Paleontology graduate student Cariad Williams was part of a research team that used X-ray computed tomography and 3D modeling to examine the internal structure of an azhdarchid pterosaur vertebra, finding that it was filled with dozens of spiky structures that crossed one another like the spokes of a bicycle wheel. Read more about the findings […]
Author: tlbarker@illinois.edu
50 million-year-old fossil assassin bug has unusually well-preserved genitalia
The fossilized insect is tiny and its genital capsule, called a pygophore, is roughly the length of a grain of rice. It is remarkable, scientists say, because the bug’s physical characteristics – from the bold banding pattern on its legs to the internal features of its genitalia – are clearly visible and well-preserved. Recovered from […]
Cariad Williams, paleontology PhD student
Cariad Williams is pursuing a PhD in entomology at the University of Illinois and is advised by paleontology curator Sam Heads. Read more about her research interests and her path to studying paleontology in this short profile.
National Science Foundation awards more than $480,000 to amber preservation project
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded more than $480,000 to a Prairie Research Institute (PRI) project to preserve and digitize an extensive collection of Dominican amber that is in danger of deterioration without proper curation and care. The plants, arthropods, and vertebrates captured in the amber provide insights into life 16-18 million years ago, […]
Digitization efforts make wealth of INHS collections more accessible
The Illinois Natural History Survey, a division of the Prairie Research Institute, is home to over 9 million biological specimens, including plants, insects, fish, reptiles, and fossils. Learn how we’re digitizing these specimens to make them accessible to everyone in this article from the Daily Illini.
Ancient ‘fig wasp’ lived tens of millions of years before figs
INHS Paleontologist Sam Heads found an ancient fig wasp that pre-dates any known fig trees. According to Heads, “This is a tiny parasitic wasp, it’s the smallest fossil wasp found in this particular deposit and it’s the oldest representative of its family. More importantly, it’s possible that this wasp was fig-associated, which is interesting because it’s Early […]
Portrait of a killer: Arilus cristatus, the wheel bug
Arilus cristatus, the wheel bug, is a truly impressive insect and one that I was fortunate enough to encounter today on my way into work. I came across this spectacular individual crossing the street outside our building this morning and collected it so I could take some photos later in the lab. Wheel bugs are a […]
Just published: A new fossil cricket of the genus Proanaxipha in Miocene amber from the Dominican Republic
The following paper was published today in the journal ZooKeys: Heads SW, Penney D, Green DI (2012) A new fossil cricket of the genus Proanaxipha in Miocene amber from the Dominican Republic (Orthoptera: Gryllidae: Pentacentrinae). ZooKeys 229: 111–118, doi: 10.3897/zookeys.229.3678. [pdf] In the paper we describe Proanaxipha madgesuttonae, a new species of pentacentrine cricket from Early Miocene Dominican amber. […]