A researcher concluded that a large insect found in a US state more than 10 years ago “dates back to the Jurassic period,” noting that it had mysteriously disappeared completely decades ago.
According to The New York Times, this insect was first found in 2012, on the wall of a Walmart store in Arkansas, and its specifications were confirmed at a later time by chance, reports Al-Rai daily.
Michael Skvarla, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, was studying insects that he had collected earlier, while he was giving his lectures to students via the “Zoom” application.
The American professor was explaining to the students how to distinguish when it comes to the exact specifications of insects, in order to compare them with each other.
In the midst of the lecture, he put the camera lens attached to the microscope over the object he found in 2012, and instructed the students to abstract the characteristics of the insect.
At the time, it was believed that this insect belongs to the species known as the lion of ants or “Laith Afrin”, because it is similar to a dragonfly, which was not true.
The American scientist later noticed that this insect had a wingspan of five centimeters, which means that it is too large to be an ant lion.
This insect, distinguished by the reticulated wing, and its scientific name is “Polystoechotes punctata”, had mysteriously disappeared in North America during the fifties of the last century, after it was widespread during the Jurassic period.
