Delitzschala

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iDelitzschala
Fossil range: Early Carboniferous
Conservation status
Extinct (fossil)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Palaeodictyoptera
Genus: Delitzschala
Species: D. bitterfeldensis
Binomial name
Delitzschala bitterfeldensis
Brauckmann et Schneider, 1996

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 320 million years old, these spots were still visible in the fossil. It is presumed that they camouflaged the animal, since dragonflies are unable to fold their wings.