Scientists studying bedbugs have uncovered a surprising fact: They've been around a lot longer than we think.
For a long time, we've thought of bats as the first hosts for bedbugs, which would place the earliest evolution of bedbugs at about 50 million years ago. But as it turns out, they've lived for something closer to 100 million years, as a study unexpectedly found out.
The study, published in Current Biology on Thursday, was initially geared towards bedbugs' unusual methods of reproduction. But along the way, while piecing together the evolutionary timeline of bedbugs using samples of their DNA, scientists discovered that they managed to outlive whatever killed the dinosaurs.
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The study used DNA samples from 30 different types of bedbug, the BBC reported. But back when they evolved, 115 million years ago, "we don't yet know what their host was," said Steffen Roth, the study's lead author.
The researchers expect to continue their research into the bedbug's genetic timeline. "These findings will help us better understand how bedbugs evolved the traits that make them effective pests," said Mike Siva-Jothy, a professor from the University of Sheffield and a part of the research team. Read more at BBC.