Charmouth, Uk, Insect Wing!

[Ammojoe]

Hello,

I have a rather special find to show you all, and actually, it is my rarest find to date. There is a little story behind it...I discovered it yesterday and it is a Flatstone matrix from Charmouth, I was tidying away some of my rocks when I stumbled across this box of finds from Charmouth. I was carefully studying one rock, which has a very tiny Ammonite on, not sure about species. When suddenly I noticed this little wing on the rock! I'm currently not sure on species. Whatever species it is, it is rare, but how rare? I cannot be certain at the moment, but shortly I'll be contacting The Charmouth Heritage Centre, and possibly the Natural History Museum of England. The actual wing is very small, about 2MM in Length, which is why it is difficult to photograph. But, I've managed to photograph it through my USB Microscope.

Here is a little background context, regarding insects from the Charmouth Lias:

"The insect horizons are often laterally variable, for instance insects are in the Flatstones at Stonebarrow, however they are very rare in the Flatstones at Black Ven" – and where did I find it, to make the find even more fantastic, Black Ven!! There are fewer insect remains found at Black Ven, so that could help with exact identification. I will update this post when I know exactly what it is - I'm dead chuffed with it!

Regards,

Joe

Edited May 20, 2011 by fossily99

[BlazeXploder]

Great find Fossily! Insects arent rare at charmouth, but the ones you can find are tiny and useless, that thing is definetely something special!

[Bullsnake]

Would it be an aquatic insect or coincidental fossilization on a previous fossil?

[Terry Dactyll]

Joe... Very nice find and what a supprise on the same block as the ammonite... not so common a find, Congratulations

[Ludwigia]

Very nice, Joe. You sound quite excited. I would be too! Let's see if they can come up with an ID.

[Ammojoe]

Hello,

Ben, Insects are extremely rare at Charmouth, any find is exceptionally rare, something that in a lot of hours on the beach you may not be so lucky. I quote from the Charmouth website; "Very rare fossils - ...Remains of fossil insects.", they are rare enough to be of scientific interest hence why they need reporting. They are not as rare as Dinosaurs though, but complete insects come under the same category. Also, because very few insects are recorded there is a higher chance than you may expect of it being a new species, we'll have to see!

Bullsnake, the Lias, being an aquatic formation it is very rare for terrestrial fossils to be preserved, and this is a case of one of them. A quote from the Lias guide, “As insects live on land and are generally fragile their chances of being preserved in marine settings are remote”, may I also stress to add that it is from a particular area of Charmouth where not many have been found.

Steve, it is an incredibly lucky find! Because, there is another partial Promicroceras present on the matrix, I only kept it because of this fossil! Then I spotted the smaller Ammonite, and I also spotted the wing, two coincidental strokes of luck – my fossil hunting luck must have surely run out now!

Roger, I am very excited, without a doubt my rarest find to date! Perhaps not my most impressive find, but still incredible to think of the chances of an insect being preserved in a marine sediment. With regarding identification, I’ll contact the Heritage Centre shortly, and follow their advice. It is a pleasing find whatever it turns out to be, but of course, there is also the hope that it could be a undescribed species!

From the Lias guide; “Local collectors are continuing to find specimens, including undescribed species, in new horizons and localities...”

Thank you all for you kind words.

Regards,

Joe

[Scylla]

The best part of your find is the excitement that oozes into your posts about it Congrats on a double lucky find!

[piranha]

Hi Joe,

Thanks for the opportunity to break out a volume of the Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology of Arthropoda that is not Trilobita! My paleoentomology may be in need of much support although perhaps I can nudge this unique fossil in the right direction. From Part R, Hexapoda the Family Cupedidae (small to large beetles) jumped off the pages as a very close match to your fossil. Platycupes on the left would have measured approximately 7mm as figured from the Triassic of the USSR. Notocupes on the other hand is 2cm as described and recorded from the Jurassic of Europe to boot. There are a dozen or so others not even figured within this and closely related families; i.e., Permocupedidae and Taldycupidae from the European Jurassic.

Is it close in your opinion? Hope this helps!

[Ammojoe]

Scylla, Ha-ha, that made me smile! I am like a little toddler, when they discover something vaguely fascinating, then they are obsessed with it...I haven't quite ran around in circles holding the item yet, did show it to the parents, though that didn't achieve much!

Scott, thank you very much. I am glad to give you the opportunity to make use of multiple sections of a great book. Thanks for the identification help, I think they’re both very close, not quite enough to be that exact specimen, but certainly a similar family, and it has set me going on the right track. I am looking through the local book for fossils of the Lias, from Charmouth, and none are an exact match in my eyes. What could this indicate? I will try to describe it in appearance, although my terminology on beetles is rather lacking. It appears to have dots running down the wing, vertically in the photos, and also there are possibly some lines running vertically down the entire wing. It may have a line down the middle, groove, but this may just be the matrix. Other than that it is very small, and doesn’t show much, but it bears the shape of the Notocupes, and the size of the Platycupes.

I look forward to an identification from the Heritage Centre, perhaps I should be hoping they can’t Identify it! I will of course keep you updated on any progress, or any higher quality photos I can take.

