07
Feb
Pulchritudo attenboroughi is a member of the frog-legged beetle family, despite being initially recognized as a particular kind of long-horned beetle. Denver Museum of Nature and Science provided the image. A 49 million-year-old beetle has been preserved to such an extent that it appears as though it could spread its fantastically patterned wing coverings and take flight. If it weren't crushed and turned into a fossil, that is. Even though wing casings, or elytra, are among the strongest components of a beetle's exoskeleton, scientists have lately discovered that fossils with this degree of color contrast and clarity are extremely uncommon.…