This is the unique prehistoric insect in the world that can only be seen in the province of Alicante

How did insects from 300 million years ago look like? This question can be answered from this Monday at a museum in the province of Alicante, where the holotype of a unique fossil in its species is being exhibited for the first time.

This holotype originates from a coal mine in León and has allowed the reconstruction of one of these prehistoric insect specimens. The remains that have endured all this time in the fossil are a wing and fern remnants.

From these elements, it has been possible to reconstruct "the morphology of an insect that visually resembles a dragonfly," detailed the director of the Elche Paleontological Museum (MUPE), Ainara Aberasturi.

And not only that, but it also provides a glimpse of what the vegetation of that era was like. "The ferns have allowed the reconstruction of the forests from 300 million years ago in the León area."

This fossil is a donation from José Luis Garrido to the Elche Paleontological Museum (MUPE), where it is displayed, and is part of the historical collections of the Elche Cultural Paleontological Group.

Aberasturi has made it clear that it is a "holotype, a specimen from which a species is defined worldwide, so any researcher wanting to learn more about this species must come to Elche to study it."

The piece will be on display for a month in the Secrets of MUPE area and will then return to the museum's collection, which currently holds around 60,000 fossil specimens.

The research on this holotype, conducted by a team of palaeontologists led by a researcher from the Swedish Museum of Natural History, alongside scientists from the Geological and Mining Institute of Spain-CSIC, the University of Vigo, and the Natural History Museum of Paris, has confirmed that it is a new species for science.

From MUPE, they detail that a holotype is "a reference specimen for scientists worldwide." The museum already has ten in its collection, safeguarding "unique species that make us a palaeontological reference at both national and international levels," stated the Councillor for Culture, Irene Ruiz.

All of them, except for this last one from León, originate from the province of Alicante. They are in the process of being inventoried and will be displayed in the coming months. "These holotypes give MUPE an exceptional scientific value."