TAU researchers discover a new insect species from the age of the dinosaurs, revealing an unusual feeding mechanism that has disappeared from the insect world today.

Some 99 million years ago, during the age of the dinosaurs, a tiny insect belonging to a species previously unknown to science became trapped in tree resin. The resin hardened and turned into amber, and the fossil preserved within it has now enabled a team of researchers from the School of Zoology and The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History to identify and describea new species: Cretodorus noonoo, or “Noo-Noo.”

Alongside the description of the new species, the study reveals an extraordinary biological adaptation that characterized Noo-Noo and its close relatives: exceptionally long and flexible mouthparts, which in Noo-Noo reached nearly twice the length of its body. The researchers believe that this unusual structure enabled the insects to reach food sources that were inaccessible to insects with more rigid mouthparts, deep inside cracks and crevices in tree bark.

The study, published in the journal Insects, was conducted by Dolev Fabrikant and Dr Leonidas-Romanos Davranoglou of the School of Zoology, Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History and New Environmental School at Tel Aviv University, in collaboration with Dr Yanzhe Fu of the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The newly described species – Cretoduros noonoo, Photo credit: Dolev Fabrikant

A 99-Million-Year-Old Feeding Mechanism

The researchers examined insect fossils belonging to Neazoniidae, an ancient family of planthoppers, including 13 specimens preserved in Kachin amber from Myanmar. In their modern relatives, the mouthparts are structured like a simple needle, allowing them to pierce plant tissues and suck fluids from them.

The ancient insects examined in the study, however, were found to possess extremely elongated mouthparts, the surface of which was densely covered with transverse folds. Using high-resolution micro-computed tomography, the researchers were able to reconstruct their internal structure. The scans showed that the folds were not merely external ornamentation, but part of the structure itself. They likely gave the mouthparts flexibility while preventing them from kinking or collapsing — much like a bendy drinking straw or a corrugated flexible hose.

Further evidence comes from the fossils themselves: in several specimens, the mouthparts were preserved in a bent position. Because the amber froze the insects in place when they became trapped in the resin, the researchers view this as further evidence that the mouthparts were also flexible during the insect’s lifetime. Such a structure is unknown among their living relatives today, pointing to an ancient evolutionary solution that has since disappeared.

Why the Name “Noo-Noo”?

The new species’ unusual appearance also inspired by its name: Cretodorus noonoo. The epithet “Noo-Noo” was chosen after the friendly vacuum cleaner from the children’s television series Teletubbies, whose long, flexible hose resembles the mouthpart of the ancient insect.

What Did Noo-Noo Eat?

But why would an insect need such long mouthparts? Butterflies might immediately come to mind, as they use a flexible proboscis to drink nectar, but the researchers believe that the resemblance is only superficial. The mouthparts of “Noo-Noo” pointed backward and functioned as a piercing-and-sucking system, which like those of their modern relatives are less suitable for feeding on nectar. Moreover, despite examining numerous fossils, the researchers found no convincing evidence of pollen accumulating on their bodies — a sign that would have indicated a role as pollinators.

The explanation proposed by the researchers is that these insects were specialists in sucking sap from trees. Their long, flexible mouthparts could have snaked through narrow cracks in the bark and guided the piercing organs toward the deep vascular tissues. At the tip was another unusual feature: a structure with two grooved lobes that likely opened during feeding, helping to anchor the mouthpart to the walls of the crack — much like a wall plug expanding inside a drilled hole.

What Can Noo-Noo Tell Us About Ancient Forests?

The researchers’ discovery may also have broader significance for our understanding of Cretaceous forests. Long or corrugated feeding structures appeared in several unrelated insect groups during this period, raising the possibility that forests rich in thick-barked trees provided an advantage for insects capable of reaching deeper tissues. The study notes that resin-producing forests of the Cretaceous period were also associated with evidence of recurrent fires, and that trees in fire-prone environments often develop thicker bark. The researchers cautiously suggest that such conditions may have created ecological opportunities for unique feeding strategies — strategies that are almost entirely absent among planthoppers today.

Dr. Leonidas-Romanos Davranoglou stated: “The discovery of ‘Noo-Noo,’ a new species that lived approximately 99 million years ago, gives us an extraordinary glimpse into the insect world of the age of the dinosaurs. This is not merely an insect previously unknown to science, but an animal that developed an evolutionary solution with almost no modern equivalent: a long, flexible, and durable feeding organ that likely enabled it to reach food deep within tree bark. The fact that similar structures appeared in several insect groups during the Cretaceous period suggests that ancient forests created ecological conditions and opportunities very different from those we know today. The discovery of a new species like this is therefore not simply the addition of another name to the tree of life, but another piece of the puzzle that enables us to reconstruct what ecosystems looked like and how they functioned tens of millions of years ago.”

Lead Authors of the study. Dolev Fabrikant (right), Dr. Leonidas Romanos Davranoglau (left), Photo credit: Dolev Fabrikant