Researchers recently found the most complete dragonfly fossil so far, dating back about 165 million years in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
The fossil, discovered in Ningcheng County, is the most complete preservation of the Middle Jurassic Euthemistidae fossil discovered by far, as announced by the joint research team of Capital Normal University, Guangzhou University and Sun Yat-sen University.
It is a species of extinct dragonfly and has been named as Kidaneuthemis ningchengensis, the team said.
The family Euthemistidae is named for its slender, sickle-shaped wings, dense wing veins, numerous long veins, and slender, patterned bodies.
Fossil specimens of Sinaeschnidia cancellosa in the Guangdong Museum, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, south China, December 1, 2017. /CFP
The fossil provides a new important basis and scientific support for the geological paleontological community to study the natural history and evolution of dragonflies, and also provides a more comprehensive morphological basis for the international entomological community to have a deeper understanding of the Euthemistidae family.
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