Scientists have found pseudo-scorpions in amber "hitchhiking" birds

On December 20, Chinese and Canadian paleontologists announced in Beijing that they had found an extremely rare phenomenon of carrying in amber, and that arachnids called pseudo-scorpions would "ride" birds. The study was led by Xing Lida, Associate Professor of China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Ryan McKeller, Professor of the Royal Museum of Saskatchewan, Canada, and Dr. Gao Zhizhong of Xinzhou Normal University. The results of the research were published online in the Journal of Geology (English Edition).

Portability refers to the phenomenon that some small animals have attachment to the bodies of larger, larger animals that are carried and spread. For example, certain mites or other microfauna can attach entire colonies to scarab beetles or fecal bodies to enable the migration of entire communities, which act as flying vehicles. This behavior is often figuratively referred to as "hitchhiking".

The newly discovered specimen comes from the famous amber-producing region of the Hugang Valley in Kachin State in northern Myanmar. According to the volcanic ash measurement of the mine, the amber in this area dates back about 100 million years, which belongs to the earliest period of the late Cretaceous Period. The flora and fauna that lived in the humid tropical environment of northern Myanmar during this period were often wrapped in resins from cypress or araucarias, forming amber over a long geological period and remaining to this day.

Pseudo-scorpions are a very small group of arachnids less than a centimeter long that resemble scorpions but do not have the long tails of scorpions. Pseudospira often uses the act of propagation to move over long distances and is widely distributed in deciduous layers, under bark, under stones, or in bryophytes. It may be that their individuals are too small and their habitat is relatively hidden, so they are rarely noticed. But in fact, pseudo-scorpions are widely present around us, and there are many species, with more than 3600 known species. Some pseudo-scorpions have the habit of carrying, and can attach to insects such as diptera, hymenoptera, coleoptera, orthoptera and blind spiders, birds, and mammals, and then move elsewhere.

"Pseudo-scorpions are not uncommon in Burmese amber, and entomologist Mr. Zhang Weiwei once described the 'free ride' behavior of pseudo-scorpions on flies and scarab beetles." Xing Lida introduced, "Compared with flies or scarab beetles, the huge body of birds can be used by pseudo-scorpions to hide and climb, and generally only a feather can be happily set off." ”

Gao Zhizhong, a professional researcher of pseudo-scorpions, said that the pseudo-scorpions found this time can be morphologically classified into the pseudo-scorpion family, with slender tentacles, nearly triangular dorsal carapace, a clear hood structure, a typical oval abdomen and the presence of whole body particles.

"Carrying is very rare in the fossil record, and previous reports of pseudo-scorpions have been limited to portability on arthropods." Ryan McKeller said, "Our new discovery in amber provides good evidence of the ancient association between the pseudosphinchaceae and primitive birds. The feathers in this amber may have been part of the nest, suggesting that as early as the middle Cretaceous period, the pseudo-scorpion used birds to 'hitchhike' and move between nests. This is of great help to our understanding of the paleoegeology of such animals. (Source: Science Network Cui Xueqin)