#24: An Ancient Praying Mantis

This ancient praying mantis is forever frozen in time. The miraculous thing about it is that this amber fossil is from over 30 million years ago. This praying mantis and its piece of amber are pretty small, coming in at only one inch tall. This ancient piece of amber was discovered in the Dominican Republic and comes from a now-extinct tree from that region. 

The amount of preserved details in this artifact is incredible. We can see the delicate antennae and fibers along the praying mantis’ legs and body. It looks just like a modern-day praying mantis, making ancient history very real for many of us. Experts believe this mantis lived during the Oligocene period, which was a transitional time for many species on the planet.