Found the oldest fossil beetle in the world

The 425-million-year-old specimen reveals that many-legged animals were present on Earth earlier than any other "horror" insects, spiders or insects, according to lead researcher Michael Brookfield from the School of Geosciences. Jackson substance at the University of Texas, USA. This finding provides new evidence for the origin and evolution of bugs and plants.

Fossils of an ancient scroll are found in Scotland. (Photo: British Geological Survey).

Based on analyzes of shingles (microscopic minerals inside fossils), the researchers determined that ancient scrolls left the pond environment to move to complex forest ecosystems over an extended process. 40 million years.

"It's a huge leap for these tiny creatures and it doesn't seem to take as much time as scientists once thought. They have undergone a process of rapid evolutionary radiation from the valleys. valley in the mountains to the lower region, then spread to the whole world, " Brookfield said. 

Kerrera Island in Scotland. (Photo: Michael Brookfield).

Previous studies based on the "molecular clock" technique suggest that ancient bipedal animals appeared on Earth 75 million years later. The shingle extraction technique is an improved fossil dating method developed by PhD student Stephanie Suarez from the University of Houston, USA, a member of the research team.

The rolling specimen at Kerrera, though believed to be the oldest beetle fossil, Brookfield and his colleagues believe that there are certainly longer-lasting fossils, but they have not been found. The study details were published in Historical Biology on May 13.