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Ancient Damselflies Captured in Amber Offer Glimpse into 100-Million-Year-Old Mating Ceremonies

Ancient Amber Holds Fossilized Vibrant Legs of Male Damselflies, Suggesting Mating Attraction Purpose.

Preserved damselflies encased in amber provide scientists with a window into ancient courtship...
Preserved damselflies encased in amber provide scientists with a window into ancient courtship behaviors dating back 100 million years.

Ancient Damselflies Captured in Amber Offer Glimpse into 100-Million-Year-Old Mating Ceremonies

In a groundbreaking discovery, scientists, including Won-Seok Kim and colleagues, uncovered three male damselflies of the species Yijenplatycnemis huangi in Cretaceous amber. These ancient creatures, dating back millions of years, have provided a fascinating glimpse into the evolution of damselflies and their mating rituals.

The ancient damselfly, Y. huangi, is larger than today's damselflies and is characterized by protruding structures on its legs adorned with eye-shaped markings. According to Zheng Daran and Wang Bo from the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology, these ornate legs were likely used to attract a female's attention.

However, Melissa Sanchez Herrera, a dragonfly expert, offers a different perspective. She theorizes that the larger leg structures could have attracted predators, a hypothesis supported by the large eye-shaped spots on Y. huangi's legs, which could have been used as a defense mechanism against predators or deflecting attacks on the damselfly's wings.

Modern damselflies and their close kin exhibit a complex mix of cooperation and conflict during mating, but the ancient damselfly's courtship rituals appear to have been far more elaborate. Some male damselflies today wave their legs at females as part of their courtship behavior, although their displays are far less flashy compared to the ancient species.

The study of the evolution of different body plans in ancient and modern damselflies is made possible by the discovery of the amber-trapped insect. Sanchez Herrera believes the find is an incredible opportunity for scientists, offering them a chance to study the evolution of damselflies over time.

The discovery of these ancient damselflies offers a rare insight into the way damselflies wooed their mates in the distant past. The theories about the ancient damselfly's leg structures are based on the assumption that they were used for attracting a female's attention. However, the idea of gears on the legs of Y. huangi is speculative, not explicitly stated in the original findings.

Sanchez Herrera suggests that the loss of larger leg structures over time in damselflies could be due to attracting the wrong kind of attention from predators. This discovery has sparked a new wave of interest and research in the field of evolutionary biology, as scientists continue to unravel the mysteries of these ancient creatures and their behaviors.

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