How to store remains to survival 110 million years ago

PhysOrg ^ | 12-111-2012

[Renfield]

An insect larva covered by plant remains that lived in the Early Cretaceous, about 110 million years ago, evidences the most ancient known insect camouflage, according to a paper published in the last edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The paper is based on the study of an amber piece found in 2008 in El Soplao outcrop (Cantabria, Northern Spain), the Mesozoic's richest and largest amber site in Europe.

The fossil, about four millimetres long, is a predatory larva of the order Neuroptera. It is covered by a tangle of filamentous plant remains that it collected with its jaws to form a defensive shield and camouflage itself. This kind of behaviour, the trash-carrying, is a survival strategy observed in current species to render them nearly undetectable to predators and preys. The fossil, related to current green lacewings, represents a new genus and species designated Hallucinochrysa diogenesi, alluding to its mind-blowing appearance and resemblance to Diogenes syndrome, a human behavioural disorder characterized by compulsive hoarding of trash...

[Renfield]

http://cdn.physorg.com/newman/gfx/news/2012/themindblowi.jpg

[SunkenCiv]

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Thanks Renfield. Just adding to the catalog, not sending a general distribution. To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.