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Museum posts pic of oak capricorn beetles that are ‘older than the Roman Empire’
“These oak capricorn beetles are older than the Tudors, older than the Roman occupation of Britain, even older than the Roman Empire,” reads a bit of the caption shared alongside the image.
A picture shared on the official Instagram profile of the Natural History Museum, based in the UK, has created a stir among people. The image shows a pair of oak capricorn beetles that the museum wrote are “even older than the Roman Empire."
“These oak capricorn beetles are older than the Tudors, older than the Roman occupation of Britain, even older than the Roman Empire,” they shared. Then the organisation added that the beetles were donated to the Museum in the 1970s. In the following lines, they said, “The pair posed a mystery because it was thought that this species never existed in the UK” and were found inside a piece of wood by a farmer.
“Tiny samples of both the beetles and wood were recently sent off for radiocarbon dating, which placed their age at 3,785 years old. So, rather than a species new to the UK, these beetles may once have been once endemic in the British Isles but have since been extinct for thousands of years,” the organisation added.
Take a look at the full post here:
Since being shared, the post has gathered more than 4,000 likes. It has also accumulated tons of comments. Many wrote that the story is fantastic. Just like this Instagram user who wrote, “What an amazing story!!!”
“Wow amazing, how old they are! Outstanding discovery,” commented another. “That is amazing! I can barely wrap my head around this!” shared a third.
What do you think of the image and the story?
