Mousehead Posted February 7, 2022 Share Posted February 7, 2022 Dragonfly, purportedly originally from Jurassic Daohugou Biota, China. Preservation looks rough enough to maybe be real, but I don't know much about insects that aren't encased in amber. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted February 7, 2022 Share Posted February 7, 2022 I suspect some of this is enhanced with some paint - mainly the upper wings. Reversed color image: The left upper wing looks longer than the right upper. Also, the lower right wing looks a bit overly long. I don't think this is all original material. Just my two cents. 1 Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted February 7, 2022 Share Posted February 7, 2022 I agree with Tim but this also looks to have been put back together from pieces. Turn it over and check out the back side for repairs. RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusty_Crab Posted February 7, 2022 Share Posted February 7, 2022 I can't tell you if its fake, restored or real. You might need someone who has a lot of experience looking at fossils from that locality to be sure, as well as very high magnification. From an anatomical perspective, I'd be interested in higher magnification views of the head, especially where there might be antennae coming out: If these are in fact antennae, it is not a dragonfly. It might be an adult antlion, order Neuroptera, family Myrmeleontidae. Dragonflies and all other members of the Odonata don't have such long and prominent antennae. Adult antlion: Also, I would expect to see the pterostigma on the wings if it is a dragonfly. Unfortunately, the distal portion of the left hind wing has not been preserved and the leading edges of the others are not terribly well preserved. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusty_Crab Posted February 7, 2022 Share Posted February 7, 2022 (edited) However, the shape of the hind wing (deeper chord of the proximal area) does seem more consistent with a dragonfly. Dragonfly: Antlion: images (1).jfif Edited February 7, 2022 by Crusty_Crab misspelled chord 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mousehead Posted February 8, 2022 Author Share Posted February 8, 2022 Thanks everyone. Decided to pass on it considering all the unknowns. I don't mind if it's been restored from cracked pieces, but if A) parts are potentially painted/enhanced and B) it might be something else entirely, I'd rather not take the chance. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glu Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 The pictures are incredibly enhanced and photoshopped, but real and repaired fossil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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