A unique 100 million-year-old “alien”

Scientists have discovered an insect so weird and rare, they have placed it in its own insect “order”.
Found preserved in amber down a mine in Myanmar, the tiny wingless creature has a triangular head and bulging eyes – features that lend it a slightly alarming “E.T.-like appearance”, and that have not been seen in any other species. There are about one million known species of insects, which are categorised into 31 orders; Aethiocarenus burmanicus is so unusual it now sits alone in the newly created 32nd order. It is likely to remain alone there, as it lived some 100 million years ago and has long been extinct; and though one other ancient specimen of this species has been found (also preserved in amber in Myanmar), it resembles nothing living on Earth today, or ever seen before. “This insect has a number of features that just don’t match those of any other insect species that I know,” said Dr George Poinar Jr, an emeritus professor of entomology at Oregon State University. It is believed to have been an omnivore that scuttled around in the bark of trees, feeding on mites, worms and fungi.