Sirenobethylus
| Sirenobethylus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Suborder: | Apocrita |
| Infraorder: | Aculeata |
| Superfamily: | Chrysidoidea |
| Family: | † Wu, Vilhelmsen & Gao, 2025 |
| Genus: | † Wu, Vilhelmsen & Gao, 2025 |
| Species: | †S. charybdis
|
| Binomial name | |
| †Sirenobethylus charybdis Wu, Vilhelmsen & Gao, 2025
| |
Sirenobethylus charybdis is an extinct species of wasp. It had a unique anatomical feature on its abdomen that may have acted as a grasping device.[1]
Discovery
The fossil of Sirenobethylus charybdis was discovered in a piece of amber from the Kachin State of northern Myanmar, dated to around 99 million years ago during the mid-Cretaceous period. The specimen was preserved in remarkable detail, allowing scientists to examine its distinctive abdominal appendages, which resembled the snap-trap mechanism of a Venus flytrap. Researchers suggested these features may have been used to grasp or immobilize prey during parasitism, similar to behaviors seen in some modern wasps.[2]
References
- ^ Wu, Q; Vilhelmsen, L; Li, X; Zhuo, D; Ren, D; Gao, T (2025). "A Cretaceous fly trap? Remarkable abdominal modification in a fossil wasp". BMC Biology. 23. doi:10.1186/s12915-025-02190-2. PMC 11948742. PMID 40140857.
- ^ Hunt, Katie (27 March 2025). "Bizarre creature preserved in 99 million-year-old amber was 'beyond imagination,' scientists say". CNN. Retrieved 5 April 2025.