Baltic-amber-fossil
Guides
Aradus
flat bugs
Aradus is a genus of flat bugs (family Aradidae) containing approximately 200 or more species distributed worldwide, with highest diversity in the Holarctic region. These insects are strongly associated with forest habitats, particularly dead and decaying wood where they feed on fungi. Several species exhibit pyrophilous behavior, colonizing burned forests to exploit fungi that grow on charred wood. The genus has a documented fossil record extending back to the Eocene, with 14 species described from Baltic amber inclusions.
Cladonychiidae
cladonychiid harvestmen
A small family of harvestmen (suborder Laniatores) comprising approximately 33 described species. Body length ranges from under two to about four millimeters. Members possess robust, spined pedipalps and relatively short legs, though the second pair may reach two centimeters. Coloration varies from reddish brown to dark brown in surface-dwelling species to pale yellow in cave-dwelling forms.
Inocelliidae
Square-headed Snakeflies, inocelliid snakeflies
Inocelliidae is a small family of snakeflies (order Raphidioptera) containing eight extant genera plus fossil taxa. Members are commonly known as square-headed snakeflies due to their distinctive head shape. The family is distributed across the Northern Hemisphere, with extant species found in temperate forests of Eurasia and North America. Inocelliidae are holometabolous predators with larvae that inhabit bark and wood of coniferous and deciduous trees, where they prey on other insects. The family includes notable fossil representatives such as Fibla carpenteri from Baltic amber, the largest known snakefly species.