Found fossil cockroach species 370 million years ago

The unexpected luck was smiling at the international expedition consisting of American, French, Swiss and Belgian scientists. While excavating a site located on the outskirts of Strout (Belgium), archaeologists discovered a particularly rare fossil, the ancestor of a modern cockroach of 370 million years ago. .

The new species of cockroach fossil found dating back 370 million years ago.

Detecting this small animal has great significance. It overturned a hypothesis that has so far been acknowledged for the emergence of winged insects on Earth and pushed forward timelines for millions of years.

Fossils found in Belgium became the only specimen of an insect that lived from the Devonian, from 360 to 415 million years ago. Previously, archaeologists have only found two very small pieces of the jaw of the ancient cockroach and, with the evidence of this sketchy, one cannot say anything more closely about the evolution of insects.

The precious artifacts found in Belgium are cockroaches with the scientific name Strudielladevonica , only 8 millimeters long. It has 6 legs, chest hair, triangular jaw, a pair of whiskers consisting of 2 units facing both sides, the abdominal cavity is divided into 9 parts.

Although the wings were not complete, the scientists judged that the relic was the larva of the world's oldest insect and it died while flying.