Giant termite network as old as pyramids found to be size of BRITAIN
A GIANT network of termite mounds as old as the pyramids has been identified in a remote area of Brazil – and it is so big it can be seen from space.
By Ciaran McGrath
PUBLISHED: 08:50, Wed, Nov 21, 2018 | UPDATED: 09:49, Wed, Nov 21, 2018
The 200 million mounds make up the size of Great Britain, scientists say, with each 2.5 metres tall and nine metres wide. They were uncovered by deforestation in the northeast of the country, with the total area covered measuring almost 89,000 square miles. Scientists outlined their findings in the journal Current Biology, and revealed the mounds, which are still in use by the insects, are so huge they can easily be seen using Google Earth.
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Perhaps most exciting of all, the mounds are extremely old — up to 4000 years, similar to the ages of the pyramids
Co-author Roy Funch, of Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana in Brazil, described it as “the world's most extensive bioengineering effort by a single insect species,†says co-author Roy Funch of Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana in Brazilâ€.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1048243/termite-network-brazil-google-earth-visible-from-space
