Photomacrograph made with a digital SLR camera; x4 approximate magnification

The University of Kansas, Division of Entomology, Lawrence, Kansas, United States

This minute fossil fly of undescribed genus and species (Diptera: Rhagionidae) is preserved as a silvery film on dark gray shale collected from a region of southern Korea. The shale dates from the Lower Cretaceous period, that is, 135-140 million years ago. Entomologists estimate the insect lived in Asia in an era just prior to the rise of flowering plants. This image was made with a highly specialized imaging system that uses fiber-optic electronic flash illumination.