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50 million years ago in what is now northwestern Colorado, a katydid died, sank to the bottom of a lake and was quickly buried in fine sediments, where it remained until its compressed fossil was recovered in recent years.
'But perhaps the most striking feature of this fossil is the really exceptional, remarkable preservation of internal organs.'
50 million years ago in what is now northwestern Colorado, a katydid died, sank to the bottom of a lake and was quickly buried in fine sediments, where it remained until its compressed fossil was recovered in recent years. When researchers examined the fossil under a microscope, they saw that not only had many of the insect’s hard structures been preserved in the compressed shale, so had several internal organs and tissues, which are not normally fossilized.
Every morning, we wake up to discover hundreds of empty nymphal cicada cases and adult cicadas just chillin’, waiting for their exoskeleton and wings to harden. After a few hours, they start flying up, up, up into the high trees. Soon, they will work together to create a wall of sound, find mates, lay eggs and die. Their offspring will fall from the trees, burrow into the ground and feed for another 17 years. I will again be there to witness their emergence – next time with a better camera. Editor’s notes: Marianne Alleyne is interested in how biological systems can lead to innovative d...