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Xiao L, Labandeira CC, Wu Y, Shih C, Ren D, Wang Y. Middle Jurassic insect mines on gymnosperms provide missing links to early mining evolution. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2024; 242:2803-2816. [PMID: 38184785 DOI: 10.1111/nph.19517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2023] [Accepted: 12/14/2023] [Indexed: 01/08/2024]
Abstract
We investigated the mining mode of insect feeding, involving larval consumption of a plant's internal tissues, from the Middle Jurassic (165 million years ago) Daohugou locality of Northeastern China. Documentation of mining from the Jurassic Period is virtually unknown, and results from this time interval would address mining evolution during the temporal gap of mine-seed plant diversifications from the previous Late Triassic to the subsequent Early Cretaceous. Plant fossils were examined with standard microscopic procedures for herbivory and used the standard functional feeding group-damage-type system of categorizing damage. All fossil mines were photographed and databased. We examined 2014 plant specimens, of which 27 occurrences on 14 specimens resulted in eight, new, mine damage types (DTs) present on six genera of bennettitalean, ginkgoalean, and pinalean gymnosperms. Three conclusions emerge from this study. First, these mid-Mesozoic mines are morphologically conservative and track plant host anatomical structure rather than plant phylogeny. Second, likely insect fabricators of these mines were three basal lineages of polyphagan beetles, four basal lineages of monotrysian moths, and a basal lineage tenthredinoid sawflies. Third, the nutrition hypothesis, indicating that miners had greater access to nutritious, inner tissues of new plant lineages, best explains mine evolution during the mid-Mesozoic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lifang Xiao
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Animal Conservation and Resource Utilization, Guangdong Public Laboratory of Wild Animal Conservation and Utilization, Institute of Zoology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510260, China
- College of Life Science and Academy for Multidisciplinary Studies, Capital Normal University, Beijing, 100048, China
- Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Tenth St. and Constitution Ave, Washington, DC, 20013, USA
| | - Conrad C Labandeira
- College of Life Science and Academy for Multidisciplinary Studies, Capital Normal University, Beijing, 100048, China
- Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Tenth St. and Constitution Ave, Washington, DC, 20013, USA
- Department of Entomology and BEES Program, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA
| | - Yuekun Wu
- College of Life Science and Academy for Multidisciplinary Studies, Capital Normal University, Beijing, 100048, China
| | - ChungKun Shih
- College of Life Science and Academy for Multidisciplinary Studies, Capital Normal University, Beijing, 100048, China
- Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Tenth St. and Constitution Ave, Washington, DC, 20013, USA
| | - Dong Ren
- College of Life Science and Academy for Multidisciplinary Studies, Capital Normal University, Beijing, 100048, China
| | - Yongjie Wang
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Animal Conservation and Resource Utilization, Guangdong Public Laboratory of Wild Animal Conservation and Utilization, Institute of Zoology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510260, China
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Klunk CL, Argenta MA, Rosumek FB, Schmelzle S, van de Kamp T, Hammel JU, Pie MR, Heethoff M. Simulated biomechanical performance of morphologically disparate ant mandibles under bite loading. Sci Rep 2023; 13:16833. [PMID: 37803099 PMCID: PMC10558566 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-43944-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2023] [Accepted: 09/30/2023] [Indexed: 10/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Insects evolved various modifications to their mouthparts, allowing for a broad exploration of feeding modes. In ants, workers perform non-reproductive tasks like excavation, food processing, and juvenile care, relying heavily on their mandibles. Given the importance of biting for ant workers and the significant mandible morphological diversity across species, it is essential to understand how mandible shape influences its mechanical responses to bite loading. We employed Finite Element Analysis to simulate biting scenarios on mandible volumetric models from 25 ant species classified in different feeding habits. We hypothesize that mandibles of predatory ants, especially trap-jaw ants, would perform better than mandibles of omnivorous species due to their necessity to subdue living prey. We defined simulations to allow only variation in mandible morphology between specimens. Our results demonstrated interspecific differences in mandible mechanical responses to biting loading. However, we found no evident differences in biting performance between the predatory and the remaining ants, and trap-jaw mandibles did not show lower stress levels than other mandibles under bite loading. These results suggest that ant feeding habit is not a robust predictor of mandible biting performance, a possible consequence of mandibles being employed as versatile tools to perform several tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- C L Klunk
- Graduate Program in Ecology and Conservation, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Centro Politécnico, Av. Cel. Francisco H. dos Santos, 100 - Jardim das Américas, Curitiba, PR, 81531-980, Brazil.
- Animal Evolutionary Ecology, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstr. 3, 64287, Darmstadt, Germany.
| | - M A Argenta
- Department of Civil Construction, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, PR, Brazil
| | - F B Rosumek
- Department of Ecology and Zoology, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil
| | - S Schmelzle
- Animal Evolutionary Ecology, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstr. 3, 64287, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - T van de Kamp
- Institute for Photon Science and Synchrotron Radiation (IPS), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
- Laboratory for Applications of Synchrotron Radiation (LAS), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - J U Hammel
- Institute of Materials Physics, Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, Geesthacht, Germany
| | - M R Pie
- Biology Department, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, Lancashire, UK
| | - M Heethoff
- Animal Evolutionary Ecology, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstr. 3, 64287, Darmstadt, Germany.
