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Extraordinary Ancient Earwig Species Discovered
Euronews ^ | 19 Dec 2024 | Anna Ellis

Posted on 12/21/2024 1:20:25 PM PST by nickcarraway

A newly discovered species of earwig, estimated to be about 55 million years old, has been found in Denmark.

The ancient insect, named Apachyus madseni, lived during the Early Eocene epoch and measured nearly 1.9 cm (0.75 inches) long.

Apachyus madseni belongs to the genus Apachyus within the family Apachyidae, which is part of the order Dermaptera (commonly known as earwigs). Today, species from this family are mainly found in central and southern Africa, India, Southeast Asia, and Australia. Modern earwigs are known for their flat bodies and bright colouring.

Most Read on Euro Weekly News

Denmark bans non-nordic flags on flagpoles “Currently, the Apachyidae family has 15 living species divided into two genera, 13 species in Apachyus and two in Dendroiketes,” explained Museum Mor’s palaeontologist Jan Audun Rasmussen and his colleagues. “Apachyus madseni expands the known range of this family, showing that their current distribution does not necessarily reflect their past range.”

Ancient Earwig Species Discovery Location A mostly complete fossil of Apachyus madseni was discovered in the Fur Formation on Mors Island in northwestern Denmark. This site, part of the Fur Formation, was once a seabed during the Early Eocene epoch when Denmark was covered by the sea.

“The fossil represents the second Dermaptera species identified from the Fur Formation, and the first to belong to the Apachyidae family,” the paleontologists said.

The researchers believe Apachyus madseni was likely carried to the sea by driftwood or tree bark, possibly from Sweden or Norway. “We are not surprised to find an ancestor of this tropical and subtropical family so far north in Denmark,” said Dr. Rasmussen. “Fifty-five million years ago, the region had subtropical to near-tropical conditions, which is reflected in the fossilised fish, birds, insects, and plants discovered in the seabed deposits of Mors and Fur.”

The findings have been published in the journal Palaeoentomology.


TOPICS: History; Pets/Animals; Science
KEYWORDS: apachyusmadsen; apachyusmadseni; denmark; earwig; entomology; fossils; godsgravesglyphs; kamalasearrings; nightgallery; palaeoentomology; paleoentomology

Do earwigs make chutney?

1 posted on 12/21/2024 1:20:25 PM PST by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

So whose ears were they crawling in back then?


2 posted on 12/21/2024 1:23:16 PM PST by 9YearLurker
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To: nickcarraway

Step on it.


3 posted on 12/21/2024 1:25:21 PM PST by griffin (When you have to shoot, SHOOT; don't talk. -Tuco)
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To: SunkenCiv

Ping


4 posted on 12/21/2024 1:26:26 PM PST by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

I think i have seen this rare species while cleaning my deck furniture last summer..


5 posted on 12/21/2024 1:36:32 PM PST by mowowie
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To: nickcarraway

Boy, have I been waiting for this one.


6 posted on 12/21/2024 1:39:52 PM PST by dljordan (What would Michael Collins do?)
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To: nickcarraway

Obviously, wiped out by global warming, caused by 55 million year old SUV’s.


7 posted on 12/21/2024 1:41:33 PM PST by Fireone (Americans have had enough. (build the gallows))
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To: nickcarraway

Didn’t Khan put one of those in Chekov’s ear?


8 posted on 12/21/2024 1:45:08 PM PST by JZelle
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To: nickcarraway

You survived against all odds, but unfortunately it was a female, and pregnant.


9 posted on 12/21/2024 2:08:10 PM PST by ansel12 ((NATO warrior under Reagan, and RA under Nixon, bemoaning the pro-Russians from Vietnam to Ukraine.))
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To: JZelle

Also a famous episode of the Twilight Zone. The punch line: After the victim suffered terribly, it came out the other ear. Whereupon the attending physician lays the bad news on him that the bug had been pregnant


10 posted on 12/21/2024 2:13:43 PM PST by j.havenfarm (24 years on Free Republic, 12/10/24! More than 10,500 replies and still not shutting up!)
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To: nickcarraway
… Denmark bans non-nordic flags on flagpoles…

As usual, the lede is buried.

11 posted on 12/21/2024 2:36:17 PM PST by BradyLS (DO NOT FEED THE BEARS!)
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To: nickcarraway

What do flags in Scandinavia have to do with this story? The narrative is hard to follow.


12 posted on 12/21/2024 3:04:29 PM PST by Disambiguator
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To: 9YearLurker
T-Rex


13 posted on 12/21/2024 3:06:28 PM PST by Alas Babylon! (Repeal the Patriot Act; Abolish the DHS; reform FBI top to bottom!)
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To: j.havenfarm

That was the first thing I though about too. It did involve Rod Sterling only it was an episode of Night Gallery called “The Caterpillar” from 1972. Anyone who ever watched that episode never forgot it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdeHEXn5Riw


14 posted on 12/21/2024 3:15:25 PM PST by Revel
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To: Alas Babylon!

Of course!


15 posted on 12/21/2024 4:17:21 PM PST by 9YearLurker
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To: nickcarraway


"Denmark bans non-nordic flags on flagpoles"


I am sure that has something to do with earwigs...
16 posted on 12/21/2024 4:26:31 PM PST by Bikkuri (I am proud to be a PureBlood.)
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To: nickcarraway; StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; 1ofmanyfree; 21twelve; 24Karet; ...
These fossil insect finds kinda, uh, bug me. /rimshot

17 posted on 12/21/2024 11:34:44 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
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To: j.havenfarm

Wasn’t it Night Gallery?


18 posted on 12/21/2024 11:37:24 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
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To: j.havenfarm
Also a famous episode of the Twilight Zone.

Night Gallery, sir, Night Gallery!

19 posted on 12/22/2024 1:16:16 AM PST by 17th Miss Regt ( Fascist, deplorable and proud of it.)
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To: Alas Babylon!

That picture looks earily real!


20 posted on 12/22/2024 1:20:24 AM PST by 17th Miss Regt ( Fascist, deplorable and proud of it.)
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