The Cretaceous insects in the family Umenocoleidae have been difficult to classify, but for Soo Bin Lee they are a window into one of the most interesting periods of our prehistoric world. While closely related to the modern cockroaches in order Blattodea, fossil Umenocoleids have been found and researched across the world and found to be present across a larger portion of geologic time than expected. They’re linked to the Cretaceous Terrestrial Revolution, an important period of change when angiosperms, or flowering plants, exploded in diversity and prevalence and changed the development of insects as a result. 

By examining the tiny and delicate wing venation of fossils, Lee and his coauthors were able to uncover and untangle a new chapter in our knowledge of prehistory. Listen in as Lee draws us into the world of prehistoric creatures, environmental change, and the beauty and complexity of wings.

Soo Bin Lee’s paper “A new Albian genus and species and two other new species of Umenocoleidae (Dictyoptera) from South Korea” is in volume 166 of Cretaceous Research

It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2024.106013

A transcript of this episode can be found here: Soo Bin Lee - Transcript

New Species: Umenocoleus minimus, Pseudoblattapterix weoni, Petropterix koreaensis

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