13 insects in 99-million-year-old amber reveal new species with mouthpart nearly twice its body length

Not much in the world has survived to be known as old as the dinosaurs, but when it comes to a recently discovered insect species, the statement holds true. Some 99 million years ago, a tiny insect belonging to a previously unknown species became trapped in tree resin. The resin hardened and turned into amber; the fossil preserved within it has now led a team of researchers from the School of Zoology and The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History to identify and describe a new species named Cretodorus noonoo, or 'Noo-Noo'.The researchers examined insect fossils belonging to Neazoniidae, an ancient family of planthoppers, including 13 specimens preserved in Kachin amber from Myanmar. The study published in the journal Insects, also revealed an extraordinary biological adaptation that characterised Noo-Noo and its close relatives, exceptionally long and flexible mouthparts that were twice the length of their body. The researchers believe that this unusual structure enabled the insects to reach food sources that were inaccessible to insects with more rigid mouthparts, deep inside cracks and crevices in tree bark. In their modern relatives, the mouthparts are structured like a simple nee...