An analysis conducted on the fossilized remains of crickets and katydid that lived 50 million years ago revealed that these creatures evolved ears at a time when there were no predators to use them against.
Understandably, ears evolved as a defense mechanism in most species, allowing them to detect a predator while still far away. This gave all creatures the important ability to run from a potential danger, not just an immediate, palpable one.
The situation is made even more interesting by the fact that insects evolved a special, odd type of ears, which can be used to detect the sonar bats use when they hunt. This is impressive because bats use ultrasounds to steer themselves among obstacles.
In a paper published in the January 2012 issue of the Journal of Paleontology, researchers say that they will continue to search for odd ears in ancient insects,
LiveScience reports. This may finally reveal why the evolution of ears predated that of the predators they are used against.
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