The finding has led scientists to rethink the entire evolution of millipedes which dates back 100 million years.
Leif MoritzThe 99 - million - year - old millipede fossilized in Burmese gold .
The exam of a 99 million - year - old fossilized millipede trapped in amber is bringing scientists to rethink the evolution of the entire millipede species .
accord to a study published in the journalZooKeys , researchers realized that the perfectly preserved 8.2 mm specimen , which was establish in Myanmar , was an whole new specie of its own , apply its peculiar word structure that differed greatly from subsist milliped classification .
Leif MoritzThe 99-million-year-old millipede fossilized in Burmese amber.
“ It get along as a capital surprise to us that this animate being can not be placed in the current millipede classification , ” Professor Pavel Stoev of the National Museum of Natural History in Bulgaria said in astatement .
“ Even though their general appearance has remained unaltered in the last 100 million years , as our satellite undergo striking change several prison term in this menses , some morphological traits in Callipodida lineage have evolved importantly . ”
As a result of this exciting find , Stoev together with his fellow Dr. Thomas Wesener and Leif Moritz of the Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig in Germany had to retool the current millipede categorization and usher in a new suborder for the specimen . There have only been a smattering of millipede suborders discover in the last five decades .
To get a more exact flavor at the ossified millipede ’s sound structure , researchers used 3D X - ray microscopy to construct a practical manikin of the ancient millepede , include its internal feature article .
The examination showed that the 99 million - year - old millipede was , in fact , importantly different from other early millepede coinage . The investigator advert the new speciesBurmanopetalum inexpectatum , with the latter Logos meaning “ unexpected ” in Latin .
Among theBurmanopetalum inexpectatum‘s unequalled traits are its eye , which is composed of five optical units where other millipede orders usually have but two or three .
Another enchanting trait of the freshly discovered millipede is its smooth hypoproct , which is the spot located in between the anus and the privates of an worm . By comparison , its younger brother usually have hypopcrocts that are covered in bristle . These extremely unusual traits have given scientists a completely new linear perspective regarding how its kind evolved .
Not to be confused with centipedes , millipedes belong to thediplopodaclass which is Latin for “ double foot . ” The name refers to the two pairs of peg that these critters have on each of their body segments in gain to its many tiny legs . By comparison , centipede have only one pair of legs per body segment .
Also unlike centipedes , millipedes are not participating marauder and they hold up on a diet of decay plant issue . When threatened , millipedes will secrete venomous chemicals to deter animals that may want to hurt or eat them . Scientists estimate that there are 80,000 species of millipedes , yet only a fraction have been discovered and studied .
This ancient insect ’s peculiar characteristics are not the only affair that jell it apart , however . The fact that it was discovered in Myanmar is also significant because scientists have never discovered a Callipodidan in Myanmar before , which signify that this monastic order of insect must have subsist in the Southeast Asiatic region as well .
The Burmese amber that the millepede had been trapped in was part of a private collection of animals that belonged to Patrick Müller .
This aggregation included 400 amber stones that the scientists had been concede access to , and is the largest collection of its kind in Europe and the third - largest in the human beings . Much of the collection is now deposited at the Museum Koenig in Bonn , Germany , where other research worker from around the world may clear admittance to study the collection , too .
Next , say aboutthe 180 - million - class old fossil of the pretermit link in the crocodile family tree diagram . And then , discover aboutthe gorgeous 100 - million - year honest-to-god flowers detect perfectly bear on in amber .
