Researchers have rediscovered an extensive collection of 20 million-year-old amber, which was initially collected in the 1950s, and found a new insect species - the pygmy locust.
The raw ambers, weighing over 160 pounds in total, were first collected in 1959 in the Dominican Republic by entomologist Milton Sanderson. The forgotten collection was in storage and rediscovered in 2010. The collection is currently kept at the Illinois Natural History Survey.
For the unfamiliar, amber is fossilized tree resin and is usually sticky before it hardens. During this process, a lot of times vegetation, insects and small mammals can get trapped inside. This would explain why the pygmy locust was found lodged in the amber sample, which also contained "wasps, ants, midges, plant remnants and fungi."
The discovery is of significance as the researchers have found interesting evidence on the evolution of locusts. The pygmy locust, a type of grasshopper, discovered is a part of the subfamily of locusts called Cladonotinae. This miniscule locust is believed to have fed on algae, moss and fungi and is the size of a rose thorn.
The pygmy locust has been dubbed Electrotettix attenboroughi after naturalist David Attenborough. The name is derived from electrum, Latin for amber, and tettix, which is Greek for grasshopper. The discovered pygmy locust has small wings; however, these insects did not use them to fly and the discovery is seen as an evolutionary step from wings to no wings for the species. Presently, locusts do not have wings and most of these insects cannot fly in the complete sense.
"Grasshoppers are very rare in amber and this specimen is extraordinarily well-preserved," says Sam Heads, a paleontologist at the Illinois Natural History Survey, a division of the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois.
Researchers are still examining the amber collection for more evolutionary clues and given the massive collection it may take them years to curate the same. The screening process, however, is quite slow as bulk of the amber in the collection is clouded with oxidation. To get a clear glimpse into what the amber is storing inside, the researchers need to polish the stone to create "windows" and cut it carefully.
The team of researchers also discovered several other insects inside the amber samples, which include Azteca ants, mating flies, spiders, wasps, bark beetles, etc.
Heads opines that the discovery of "fossil insects" can give researchers greater insight into "the evolution of specific traits and behaviors." Moreover, the fossils also reveal details about the time period, as well as a deeper understanding of the history.
"They're a tremendous resource for understanding the ancient world, ancient ecosystems and the ancient climate-better even, perhaps, than dinosaur bones," adds Head.
The researchers' findings have been published in the journal ZooKeys.
