Scientists recently found a piece of Eocene Baltic amber that is about 45 million years old which contains a previously undiscovered, well-preserved, extinct flat bug. A description of the new flat bug was recently published in the journal Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift.

The new species, Aradus macrosomus, is a rather large representative of the Aradus genus, and the name was chosen to reflect this — “macros” is Greek for large, and “soma” means body.

Baltic amber, a fossilized tree resin found on or near the shores of the eastern Baltic Sea, represents the largest deposit of amber in the world, and it is exceptionally rich in well-preserved inclusions of botanical and zoological objects, like this 49-million-year-old cockroach that was described earlier this year.

To date, 14 species of the genus Aradus have been described from Baltic amber inclusions. Today’s surviving species of flat bugs commonly live on and under the bark of dead trees, which could explain why so many species are well preserved in amber deposits.

Read more at:

– Revision of the flat bug family Aradidae from Baltic Amber IX. Aradus macrosomus sp. n. (Hemiptera: Heteroptera)