(ECNS) -- An international research team led by the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences has analyzed a 324-million-year-old insect fossil, filling a critical gap in early insect evolution. The study reveals that early insects transitioned from water to land via a gradual, semi-aquatic stage.
The fossil, a female adult named Chosha praecursor, measures about 3.2 cm in body length and nearly 5 cm including its tail. It features a spindle-shaped body, three pairs of walking legs, and insect-like tail and ovipositor structures.
Preserved in shallow water deposits, the insect lived in humid land-water transition zones. Lead researcher Cai Chenyang said this amphibious phase was a crucial evolutionary step as insects gradually conquered terrestrial ecosystems.
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