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Deregnaucourt I, Bardin J, Villier L, Julliard R, Béthoux O. Disparification and extinction trade-offs shaped the evolution of Permian to Jurassic Odonata. iScience 2023; 26:107420. [PMID: 37583549 PMCID: PMC10424082 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2023] [Revised: 05/10/2023] [Accepted: 07/13/2023] [Indexed: 08/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Owing to their prevalence in nowadays terrestrial ecosystems, insects are a relevant group to assess the impact of mass extinctions on emerged land. However, limitations of the insect fossil record make it difficult to assess the impact of such events based on taxonomic diversity alone. Therefore, we documented trends in morphological diversity, i.e., disparity, using wings of Permian to Jurassic Odonata as model. Our results show a decreasing trend in disparity while species richness increased. Both the Permian-Triassic and Triassic-Jurassic transitions are revealed as important events, associated with strong morphospace restructuring due to selective extinction. In each case, a recovery was assured by the diversification of new forms compensating the loss of others. Early representatives of Odonata continuously evolved new shapes, a pattern contrasting with the classical assertion of a morphospace fulfilled early and followed by selective extinctions and specialization within it.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabelle Deregnaucourt
- Centre de Recherche en Paléontologie - Paris (CR2P), Sorbonne Université, MNHN, CNRS, 57 rue Cuvier, CP38, F-75005 Paris, France
- Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la Conservation (CESCO), Sorbonne Université, MNHN, CNRS, 43 rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Jérémie Bardin
- Centre de Recherche en Paléontologie - Paris (CR2P), Sorbonne Université, MNHN, CNRS, 57 rue Cuvier, CP38, F-75005 Paris, France
| | - Loïc Villier
- Centre de Recherche en Paléontologie - Paris (CR2P), Sorbonne Université, MNHN, CNRS, 57 rue Cuvier, CP38, F-75005 Paris, France
| | - Romain Julliard
- Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la Conservation (CESCO), Sorbonne Université, MNHN, CNRS, 43 rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Olivier Béthoux
- Centre de Recherche en Paléontologie - Paris (CR2P), Sorbonne Université, MNHN, CNRS, 57 rue Cuvier, CP38, F-75005 Paris, France
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Prokop J, Nel A, Engel MS. Diversity, Form, and Postembryonic Development of Paleozoic Insects. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ENTOMOLOGY 2023; 68:401-429. [PMID: 36689304 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ento-120220-022637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
While Mesozoic, Paleogene, and Neogene insect faunas greatly resemble the modern one, the Paleozoic fauna provides unique insights into key innovations in insect evolution, such as the origin of wings and modifications of postembryonic development including holometaboly. Deep-divergence estimates suggest that the majority of contemporary insect orders originated in the Late Paleozoic, but these estimates reflect divergences between stem groups of each lineage rather than the later appearance of the crown groups. The fossil record shows the initial radiations of the extant hyperdiverse clades during the Early Permian, as well as the specialized fauna present before the End Permian mass extinction. This review summarizes the recent discoveries related to the documented diversity of Paleozoic hexapods, as well as current knowledge about what has actually been verified from fossil evidence as it relates to postembryonic development and the morphology of different body parts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakub Prokop
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic;
| | - André Nel
- Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE, Université des Antilles, Paris, France;
| | - Michael S Engel
- Division of Entomology, University of Kansas Natural History Museum, Lawrence, Kansas, USA;
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA
- Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York, USA
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Müller C, Toumoulin A, Böttcher H, Roth-Nebelsick A, Wappler T, Kunzmann L. An integrated leaf trait analysis of two Paleogene leaf floras. PeerJ 2023; 11:e15140. [PMID: 37065698 PMCID: PMC10100813 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.15140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2021] [Accepted: 03/07/2023] [Indexed: 04/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Objectives This study presents the Integrated Leaf Trait Analysis (ILTA), a workflow for the combined application of methodologies in leaf trait and insect herbivory analyses on fossil dicot leaf assemblages. The objectives were (1) to record the leaf morphological variability, (2) to describe the herbivory pattern on fossil leaves, (3) to explore relations between leaf morphological trait combination types (TCTs), quantitative leaf traits, and other plant characteristics (e.g., phenology), and (4) to explore relations of leaf traits and insect herbivory. Material and Methods The leaves of the early Oligocene floras Seifhennersdorf (Saxony, Germany) and Suletice-Berand (Ústí nad Labem Region, Czech Republic) were analyzed. The TCT approach was used to record the leaf morphological patterns. Metrics based on damage types on leaves were used to describe the kind