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Functioning ‘mechanical gears’ discovered in nature for the first time To the best of our knowledge, the mechanical gear (equally sized teeth cut into two rotating surfaces to lock them together as they turn) was invented by Greek mechanics in Alexandria around 300 B.C.E. Functioning ‘mechanical gears’ discovered in nature for the first time Since then, the simple concept has become a foundation of modern technology, allowing a wide range of machinery and vehicles, including automobiles and bicycles. However, As it turns out, a three-millimeter-long hopping insect known as Issus coleopterous beat us to this invention. Malcolm Burrows and Gregory...

A plant-hopping insect found in gardens across Europe - has hind-leg joints with curved cog-like strips of opposing 'teeth' that intermesh, rotating like mechanical gears to synchronise the animal's legs when it launches into a jump. This image shows cog wheels connecting the hind legs of the plant hopper, Issus. Credit: Burrows/Sutton Photograph of an Issus nymph. Credit: Malcolm Burrows The finding demonstrates that gear mechanisms previously thought to be solely man-made have an evolutionary precedent. Scientists say this is the "first observation of mechanical gearing in a biological structure". Through a combination of anatomical analysis and high-speed video capture...