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NANJING, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Three male damselflies became trapped in resin while exhibiting mating behavior during the mid-Cretaceous period 100 million years.
A paper on the ancient insects found in Burmese amber was published on Monday in an online Journal of Scientific Reports by the publisher of Nature.
Zheng Daran and Wang Bo of the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology under Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGPAS), said such finds were extremely rare.
The damselflies have expanded pod-like legs, helping to fend off other suitors and attract females. Exposing these tibiae can increase the chances of successful mating, similar to the courtship behavior of the modern species.
Damselflies are dragonfly-like insects and China has at least 650 species.
The NIGPAS program was assisted by academics from Sorbonne University and the Natural History Museum in London.
