Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory Science Newsletter. Explore the universe with news about fascinating discoveries, scientific advances and more.
CNN
–
Pushed by the rocks was a flat 47 million-year-old Chicada body. With a length of approximately 1 inch (26.5 mm) and a wingspan of 2.7 inches (68.2 mm), the fossilized form is almost intact, with wide spreading of its vein.
Scientists recently described the insects as new genus and species using one other that was almost similarly preserved from the same location as the fossil. Although the specimen is female, the CICADA family tree position suggests that this type of man can sing like modern CICADA. Discovered in Germany decades ago, their existence reveals that singing cicada was scattered in Europe millions of years ago.
Fossils are also the oldest example of “true” singing cicada in the family Chicadidae family, researchers reported April 29 in the journal Scientific Reports. Most modern cicadas belong to this family, including the annual cicada that appears every summer around the world, and the cyclic cicada chicks with black bods and red eyes that appear from May to June in eastern North America on a 13- or 17-year cycle. One of the biggest chicks, Brood XIV, has appeared in dozens of US states this year. CICADA is found on all continents except Antarctica, with over 3,000 species.
The fossil records of common insects are abundant in only dozens of places, and while modern Chicada species are numerous today, paleontologists have recorded only 44 Cicadidae fossils. The oldest and most definitive fossil of the singing Chicada was discovered in Montana, with dates discovered between 59 and 56 million years ago, said Dr. Hui Jiang, a paleontologist and researcher at the Institute of Bon Biological Biology at the University of Bonn in Germany. That newly listed relative is Europe’s earliest singing Chicada, Jiang told CNN via email.
The body structure of European fossils was so well preserved that scientists were able to assign ancient insects to modern cicada tribes called Plachipleurini.
Previous studies suggest that the strain evolved in Africa about 30 to 25 million years ago and dispersed from it, Jiang said. “The fossil pushes back the known fossil records that produce the sounds of the tribal Prepleurini tribes around 20 million years later, indicating that diversification of this group occurred much earlier than previously recognized,” the researchers added.
The findings suggest that this group of groups evolved slowly than previous estimates from proposed molecular data, said Dr. Conrad Labandeira, a senior research geologist for fossil arthropods at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC.
“This suggests that no old fossils of Plachi Pleurini have been discovered yet,” said Labandeira, who was not involved in the study. “Discoveries like this help to provide better calibration to determine more realistic evolutionary rates.”
A researcher named CICADA EOPLATYPLEURA MESSELENSIS. The name refers to the location where the specimen was found. It is a rich fossil site (57-36 million years ago) dating back to the Eocene Epoch, Messelpit, Germany. The fossils, excavated in the 1980s, have since participated in the collections of the German Institute of Senkenberg and the Museum of Natural History Frankfurt.
It once filled the hole in Messel in a very deep volcanic lake with an oxygen-free bottom. The environment creates ideal conditions for fossilization, and fine-grained deposits from this former lake bed hold a variety of Eocene life, Wedman told CNN via email.
The designation was acquired in 1995, saying, “The excellent preservation of all groups of living things, not just insects, is why Mesul is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.”
Wedmann added that “one of the most conserved insects of the Messel Pit fossil site,” more complete of the two CICADA fossils. “Senckenberg has a collection of over 20,000 fossil insects from Messel, and among these, it stands out for its truly beautiful and complete preservation.”
In overall head and body shape, E. Messelensis is very similar to modern cikada. The vanguardira says that the vanguard — a nose-like mouth — remains intact, but as most Cicadas does, a closer analysis is needed to determine whether the vanguard was used to eat plant tissue called xylem.
E. Messelensis also provides hints for wing colour and pattern. According to Jiang, this feature camouflages modern cicadas when cling to the trunk of a tree, and E. It could have served a similar purpose for messelensis.
However, E. Messelensis differs from modern cikada in a subtle way. For example, the nearest ones may have influenced the way they fly because they are wider and less elongated than the species that live today.
Did the ancient Chicada call sound like its modern day parents? “You can’t know the exact song,” Jiang said. However, based on the shape and arrangement of the Chicada body of the Synthing Chicada Group, “it is likely to produce similar sounds as modern cicadas.”
When the Brood XIV appears in billions of people in the late spring and early summer of 2025, their calls are measured from 90 to 100 decibels. Other types of Chicada produce even greater fuss. The song of African Cicada Brevisana Brevis Peak is nearly 107 dB, just as loud as the jet takes off.
The volume of the ancient species song may have been even greater, Jiang said. The abdomen of E. Messelensis is broader and larger than that of its modern parent, suggesting that males may have a larger resonant cavity. This cavity could be generating more buzz by amplifying sounds from the vibrating structures of the abdomen, known as chumpbals.
“Of course, this is just a hypothesis,” Jiang added. “Future research into how morphology relates to healthy production in modern Chicada will help test it.”
Mindy Weisberger is a science writer and media producer who appeared in Live Science, Scientific American and How It Works Magazine.