They say nothing lasts forever.
Unless, that is, we're talking about a prehistoric love between a pair of fossilized froghopper bugs from the Middle Jurassic period, which were apparently too preoccupied with getting it on to notice their imminent doom.
You may not be too familiar with the cicada-esque froghopper, but the insect has been around for a very, very long time. Many folks may recognize them in their nymph stage, when they're commonly referred to as "spittlebugs" because of the frothy, spit-like residue they leave behind on plants.
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A team of scientists, led by Shu Li of China's Capital Normal University, discovered this romantic rock specimen of two froghoppers bumping nether regions in northeastern China. The fossil is 165 million years old, making it the oldest portrait of sex on record. It is also one of the best preserved.
This isn't the first time paleontologists have unearthed such fossils. Brian Switek at National Geographic helpfully points out that "at least 33 examples of prehistoric insects [have been] caught in the act," with many preserved in amber. But it is certainly one of the most revealing, telling us a lot about how insect sex may have evolved — or not — over the course of many, many millennia.
Extant froghoppers, for example, copulate side-by-side. Their ancestors appear to be facing belly-to-belly, though Li makes it clear that the team "cannot rule out that they might have taken a side-by-side position when alive."
Aside from what's ostensibly a more intimate mating position, these ancient invertebrates bear a striking resemblance to today's bugs. Perhaps more importantly, so does their genitalia.
It appears, then, that froghoppers have been procreating pretty much the same way for a really long time. Perhaps some sex is so evolved it doesn't need much tweaking.
