This is the "Fossil Friday" post #47. Expect this to be a somewhat regular feature of the website. We will post any fossil pictures you send in to [email protected]. Please include a short description or story. Check the #FossilFriday Twitter hash tag for contributions from around the world!
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Okay, don't get put off from our fossil this week. It is a roachoid, but have you considered that maybe roaches are who you think they are... They're fairly intelligent (for an insect). They have personalities. And, they might be conscious. Then, there's the whole story about them inheriting the Earth when we are gone... mostly due to the difficulty in exterminating them. It's amazing to think that roaches haven't changed much since the Pennsylvanian some 307 million years ago. They are the most common insect found in the Mazon Creek biota, with about 26 genera and 37 species. Recall that we discussed them in Mazon Monday #46.
For today, we have an absolutely stunning roachoid specimen which was found by Hannah Cwik in what was once Pit 2. It came out of a concretion that had a chunk of petrified wood sticking out of one end. She took a good whack at it with her hammer and it opened. It was so life-like, that at first she thought is was a living water bug. Shes has since donated it to the Smithsonian. Truly stunning specimen, Hannah! Thanks for sharing it with us!
Here's how she describes finding it...
I got home from work (I was a park ranger) around 5am, but couldn't sleep, so I decided to try and crack some of the concretions that looked like they were already partially open. I did that for a while, and then found a few of those concretions where wood was sticking out of the ends: I picked up the concretion (I was standing) and struck it with my rock hammer upon which it literally exploded. It did so with such force that it made an audible 'pop' and pieces of it went flying everywhere, including into my face and eyes (I was not wearing eye protection). I could not see afterward because there was so much dust and debris in my eyes, but I could feel something in my hand, When I could see a few minutes later I noticed the cockroach sitting there... At first I actually thought it was alive - a water bug that managed to crawl into the piece somehow, and this stunned me for a second as I anticipated it trying to crawl up my arm or something. The top half of the concretion was lying on the floor, but the rest of it was completely gone; it had exploded into dust.
So, the Smithsonian said the specimen is closer to 309MYO (or possibly older), a female, carrying eggs, and the genus and species are unknown. This is the Smithsonian record: https://collections.nmnh.si.edu/search/paleo/?ark=ark:/65665/3ee96050a08d84dfcbe29f15a453c5187
And, now onto the photos!
