Scientists from Utrecht University in the Netherlands discovered ancient butterflies and moth fossils in a rock that was brought from Hannover, Germany.
According to the study published in the Science Advances Journal, scientists from the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands discovered a very well preserved moth and butterfly fossils which are said to be around 200 million years old.
Some of the butterflies and moth fossils found belong to species living today and have a long straw-shaped proboscis, which they use to consume to suck up the nectar from plants, said the scientists.
Dr.Bas van de Schootbrugge from the research team said that the findings from the fossils suggest the horned butterfly species brings the evolution of this particular butterfly about 70 million years back. He added that the discovery of the fossils propose this group of butterflies which evolved along with flowers is actually older than we think.
The findings are fascinating due to the nature of butterflies and moths being fragile creatures and fossils of them are rare to find.
