Ancient Burmese Amber Gecko Reveals Earliest Known Male Reproductive Feature
Paleontologists describe Carinasquama rusmithii, a newly named genus and species of tiny gecko from roughly 99-million-year-old Kachin amber in Myanmar. One specimen bears a hemipenal bulge at the base of its tail, the external sign of male reproductive organs, making this among the oldest lizard fossils confidently identified as male. Scientists reconstructed the skeletons via micro-CT, noting skin details preserved in amber and tentatively placing the species within Pan-Gekkota. The find provides rare evidence of male Squamata anatomy from the mid-Cretaceous.