First fossil cicada discovered in the Messel pit

Earliest ‘true cicada’ fossil discovered in Germany

Cicadas have been buzzing for at least 47 million years.

First fossil cicada discovered in the Messel pit

For the first time, a fossilized true cicada has been described from the Messel Pit deposits. Eoplatypleura messelensis is one of the oldest known representatives of the modern-day true cicadas in Eurasia, and it is the earliest record of the subfamily Cicadinae worldwide.