Eophyllium messelensis

Taxobox
name = "Eophyllium messelensis"
fossil_range=Eocene


image_width = 200px
image_caption =
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Arthropoda
classis = Insecta
ordo = Phasmatodea
superfamilia = Phyllioidea
familia = Phylliidae
genus = "Eophyllium"
species = "E. messelensis"
binomial = "Eophyllium messelensis"
binomial_authority =

"Eophyllium messelensis" is an extinct Phasmatodea insect that is an ancestor of modern Phylliidae, insects that mimic the shape of leaves for camouflage.

A full body fossil of "E. messelensis" was recovered from a 47 million year old fossil lakebed in Germany. The 6 centimeter (2.4 in) long fossil has a body that is identical in shape to fossil leaves recovered from the same strata.

The genitalia of the fossil are nearly identical to those of modern leaf insects, indicating that the species has changed little over the millennia. One area in which "E. messelensis" differs from its modern descendents is in its front legs which don't have flattened, leaf-like projections that modern leaf insects use to cover their heads.

References

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