When you buy through links on our web site , we may take in an affiliate commissioning . Here ’s how it work .
A uncommon patch of amber has uphold the sexual union behaviour of 38 million - year - old white ant , research worker have revealed .
The gold , or fossilized tree resin , holds the oldest and only trace span ofElectrotermes affinistermites and reveals that these long - extinct insects in all likelihood affiance in the same mating behavior as termites that are live today , according to a new study , published March 5 in the journalPNAS .
Two termites getting ready to mate were preserved in amber 38 million years ago.
Co - authorAleš Buček , promontory of the Laboratory of Insect Symbiosis at the Czech Academy of Sciences , saw the amber in an on-line fossil shop class and immediately recognized its import , according to a argument relinquish by theOkinawa Institute of Science and Technologyin Japan .
" Termite fossils are very coarse , but this piece was alone because it contains a pair , " Buček say . " I have take in C of fossils with termites enclose , but never a pair . "
Related : Bloom entombed in amber is the big fossilized efflorescence ever plant
Close up image showing the parallel position of the termites, with the female touching the male on the left.
In this case , the fossil was Eocene Baltic amber from a mine in Yantarny , Kaliningrad , which is part of Russia . Bubbles in the amber obscure the ulterior part of the termites ' abdomens , so the team used a 3D imaging technique called X - ray microtomography to look inside the dodo and distinguish them as manlike and female .
The two termites were preserved side by side , with the female ’s back talk touching the summit of the male person ’s stomach . snug venter physical contact is part of a mutual conjugation behavior in living termites phone tandem run . Mating pairs apply tandem running to stay together while looking for nest site . However , living termite run in a straight line , with one termite following straight behind the other , so the side - by - side position of the fossilized pair would be unusual for this behavior .
— Tardigrade trap in amber is a never - before - go steady mintage
— Amber tomb of ' dancing ' wasp and delicate flower also hides a gruesome arcanum
— ' Strange brute ' in amber is a very unearthly lizard
To test whether the ancient termites could have shifted position as they got stuck in the tree resin , the team attempt to vivify the brace ’s final moments in a lab with living termite . The researchers watch mating pair of Formosan subterraneous termites ( Coptotermes formosanus ) at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology — they are aninvasive speciesin Japan — and made them take the air onto pasty traps .
In the test , the lead termite got stuck first , and the follower go on going , shifting around . In some showcase , the pair end up in a side - by - side position like the fossilise termites , suggesting that the ancient termites were probably tandem run in a straight line of merchandise before making striking with the tree diagram rosin .
" If a pair encounters a predator , they usually escape but I recall on a glutinous surface they do not realise the danger and get trammel , " lead authorNobuaki Mizumoto , an assistant prof of bugology and plant pathology at Auburn University in Alabama , say in the instruction .
T. rex may have evolve in North America after all , scientist say
Giant pterosaurs were n’t only salutary at flying , they could take the air among dinosaurs too
The constant surveillance of modern life could worsen our brain function in ways we do n’t fully understand , disturbing studies propose
