Sirenobethylus

Sirenobethylus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Suborder:	Apocrita
Infraorder:	Aculeata
Superfamily:	Chrysidoidea
Family:	† Sirenobethylidae Wu, Vilhelmsen & Gao, 2025
Genus:	† Sirenobethylus Wu, Vilhelmsen & Gao, 2025
Species:	†S. charybdis
Binomial name
†Sirenobethylus charybdis Wu, Vilhelmsen & Gao, 2025

Sirenobethylus charybdis is an extinct species of wasp. It had a unique anatomical feature on its abdomen that may have acted as a grasping device. ^[1]

Discovery

The fossil of Sirenobethylus charybdis was discovered in a piece of amber from the Kachin State of northern Myanmar, dated to around 99 million years ago during the mid-Cretaceous period. The specimen was preserved in remarkable detail, allowing scientists to examine its distinctive abdominal appendages, which resembled the snap-trap mechanism of a Venus flytrap. Researchers suggested these features may have been used to grasp or immobilize prey during parasitism, similar to behaviors seen in some modern wasps. ^[2]

References

1. Wu, Q; Vilhelmsen, L; Li, X; Zhuo, D; Ren, D; Gao, T (2025). "A Cretaceous fly trap? Remarkable abdominal modification in a fossil wasp". BMC Biology. 23. doi: 10.1186/s12915-025-02190-2 . PMC   11948742 . PMID   40140857.
2. Hunt, Katie (27 March 2025). "Bizarre creature preserved in 99 million-year-old amber was 'beyond imagination,' scientists say". CNN. Retrieved 5 April 2025.