Researchers at Tel Aviv University, with a colleague from the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology in China, have described a new insect species, Cretodorus noonoo, nicknamed “Noo-Noo”. The study was published in the journal Insects and announced on 11 October.
The team examined 13 specimens preserved in amber about 99 million years old, from the age of the dinosaurs. The insects had extremely long, flexible mouthparts, nearly twice their body length. Micro-CT scans revealed folds that kept this “trunk” flexible without kinking, and some specimens preserved it bent.
The scientists think these insects fed on sap, reaching deep tree tissue through cracks in the bark. They found no pollen, so pollination is unlikely. Similar structures appeared in several Cretaceous insect groups, possibly linked to thick-barked resin forests.
