The uniqueness is its striking resemblance to the fossilized leaves with which it was discovered, indicating one of the earliest known instances of biological mimicry.

[4] It was recovered along with preserved leaves of a ginkgo-like tree, Yimaia capituliformis, in Middle Jurassic deposit of 164-165 million years of age of the Jiulongshan Formation.

The most interesting find about this association was that the wings of the hangingfly and the ginkgo-like leaves are strikingly similar so much so that they are easily confused in the field.

This is obvious because the fauna at Daohugou is already known to host a horde of predators, including larger predatory insects, mammals, pterosaurs, and small arboreal dinosaurs .

The four long wings and body of the hangingfly so perfectly matched the five hanging lobes of a single ginkgo-like leaf that it baffled the scientists even in the lab, so said Conrad Labandeira, one of discoverers from National Museum of Natural History.