If the asteroid collision 66 million years ago represented the end of the dinosaurs, it was not a catastrophic event for everyone. In fact, it was involved in the emergence of certain types of ants. via The development of “agricultural” practices made skillful use of mushrooms!
66 million years ago, an asteroid 10 kilometers in diameter struck Earth. The huge amount of dust thrown into the atmosphere has led to a decrease in… brightnessbrightnessWhich led to the destruction of all terrestrial ecosystems, especially the plant world. Thus, the large herbivorous dinosaurs were the first to be affected by this catastrophe, and then all of them Food chainFood chain Which collapsed with the disappearance of all non-bird dinosaurs.
After the age of dinosaurs, the age of mushrooms!
However, this dark age was favorable to some ClassifyClassify. This was particularly the case MushroomsMushroomsFor whom a large amount of topictopic The available organic materials were a godsend. It was also during this period that a group of Atini ants appeared.
Today, these AntsAnts Leaf cutters are known for their specific ability to grow… mushrooms! Until now, we thought they had appearanceappearance It was much newer. But a new study was published In the magazine sciences He reveals that they were going to show up in the period following the collision, taking clever advantage of the situation.
Agricultural ants
Usually, ants do not feed specifically on fungi, however pressurepressure The environmental impact imposed by the impactasteroidasteroid It would have forced the two species to live together, in some form MutualityMutuality. Thus, the ants had begun to grow certain types of mushrooms inside the anthill. these MicroorganismsMicroorganisms Actually produce SugarsSugarsIt is a resource that ants could not find anywhere else. In return, the mushrooms would benefit from the organic matter provided by these materials InsectsInsects To develop.
For researchers, this is certainly the first form of…agricultureagriculturelong before humans developed, 12,000 years ago!
