A Study Of Grasshopper Jaws Reveals Similarity To Mammals, Diversity Of Diet

A grasshopper clings to the grasses of the Carrizo Plain National Monument, June 1, 2001. President Bill Clinton established the national monument in his final days in office to save the last large remnant of the aboriginal ocean of grassland that once covered central California. (David McNew/Getty Images)

New research combines analytical tools and a nondestructive method to examine museum collections of various grasshopper species and reveal their dietary patterns, even decades after the collection of samples.

In a study published in the journal Methods of Ecology and Evolution, scientists revealed how they used 3D imaging techniques to precisely map the shape of a grasshopper’s mandible, or lower jaw, revealing previously unknown similarities to mammals through modeling.