Chinese and American scientists discovered pollinators 100 million years ago

Xinhua News Agency, Nanjing, November 12 (Reporter Wang Wei) reporter from
Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology was informed that the institute researchers in cooperation with indian university scholars in the United States, about 100 million years ago in the Cretaceous Myanmar amber, found a quilt plant pollination of insect specimens. This is one of the earliest animals ever found to pollinator.
research results were published on the 12th in the authoritative scientific journal
American Academy of Sciences.
, a researcher at the Nangu Institute who led the study, said the insect specimen found in Amber, Myanmar, was a flea beetle with a large amount of pollen on its body. The beetle, which still exists today, is a very common pollinator. Using high-resolution optical microscopes and microCTs, the researchers obtained a high-precision 3D image of the flea. Images show that the body of the amber flea is flat, bent into a "C" type, and has an extremely developed, jump-suitable rear foot. This body size is ideal for moving on the crown, allowing for efficient contact with and carrying pollen. In addition, the jaw of the flea mouther must be puffed at the end, like a small shovel, which is conducive to the collection and collection of pollen particles.
, the team also found at least 62 pollen particles near the flea's abdomen, wings and body. These pollen individuals are large, the surface has complex ornaments, belongs to the higher plants. Combining a series of evidences, including flea body structure and pollen morphology, the team determined that the 100 million-year-old flea had been pollinated by ancient bee plants.
", the proven history of pollination of animals as flowers is only 48 million years old, a record that has been advanced by more than 50 million years. Animal pollination is still the basis for the normal operation of terrestrial ecosystems and human agriculture. We now know that this important ecological mechanism existed 100 million years ago. Wang Bo said.