Amber from Myanmar’s Kachin region has revealed extraordinary glimpses of life during the age of dinosaurs. Preserved inside the 100-million-year-old resin are the fossils of an ancient forest ecosystem that once supported a remarkable diversity of creatures, including species never seen before.
Now, researchers at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU) have identified a newly discovered true bug (Heteroptera) with a particularly unusual feature. Its front legs ended in large claw-like structures that resembled the pincers of crabs. These appendages, known as chelae, function much like forceps and are extremely unusual among insects.
Rare Crab-Clawed Ancient Insect
“Previously, such chelae were only known from three insect groups. This fossil therefore represents the fourth known case of these structures evolving independently in insects,” explains Privatdozent Caroline Hogg, a zoologist at LMU’s Faculty of Biology.
Haug and his colleagues worked with researchers from the University of Rostock and the University of Oulu in Finland to study the fossil in detail. Using micro-computed tomography, the team created highly detailed 3D images, allowing them to examine the insect’s anatomy. Their findings were published in the journal insects.
The scientists also conducted a large morphological comparison that included more than 2,000 chelicerae and similar grasping appendages from both living and extinct species. Their analysis revealed that the claws of this fossil bug were quite different from those found in other insects. Instead, the structures more closely resembled those seen in more distant arthropods such as decapods (crabs, lobsters, shrimp, etc.) and taenids.
New species named after street children
Due to its highly unusual anatomy, the insect was named an entirely new genus. carcinonepa. The name combines the Latinized Greek word for “crab” (carcino-). NEPAReferring to the true water bug group Nepomorpha.
“Species name liberator is a Latinization of the highly successful K-pop group Stray Kids,” explains Caroline Hogg. “The name seemed appropriate because the fossilized disciple’s pose strongly resembles the group’s trademark pose. I should also say that Stray Kids is the favorite band of Fenza Hogg, one of the newspaper’s writers.”
Based on conserved physical traits, researchers classified Carcinonepa Liberantes As part of the true water bugs (Nepomorpha) within the broader true bug group (Heteroptera). Apart from its dramatic claws, the insect’s body shares similarities with modern Gelastocoridae, also known as toad bugs, which are ground-dwelling predators.
A small predator from the Cretaceous forest
Morphology of ” C. Liberator “This suggests that this species had a similar lifestyle,” says Caroline Hogg. “We can imagine that it lived in a Cretaceous forest, perhaps near the coast.”
Researchers believe the large chelicerae on its front legs were likely used to catch and hold small insect prey as it hunted in ancient coastal environments.