Unveiling the Ancient World’s Freakiest Secrets
The ancient world was even more astonishing than we previously thought. Recent research has shed light on a parasitic wasp, preserved in amber for nearly 100 million years, which possessed a unique, Venus flytrap-like belly that it potentially used to capture its victims.
A New Species Emerges
Scientists from China and Denmark have published their findings in a study in the journal BMC Biology, introducing the world to Sirenobethylus charybdis—a name that pays homage to the legendary female sea monster of ancient Greek mythology. This insect, with its distinctive appearance, is believed to represent a previously unknown lineage of insects. The researchers’ discovery is based on the analysis of 16 adult female specimens collected from amber found in the Kachin region of northern Myanmar.
A Monstrous Legacy
In Greek mythology, Charybdis is often depicted as a sea monster capable of creating massive whirlpools that threatened to impede the hero Odysseus’ journey home. While S. charybdis may have been significantly smaller than its mythological counterpart, it certainly had its own set of remarkable, monstrous-looking features. The scientists used X-rays to create a 3D reconstruction of the insect, determining that it belongs to the parasitoid superfamily of insects called Chrysidoidea, albeit in an entirely new genus.
A Parasitoid’s Deadly Grip
Parasitoids are parasites that spend their early lives inside or on a host before reaching maturity and living freely as adults. S. charybdis might have been a koinobiont, a parasitoid that allows the host to feed and even grow while it’s being invaded early on, although the host usually eventually dies. The researchers believe that S. charybdis might have used its unique abdominal apparatus to hold onto its hosts, rather than simply restraining males during mating.
A Reconstruction of Sirenobethylus charybdis
[Image: A reconstruction of Sirenobethylus charybdis (Copyright Xiaoran Zuo)]The Venus Flytrap of the Ancient World
The lower abdomen of S. charybdis appears to be unlike anything seen before in an insect, with three horizontal flaps and hair-like bristles that evoke the Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula). The researchers suggest that this apparatus had a grasping function, potentially used to capture hosts. While it’s possible that this feature was used for mating, the scientists believe it was more likely used to hold onto hapless hosts.
A Lost Evolutionary Adaptation
The discovery of S. charybdis indicates that ancient parasitic insects had a wide range of evolutionary adaptations that have since disappeared. There is no known insect living today with a similar strategy for catching hosts, highlighting the diversity of parasitoid strategies that existed in the mid-Cretaceous period. As the researchers note, "Our findings suggest that Chrysidoidea displayed a wider range of parasitoid strategies in the mid-Cretaceous than they do today."
A Relic of the Past
Given the vast array of parasites that exist today, including wasps that can turn their cockroach hosts into "walking zombies," it’s perhaps fortunate that Mother Nature has forgotten some of her tricks. The discovery of S. charybdis serves as a reminder of the fascinating, and sometimes unsettling, secrets that the ancient world still holds.
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