Its trail was found in central New South Wales, Australia. A group of paleontologists reported the discovery. It is the first fossil fly of the Australian sawfly species (Baladi warru). This species inhabited Australia during the Miocene, between 11 and 16 million years ago.
“Despite their name, sawflies are not flies, but a type of wasp.” This is explained by paleontologist from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) Juanita Rodríguez.

Gondwana
The Baladi warru fossil was found in 2018 at McGraths Flat. It is an Australian research site. Has fossils and other evidence of animals and plants in the state of New South Wales, writes sci–News.
The researchers analyzed the fossil and its morphology. They combined this information with molecular and morphological data from a wide range of extant sawfly species. “This helped us decipher the location of the fossil in the sawfly tree of life,” highlights Rodríguez.
They used the age of the fossil and its location to establish that sawflies originated in the Cretaceous period, about 100 million years ago. Their ancient ancestors lived in Gondwana. When this supercontinent divided, sawflies ended up distributed throughout Australia and South America.

Resistant flies
“This discovery would help researchers track the evolution and distribution of sawflies.” This was said by Dr Michael Frese, a paleontologist at the University of Canberra. “It helps us understand the incredible ability of sawflies to feed on toxic plants.”
They ate the leaves of Myrtaceae, a family of woody plants that includes eucalyptus. Their mouthparts separated toxic oils. “They might have a chemical detoxification system inside their gut, too.” The discovery is also described in an article published in the journal Systematic Entomology.