warmer zones, especially the tropics and subtropics. The greatest diversity is found in Southeast Asia and South America, followed by Australia. Phasmids also have a considerable presence in the continental United States, mainly in the Southeast.