Imagine being able to go back in time of millions of years e observe a prehistoric bee In flight between now extinct flowers. Thanks to an extraordinary paleontological discovery in New Zealand, this imaginary journey becomes a little more real. A team of researchers has in fact brought to light a Ape fossil dating back to the middle miocene, about 14.6 million years ago.
The fossil, found on the Hindon Maar websitein the Otago region, is in an exceptional state of conservation. Although only the dorsal part of the insect is visible, Anatomical details are surprisingI: you can observe the wings with their delicate veins, the head with the antennas and part of the mug system.
The bee, called Leoproctus Barrydonovanihas been assigned to a new subgenre, Otagocolletes, due to its unique characteristics. It measures about 6.4 mm in length and, unlike the European honey bees, it was a lonely bee, which built its nest and dealt with the offspring without the help of a colony.
A lost ecosystem: the New Zealand of the Miocene
At the time when L. Barrydonovani he flew among the flowers, New Zealand was a very different place from what we know today. The climate was warmer and the landscape was dominated by mixed forests of Nothofagus, podocarpi and deficit. The analysis of the fossil suggests that the bee may have fed on the pollen of plants belonging to the genre Pseudopanax (ARALIACEAE), today common in New Zealand. In fact, numerous have been found on the Hindon Maar website pseudopanax flowers fossilswhich supports this hypothesis.
An ancient evolutionary history: new perspectives on the diversification of bees
The discovery of L. Barrydonovani It throws new light on the evolution of bees in New Zealand. To date it was thought that the bees had arrived relatively late in the archipelago, due to the poor diversity of species present. However, the presence of such an Ape as ancient as L. Barrydonovani suggests that The evolutionary history of bees in New Zealand is more complex than you thought. The bees may have colonized the archipelago in different waves, and that some of these waves have extinct, leaving few traces in modern fauna.
The future of research: looking for new answers
The fossil of L. Barrydonovani It represents a unique opportunity to deepen the knowledge of the evolution of bees and their role in the ecosystems of the past. The researchers hope to find new bees and pollen fossils on the Hindon Maar website, To reconstruct the interactions between bees and plants in the New Zealand Miocene with greater precision. This discovery reminds us of the importance of studying the past to understand the present and protect the future. The bees, in fact, are today threatened by several factors, such as climate change, loss of habitats and the use of pesticides. Knowing their evolutionary history can help us implement effective strategies for their conservation.
