Cocoons of invertebrates are rarely preserved as fossils, only a few reports existing in the literature. Yet many insect species produce cocoons as part of their life histories. We here report the discovery of what appear to be fossilised cocoons from Plio-Pleistocene cave breccia at Prospekteerkop, on farm Rietfontein in the Otavi Mountainland and try to identify them by comparing them to modern analogues among Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) and Coleoptera (beetles). The specimens are most likely to have been made by a species of beetle. Ke words: plio-pleistocene, Otavi Mountainland, fossilised cocoons.
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A note on Plio_Pleistocene insect cocoons from Prospekteerkop_Rietfontein_northern Namibia.pdf | 1.17 MB |