Strange leaf looks like insect wing

[GuineaPoliceman]

Hi everyone.  I found strange leaf. Leaf venation is unusial. Can it be somebody's wing?  Length 53 mm.  Russia, Chelyabinsk region. Late triassic or early jurassic. 

 

Edited August 2, 2021 by GuineaPoliceman

[DPS Ammonite]

Fern leaf. A carbonaceous film and guilt by association suggest.

[RuMert]

Looks very much like a butterfly wing

[pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon]

5 minutes ago, RuMert said:

Looks very much like a butterfly wing

 

True, but as I understand it, pollinating insects didn't arise until after flowering plants evolved - which was somewhere in the Cretaceous... From Wikipedia:

 

Quote

Some researchers theorize that butterflies most likely originated in the Cretaceous period when the continents were arrayed differently from their present positions and with climates unlike those of today. That is when the major angiosperm radiation took place. Thus, butterfly evolution must be studied throughout the elaboration and testing of phylogenetic hypotheses and through historical zoogeography. Researchers who accept a Cretaceous origin for the butterflies generally favor vicariant zoogeographic hypothesis for how the major lineages of butterflies came to be distributed over the world, whereas those who favor a Tertiary age rely on dispersalist hypotheses (Lamas, 2008).

 

Butterfly fossils, however, appear to have only been recovered from the Eocene (ibid.). Though it's certainly a peculiar looking fern leaf, I believe @DPS Ammonite is likely right...

[RuMert]

Lepidopterans evolved at least in the Early Jurassic, but there are other insect orders. I wouldn't just that easily discard this thing as a leaf and consider other possibilities

[FossilDAWG]

Can we see a couple of different photos, perhaps with the light on an angle instead of straight on so that some shadows can highlight the veins.  It looks like there might be two different structures superimposed.  I would not discount an insect wing at this point, although it's not a butterfly (Lepidopteran). 

 

Don

[GuineaPoliceman]

20 minutes ago, FossilDAWG said:

Can we see a couple of different photos, perhaps with the light on an angle instead of straight on so that some shadows can highlight the veins.  It looks like there might be two different structures superimposed.  I would not discount an insect wing at this point, although it's not a butterfly (Lepidopteran). 

 

Don

I Will do it tomorrow morning.  Thanks everyone

[jdp]

This is definitely a wing. Not butterfly but might be some sort of Auchenorrhynchan (planthopper). The giveaway that this is insect and not plant is in the formation of discrete cells by veins which combine marginally, the wide spacing between veins, and the extremely strong asymmetry.

 

By the way, this is a scientifically important specimen. Might be worth sending some pictures to someone at the Paleontological Institute in Moscow. I'm not sure who the correct contact there would be but I can do a little searching if you're interested.

Edited August 2, 2021 by jdp

[piranha]

This morning I sent the photos to the top Russian paleoentomologist. I will post an update as soon as it becomes available.

[GuineaPoliceman]

[Top Trilo]

Beautiful specimen the more I look the more I see, lots of plant material on the rock. Are there two different wings? If there are two are they on the same rock?

[GuineaPoliceman]

13 minutes ago, Top Trilo said:

Beautiful specimen the more I look the more I see, lots of plant material on the rock. Are there two different wings? If there are two are they on the same rock?

There is 1 wing 

[jdp]

15 hours ago, piranha said:

This morning I sent the photos to the top Russian paleoentomologist. I will post an update as soon as it becomes available.

 

This is exciting! Can't wait to hear more!

[ChristineR]

Have you considered a seed pod of some sort?

 

[piranha]

The first Russian expert has not replied yet. I also sent the photos to another specialist. He requested more specific geological context and additional photos.

 

"It is representative of family Palaeontinidae, Cicadomorpha, Hemiptera. It looks interesting, could be related with Palaeontinodes, but may be another taxon."

 

figures from:

 

Wang, B., Zhang, H.C., Fang, Y. 2007

Middle Jurassic Palaeontinidae (Insecta, Hemiptera) from Daohugou of China.

Alavesia, 1:89-104  PDF LINK

[GuineaPoliceman]

Thank you piranha.  I have to go back to the rubble of the stone with the wing and try to find  jurassic plants. And I have to buy a good camera. 

Edited August 4, 2021 by GuineaPoliceman

[hemipristis]

imho, a FOTM candidate!

[Yoda]

16 hours ago, GuineaPoliceman said:

Thank you piranha.  I have to go back to the rubble of the stone with the wing and try to find  jurassic plants. And I have to buy a good camera. 

There does appear to be some plant / leaf debris in your original photos ? 

[pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon]

3 hours ago, hemipristis said:

imho, a FOTM candidate!

 

At the very leafst! 

 

1 hour ago, Yoda said:

There does appear to be some plant / leaf debris in your original photos ? 

 

Yeah, there indeed seem to be some darker coloured fern fronds and loose bits and pieces on the same rock 

[JohnJ]

3 hours ago, hemipristis said:

imho, a FOTM candidate!

 

Maybe...depends on when it was found.