ET Like Insect Trapped in Amber is of a New Scientific Order

The find was made by emeritus professor of entomology George Poinar, Jr at the OSU College of Science who says the insect is so unusual it doesn't fit in any of the 31 existing orders of life so it has been placed in its own scientific “order”.

The new insect is believed to be about 100 million years old and female , it's unknown if it managed to phone home before meeting its sticky end.


Professor Poinar , who is one of the worlds leading experts on plant and animal life forms , had this to say about his discovery.

“This insect has a number of features that just don’t match those of any other insect species that I know, I had never really seen anything like it. It appears to be unique in the insect world, and after considerable discussion we decided it had to take its place in a new order.”

The insect has been assigned to the newly created order Aethiocarenodea, and the species has been named Aethiocarenus burmanicus, in reference to the Hukawng Valley mines of Myanmar – previously known as Burma – where it was found.

Only one other specimen of this insect has been located, also preserved in Burmese amber, Poinar said. Those two specimens, which clearly belong to the same species, now comprise the totality of the order Aethiocarenodea. The largest order of insects, by comparison, is Coleoptera, the beetles, with hundreds of thousands of known species.
oregonstate.edu...

Full picture of the specimen.


Video of Professor Poinar talking about his discovery.


I've always believed that if the so called Grays are real they would be an insectoid species due to their reported appearance , this discovery could be indicative that my belief may be correct.

a reply to: gortex

Thanks for the pictures. What makes this so unique i wonder, it looks like a Dermaptera to me and there are millions of them in my garden. Sorry, have not watched the video if the explanation is there

a reply to: gortex

ET?

To me it appears to have some similarity with the ever popular and elegant Praying Mantis, but other features which do not resemble it at all. Its head shape reminds me of a mantis, but its body sections and legs do not. Interesting creature, to be sure.

Here's the abstract from the scientific paper that explains what is different about the little chap

An exotic wingless female insect in mid-Cretaceous Myanmar amber is described as Aethiocarenus burmanicus sp. et gen. nov. in the order Aethiocarenodea ord. nov. and family Aethiocarenidae fam. nov. The distinguishing feature of Aethiocarenus burmanicus sp. et gen. nov. is its unique head, the dorsum of which is shaped like an isosceles right triangle with the hypotenuse at the top and vertex positioned at the base of the neck. While insects with triangular-shaped heads are common today, the hypotenuse of the triangle is always located at the base of the head and attached to the neck, with the vertex at the apex of the head. Other features of the fossil are the long narrow, flat body, long slender legs, especially the hind pair that are twice the length of the abdomen, lack of wings, protruding eyes, paired ocelli, secretory glands located on the dorsum of the neck and swollen abdomen bearing paired segmented cerci.

If you want to read more (and have $37.95 to spare...) then you can download the full paper here

goo.gl...

wish he would explain what makes it so different since to me looks pretty common. The insect I think looks the most like an alien is a ghost mantis. Those things are just down right creepy especially when they walk on there back legs. They had some at the local zoo and I couldn't stop watching them they look like no other insect ive ever seen.

I would step on it if it was in my kitchen
Just another bug looking thing

Though if he can charge $40 bucks per paper then it's worth talking up

Looks like an ant or earwig to me but S&F all the same

originally posted by: dragonridr
wish he would explain what makes it so different since to me looks pretty common.

The ovipositor is wrong for formicidae. I think the abdomen has the wrong segment count too but not an entomologist.

The thorax shape is wrong. And the head shape is wrong. The eyes are the wrong shape and too lateral as well. It looks more termite-y than ant like. But it's not right for a termite either.

The Chinese are insect like no?

Lets put an Ant, Praying Mantis, Earwig & Spider together and see what we get?

Fossilized, fossilized is what we get.

a reply to: gortex

It looks like an ant.

a reply to: gortex

I love ATS for these sorts of things. It looks most like a giant earwig to me, because of the tail - but the head looks a lot like a praying mantis, with oversized eyes (or an ALIEN!!!). Very cool discovery, and thank you for sharing!

a reply to: gortex

Looks like my great x10^26 uncle Tim - they say his dad had a tryst with an ant (huge scandal at the time!)

(For those on mobile, my avatar is a mantis - couldn't pass it up.)

omg that thing creeps me out like hell ! probably because i just read Stephen Kings "revival" ...

back sometime around 1976, when I lived in Murrells Inlet Sc...
I came upon a fancy 'ant' that seemed to be wearing a fashionable, furry coat which had alternating black-red stripes...

the interesting oversized 'ant' seemed unconcerned with me poking a stick at it
but when I suddenly managed to put the twig/stick squarely on the back of the insect....to get a good look at the face & head of the 'ant'...
well --- IT started screaming, a loud, audible scream.... I was shocked and immediately took the stick off the creature's back

I half heartedly said 'go-in-peace'...I walked away from the incident (not knowing if the 'ant' had a tiny space ship)

a reply to: gortex

Just looks like its from the 'ant' family to me... nothing extraordinary in its features really.

Sure looks like an early earwig to me

a reply to: TrueBrit

That's Zoraks wife y'all have some respect

a reply to: St Udio

You just encountered a velvet cow killer, if the color was red and black. They wander into my shop during the summer and make a soft grunting noise while looking for food. Don't let one sting you, though, for that's why it is called a cow killer.