| Delitzschala Temporal range:
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|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Clade: | Pancrustacea |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | †Palaeodictyoptera |
| Family: | †Spilapteridae |
| Genus: | †Delitzschala Brauckmann et Schneider, 19961 |
| Species: | †D. bitterfeldensis
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| Binomial name | |
| †Delitzschala bitterfeldensis Brauckmann et Schneider, 1996
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Delitzschala is an extinct palaeodictyopteran, the oldest known to science. It was discovered by two German entomologists in 1996. Delitzschala had a wingspan of just 2½ cm (1 in) and an irregular pattern of coloured spots on its wings. Although it was from Middle Carboniferous (Namurian),2 these spots were still visible in the fossil. It is possible that this camouflaged the animal, as it may have rested with its wings open as many modern-day insects do.
References
References
- Brauckmann, Carsten; Schneider, Joerg (1996). "Ein unter-karbonisches Insekt aus dem Raum Bitterfeld/Delitzsch (Pterygota, Arnsbergium, Deutschland)" [A Lower Carboniferous insect from the Bitterfeld/Delitzsch area (Pterygota, Arnsbergian, Germany)]. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Monatshefte (in German). 1996 (1): 17–30. doi:10.1127/njgpm/1996/1996/17.
- Brauckmann, Carsten; Brauckmann, Brigitte; Gröning, Elke (1996-02-01). "The stratigraphical position of the oldest known Pterygota (insecta. Carboniferous, Namurian)". Annales de la Société géologique de Belgique. ISSN 0037-9395.
- Dragonhunters Archived 2018-02-09 at the Wayback Machine V. Medland (2007) Econotes at the Cofrin Center for Biodiversity