The pair of insects love each other for 165 million years

Fossilized Chinese scientists of two ancient insects are still in mating posture due to being interrupted by a volcanic eruption.

Fossilized Chinese scientists of two ancient insects are still in mating posture due to being interrupted by a volcanic eruption.

This discovery is published in Plos One magazine. According to research author Chung Kun Shih - visiting professor at Captial Normal University (China) - insect fossils mating trapped in amber are quite rare. So far, only 40 fossils have been found worldwide, most of them about 100 million years ago.

Picture 1 of The pair of insects love each other for 165 million years

Ancient insects were discovered in mating posture.(Photo: businessinsider.com)

Researchers excavated a fossil-rich area in Inner Mongolia and discovered these two organisms. Professor Shih said: 'Insect fossils in this area are very good. We can see the structure of every detail of the male and female genitals'.

Although 165 million years have passed, the anatomical structures and mating positions in these two Jurassic creatures have not changed much compared to modern froghoppers (cicadas). Their genitals are often symmetrical and this species is very fond of the 'face-to-face' mating position when standing on grass branches, branches, leaves .

The team hypothesized that these two organisms were stuck in mating due to a volcanic eruption that produced toxic gases that destroyed all life in the area. After that, they were brought back to the nearby lake by wind or other natural elements and eventually buried deep in sediments for millions of years.

Update 17 December 2018
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