Page 173 - The Dinosaur Book and Other Wonders of the Prehistoric World (DK-Smithsonian)

Giant winged ant fossil

Florissantia fossil A new world

Formed 49 million years Every detail of this queen ant
ago, this fossil has traces has been preserved in a fossil that
of structures that produced Archaeanthus is about 47 million years old.
sugary nectar.
These bright petals
The crushed would have attracted early
exoskeleton of this pollen-feeding beetles.
50-million-year-old
beetle still glitters as
it did when alive.

Jewel beetle fossil

Still Water chestnut
around today,
jewel beetles
date back to about
150 million
years ago. The spiky fruit of water
chestnuts provided food for
early Stone Age people.

been transformed. The following Cenozoic Era flower much more efficiently than the wind,
saw an increase in plants with showy, nectar- enabling the plants to set seed more easily.
bearing, and possibly fragrant flowers like those This meant that the Cenozoic—the age of
of Florissantia. They evolved alongside nectar- mammals—was probably far more colorful than
feeding insects, including bees and butterflies. all previous ages, and buzzing with a greater
These insects transferred pollen from flower to variety of insect life than ever before. 171

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