Once again, researchers made a remarkable discovery in the inclusion of an amber stone from Lipka. The ancient false scorpion was found with the help of János Nowak, ELTE Department of Zoology and Ecology, Marton Szabó, Museum of Paleontology and Geology of the Hungarian Museum of Natural Sciences, and Attila Ši, a staff member of the ELTE Department of Paleontology.
A research group has discovered a species of pseudoscorpion that is more than 83 million years old and was found in amber deposits near Agca. The fossil from the Late Cretaceous period, between 86.3 and 83.6 million years old, is not the first to be found in Agca. The most common finds include insects, spiders, mites, and other arthropods. In addition, remains of plants, fungi, bacteria, and sometimes small vertebrates have been found in the ivy. False scorpions belong to the class of arachnids, which are small arthropods that closely resemble scorpions but do not have venomous spines. The special discovery suggests that these small predators would have lived in humid, subtropical climates. Of the 25 extant families, only 14 have been identified through fossils, most of which live in Eocene European embers. The research group reported the special discovery in the form of a scientific description in the professional journal Cretaceous Research. Only a partial inclusion of the species called Ajkagarypinus stephani has been found, and the other body of the animal is almost completely missing. However, according to the researchers, the available morphological characters were sufficient to register the pseudolabial scorpion as a new species. The name “Ajkagarypinus stephani” refers to the site and to the amateur fossil collector, István Szabó, who donated the Ajka fragment containing inclusions to science. Although the remains of the animal are missing, this discovery could be an important step towards understanding ancient animals and could bring more interesting facts into paleontological research.
FPT
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