Description

Late Triassic
Aranbanga Volcanic Group
Windera Creek, Near Murgon, Queensland, Australia
6mm beetle on 22mm slab
Insect,

The ancestors of beetles (Order Coleoptera) diverged from other insect groups in the Early Permian.  They survived the end-Permian mass extinction with true beetles appearing and diversifying by the Late Triassic.

Today, beetles account for almost 40% of all insect species and over 25% of all animal species.

There are fewer Triassic fossils than Jurassic or Cretaceous ones on the market and Triassic insect fossils are particularly hard to find for sale if you are building such a collection.