Regards,

Joe

[piranha]

Great to hear Joe and glad it appears to be close. The treatise refers to the boxes, dots and windows of the elytra as "cells". The size of the figured specimens is only representative of those particular specimens described. The data inferred from that is by no means an aggregate sample of those taxa. The Protocoleoptera are described generally as minute to large insects. The Permocupedidae (Permian) and Cupedidae (Triassic-recent) are a fascinating ancient lineage of reticulated beetles. How exciting that you have possibly discovered one among the ammonites of Chartmouth. I found two excellent pdf papers on Jurassic and Cretaceous cupedids from Mongolia.

Enjoy!

8.5mm Jurassic Notocupes

[piranha]

More tasty tidbits for you Joe. The attached paper on the paleogeography of the Cupedidae has the records for Jurassic-Cretaceous discoveries throughout the UK. The authors of this paper might be able to provide you with more specific data for this fossil. Additionally, there is a gentleman mentioned from the Maidstone Museum in Kent that collaborated on the specific localities.

We are getting warmer!

English Liassic.—Apperley, Aust, Binton (Warwickshire), Arden (War−

wickshire), Copt Heart near Knowle, Hotham, (Yorkshire), Lime Regis

(South Wales), Norton (near Glouchester), Skelton Park Pit, Wainlode,

Westbury; England; Upper Triassic or Lower Jurassic.

Ommatini: Omma liassicum Crowson, 1962

Purbeck.—Dinton and Teffont (Wiltshire), Durlston Bay (Dorset),

England, Purbeck Limestone Fm., Berriasian, Lower Cretaceous.

Notocupedini: Zygadenia tuberculata (Giebel, 1856); Zygadenia ang−

liae Giebel, 1856; Zygadenia spp.

Ommatini: Omma elongata Crowson, 1962

Wealden.—Beare Green, Clockhouse and Smokejacks brickworks,

Surrey, England, Lower and Upper Weald Clay fms., Hauterivian−

Barremian, Lower Cretaceous.

Notocupedini: Zygadenia tuberculata (Giebel, 1856); Zygadenia angliae

(Giebel, 1856); Zygadenia spp.

Ommatini: Cionocoleus spp. (3 species)

Brochocoleini: Brochocoleus spp. (3 species)

[Ammojoe]

Scott, thank you, thank you very much! We are indeed getting closer, and with the latest paper you've shown you may have just confirmed the exact identification! Looking at the paleogeography of the representative specimens one of them is from Lyme Regis, (Incorrectly spelt in the PDF.), which is just the other end of the bay from Charmouth. My find was made half way between both Charmouth and Lyme Regis. I'm a little confused as to what the paper is suggesting with the occurence of the Cupeididae, what exact genus does it suggest occurs? I have done a little research, working with the Cupeididae family, which it appears it is because it has been previously encountered at Lyme Regis. A simple google search with the terms 'Cupeididae Lyme Regis', came up with a rather interesting paper, which...wait for it, has confirmed the correct identification I believe! The taphonomy is all rather misted, lacking a lot of clarity, but here is the identification I propose:

Family: Elateridae

Genus: Elaterina

Species: liassica

Elateridae.pdf

(Scroll down till the item is listed, with the appropriate photo.)

Elaterina liassica, although strangely not mentioned in the Lias guide, it appears to be an indentical match.

Thanks Scott; the credit of identification goes to you, thank you for providing invaluable resources.

Regards,

Joe

[piranha]

Nice work Joe.... this one has been fun! The treatise (1992) places Elaterina liassina(?) [sic] liassica in the category of: Suborders and Families Uncertain. Perhaps it will turn out to be Omma liassicum which is in fact a valid species although there is no telling what has been shuffled over the last twenty years with regard to taxonomy. Irrespective of a proper ID, it is simply a stunning discovery! Looking forward to the outcome and happy to get it nudged in the right direction.

[Ammojoe]

I recently received a reply from the Natural History Museum in England, and they have corrected the ID. It turns out that in fact it is Holcoptera schlotheimi.

Thanks for your help Scott.

Joe

[piranha]

Hi Joe,

Excellent work on the follow-up and ID. Congratulations on your rare and amazing Jurassic insect fossil.

I found this at Paleobiology Database:

Harpalus schlotheimi was named by Giebel (1856).

Its type specimen is BMNH In 59115, an exoskeleton, and it is a compression fossil.

It was recombined as Holcoelytrum schlotheimi by Zeuner (1962);

it was recombined as Holcoptera schlotheimi by Whalley (1985).

Holcoptera schlotheimi Giebel 1856

Insecta - Coleoptera

Alternative combinations: Harpalus schlotheimi, Holcoelytrum schlotheimi

Parent taxon: Holcoptera according to P. E. S. Whalley 1985

See also Zeuner 1962

Sister taxon: Holcoptera giebeli

Type specimen: BMNH In 59115, an exoskeleton

Average measurements (in mm): body length 8.00, elytron 5.74 x 3.00

Distribution: Jurassic of the United Kingdom (4 collections)

[Ammojoe]

Hi Scott,

Thank you for the information, that's very interesting, and helps me to understand my fossil in more depth.

Thanks,

Joe