Apachyus madseni is the first fossil representative of the enigmatic earwig family Apachyidae.
Apachyus madseni. Image credit: Simonsen et al., doi: 10.11646/palaeoentomology.7.5.7.
The newly-described species lived in what is now Europe during the Early Eocene epoch, approximately 55 million years ago.
Scientifically named Apachyus madseni, the ancient insect was nearly 1.9 cm (0.75 inches) long.
It belongs to the genus Apachyus in the family Apachyidae, which is part of the larger insect order Dermaptera (commonly known as earwigs).
Today, living species of this family are found only in central and southern Africa, India, Southeast Asia, and Australia.
They are generally characterized by their relatively large, flat bodies and often vibrant colors.
“Today, the Apachyidae family is comprised by 15 current species in two genera (13 in Apachyus and two in Dendroiketes) as well as Apachyus madseni,” said Museum Mors paleontologist Jan Audun Rasmussen and colleagues.
“The current species are distributed in Central Africa (three species), and from India to the Philippines and Australia (the remaining species).”
“The discovery of Apachyus madseni thus represents a considerable range expansion of Apachyidae, demonstrating that the current distribution of the family is not necessarily indicative of its past distribution or biogeographical origin.”
A single, mostly complete Apachyus madseni fossil was found in the Fur Formation of Mors, northwestern Denmark.
“The fossil is the second Dermaptera species described from the Fur Formation and the first fossil representative of the enigmatic family Apachyidae,” the paleontologists said.
Accordign to the authors, the diatomaceous mo-clay deposits of this formation formed the seabed of NW Denmark during the earliest Eocene when Denmark was completely covered by the sea.
Since modern members of Apachyidae live under tree bark, they believe Apachyus madseni was transported out to sea covered by the bark of a tree trunk, which likely drifted from Sweden or Norway about 55 million years ago.
“We are not surprised to find an ancestor of this tropical and subtropical earwig family so far north as Denmark,” Dr. Rasmussen said.
“Fifty-five million years ago, the sea covering present-day Denmark had subtropical to near-tropical conditions, which is also reflected in the fossil fish, birds, insects, and plants found in the ancient seabed deposits on Mors and Fur.”
The findings appear in the journal Palaeoentomology.
_____
Thomas J. Simonsen et al. 2024. Apachyus madseni (Dermaptera: Apachyidae) sp. nov. from the Ypresian Fur Formation of Denmark: the first fossil record of the enigmatic earwig family Apachyidae. Palaeoentomology 007 (5): 638-644; doi: 10.11646/palaeoentomology.7.5.7
