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Protoischnurus axelrodorum, a scorpion said to be from the lower Cretaceous.



Scorpions have been found in many fossil records, including marine Silurian (The Silurian is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Ordovician Period, at 443.8 ±* 1.5 million years ago) and estuarine Devonian (The Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic Era spanning from the end of the Silurian Period, about 419.2 ± 3.2 Mya (million years ago)) deposits, coal deposits from the Carboniferous Period (the Carboniferous Period lasted from about 359.2 to 299 million years ago* during the late Paleozoic Era. The term "Carboniferous" comes from England, in reference to the rich deposits of coal that occur there) and in amber. They have adapted to a wide range of environmental conditions and can now be found on all continents except Antarctica. Scorpions number about 1750 described species, with 13 extant families recognized to date. Only about 25 of these species are known to have venom capable of killing a human being. The taxonomy* has undergone changes and is likely to change further, as genetic studies are bringing forth new information. - Wikipedia

*(from Ancient Greek: τάξις taxis, "arrangement," and -νομία -nomia, "method".) is the science of defining groups of biological organisms on the basis of shared characteristics and giving names to those groups.

* «±» is a mathematic symbol signifying «pluss or minus»

Unidentified bird, Green River Formation. Eocene (56 to 33.9 million years ago).





The common blackbird is a species of true thrush. It is also called Eurasian blackbird, or simply blackbird where this does not lead to confusion with a similar-looking local species.

Resource; Without a Leg to Stand On

Wollemi pine, Jurassic fossil. The Jurassic extends from 201.3± 0.6 Ma (million years ago) to 145± 4 Ma. On display in Australian Museum.





Discovered as recently as 1994, the Wollemi Pine has been referred to as the 'botanical find of the 20th Century' and 'the equivalent of finding a small living dinosaur on Earth'.

Ginkgo leaf from the Eocene (56 to 33.9 million years ago).



Ginkgo is a genus of highly unusual non-flowering plants. The scientific name is also used as the English name. The order to which it belongs, Ginkgoales, first appeared in the Permian, 250 million years ago according to some paleontologists.

Encrinus liliiformi Crinoid. Fossil site; Upper Muschelkalk Formation, Alverdissen, Germany. Dated to the Triassic (230 mya).



A red stalked sea lily crinoid (Proisocrinus ruberrimus).

Crinoids are marine animals that make up the class Crinoidea of the echinoderms (phylum Echinodermata). Crinoidea comes from the Greek word krinon, "a lily", and eidos, "form".They live both in shallow water and in depths as great as 6,000 metres (20,000 ft). Sea lilies refer to the crinoids which, in their adult form, are attached to the sea bottom by a stalk. Feather stars or comatulids refer to the unstalked forms.

Woodlouse trapped in Baltic amber (40-50 MYO).



A woodlouse (plural woodlice), also known by many common names (see below), is an isopod with a rigid, segmented, long exoskeleton and fourteen jointed limbs. Woodlice form the suborder Oniscidea within the order Isopoda, with over 5,000 known species.

Woodlice in the genus Armadillidium and in the family Armadillidae can roll up into an almost perfect sphere as a defensive mechanism, hence some of the common names such as pill bug or roly-poly. Most woodlice, however, cannot do this.