Suara.com – For scientist investigate fossil flies 47 million years old who were found at the Messel Pit site, Germany, and found that the fly still had food in its stomach.
The animal’s stomach was distended and filled with pollen. This discovery is the first direct evidence that several ancient fly species ate microspores from different subtropical plant species.
“The pollen content found in the fly’s stomach indicates that the fly ate and transported pollen 47 million years ago,” said Fridgeir Grímsson, a botanist at the University of Vienna.
This suggests that it plays an important role in the spread of pollen from some plant taxa.
Also Read:
Scientists Solve Mysteries of How the World’s Oldest Computer Works
Today, pollinators are generally synonymous with birds, bees and butterflies.
Very few have linked it to flies, although it is generally considered to be the second most important pollinating insect.
This new fossil represents new species ancient short proboscis fly (Hirmoneura messelense) which appears to be quite fond of pollen.
Experts suggest that these pollinating insects may have outdone bees.
The pollen found in the fly’s stomach is also so preserved that it provides information about the plants it is eating.
Also Read:
Fear of extinction of Earth’s species, Scientists Plan to Build a Seed Bank on the Moon
Microscopic analysis showed that there were traces of pollen from at least four plant families, including aquatic willows and ivy, which probably grew around the forest edges of an ancient lake.
The researchers also found long hairs known as satae on the chest or stomach of flies.
Although no pollen was found on the hair, the use of long hair on the fly’s body can also carry pollen when the flies fly from one flower to another.
Meanwhile, three unknown types of pollen in the fly’s stomach also showed that the fly ate a mixture of parent plants that grew close together.
![47-year-old fossil fly that still stores food. [Current Biology]](https://media.suara.com/pictures/653x366/2021/03/15/91002-fosil-lalat.jpg)
“It seems that flies avoid long-distance flights between food sources and seek pollen from closely related plants,” explains Grimsson. Science Alert, Monday (15/3/2021).
New discoveries published in Current Biology this supports the old hypothesis that in some modern tropical environments a fly visiting a flower may be as important as some pollinating bees.
The finding of pollen in the stomachs of ancient flies also suggests that this could have been an important role for these insects since the Jurassic period.
– .