and extent of insect herbivory. The leaf assemblages were characterized quantitatively (e.g., leaf area and leaf mass per area (LMA)) based on subsamples of 400 leaves per site. Multivariate analyses were performed to explore trait variations. Results In Seifhennersdorf, toothed leaves of TCT F from deciduous fossil-species are most frequent. The flora of Suletice-Berand is dominated by evergreen fossil-species, which is reflected by the occurrence of toothed and untoothed leaves with closed secondary venation types (TCTs A or E). Significant differences are observed for mean leaf area and LMA, with larger leaves tending to lower LMA in Seifhennersdorf and smaller leaves tending to higher LMA in Suletice-Berand. The frequency and richness of damage types are significantly higher in Suletice-Berand than in Seifhennersdorf. In Seifhennersdorf, the evidence of damage types is highest on deciduous fossil-species, whereas it is highest on evergreen fossil-species in Suletice-Berand. Overall, insect herbivory tends to be more frequently to occur on toothed leaves (TCTs E, F, and P) that are of low LMA. The frequency, richness, and occurrence of damage types vary among fossil-species with similar phenology and TCT. In general, they are highest on leaves of abundant fossil-species. Discussion TCTs reflect the diversity and abundance of leaf architectural types of fossil floras. Differences in TCT proportions and quantitative leaf traits may be consistent with local variations in the proportion of broad-leaved deciduous and evergreen elements in the ecotonal vegetation of the early Oligocene. A correlation between leaf size, LMA, and fossil-species indicates that trait variations are partly dependent on the taxonomic composition. Leaf morphology or TCTs itself cannot explain the difference in insect herbivory on leaves. It is a more complex relationship where leaf morphology, LMA, phenology, and taxonomic affiliation are crucial.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Müller
- Museum of Mineralogy and Geology, Senckenberg Natural History Collections Dresden, Dresden, Saxony, Germany
| | - Agathe Toumoulin
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Helen Böttcher
- Institute for Geology, Technical University Bergakademie Freiberg, Freiberg, Saxony, Germany
| | - Anita Roth-Nebelsick
- Department of Palaeontology, State Museum of Natural History, Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
| | - Torsten Wappler
- Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt, Hessen, Germany
- Institute of Geoscience, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Bonn, Nordrhein-Wesfalen, Germany
| | - Lutz Kunzmann
- Museum of Mineralogy and Geology, Senckenberg Natural History Collections Dresden, Dresden, Saxony, Germany
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Mantzouka D, Akkemik Ü, Güngör Y. Miocene Cupressinoxylon from Gökçeada (Imbros), Turkey with Protophytobia cambium mining and the study of ecological signals of wood anatomy. PeerJ 2022; 10:e14212. [PMID: 36530400 PMCID: PMC9753763 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.14212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2021] [Accepted: 09/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Premise The recognition of the Miocene Climate Optimum (MCO) in terrestrial palaeoenvironments of the Eastern Mediterranean is restricted to Lesbos and Lemnos Islands, Greece. This area is significant for its wood microfossils. A recently-discovered fossil wood assemblage from Gökçeada (Imbros) Island, Turkey, including tree species similar to the Greek findings, is thought to have an early Miocene age. Here, we revise the age of the latter plant fossiliferous locality, re-evaluate the area for the study of MCO for the terrestrial palaeoecosystems of the Eastern Mediterranean and the nomenclature errors referring to the occurrence of fossil wood. We present the plant-insect-environment interactions using detailed anatomical descriptions, of an extinct conifer and its extinct cambium miner feeding traces observed in its secondary xylem. Methods Three thin sections were prepared with standard palaeoxylotomical techniques from a small section of the silicified wood; the sections were observed under a light microscope. The anatomy of the conifer and its damage patterns were compared with those of extant and fossil Cupressaceae and Agromyzidae, respectively. Pivotal results The common anatomical features of the studied wood specimen and Hesperocyparis macrocarpa (Hartw.) Bartel and a shared characteristic (the number of the cross-field pits - a feature we consider of diagnostic value) with Xanthocyparis vietnamensis Farjon & T.H. Nguyên led to its assignment to the Hesperocyparis-Xanthocyparis-Callitropsis clade. The detailed study of the wound scars and anatomical abnormalities, the anatomical-environmental associations, and structural-functional reactions follow the identification of the wood's anatomy sensu Carlquist providing decisive results. Conclusions Based on the distinctive characteristics presented, we identify our macrofossil as Cupressinoxylon matromnense Grambast, a stem or an extinct lineage of the Hesperocyparis-Xanthocyparis vietnamensis-Callitropsis nootkatensis clade with feeding traces of the fossil cambium miner of the genus Protophytobia Süss (Diptera: Agromyzidae), and anatomical damage and reaction tissue on adventitious shoots. The use of Protopinaceae and Pinoxylon F. H. Knowlton from the eastern Mediterranean are re-evaluated and corrections are provided. The age of the studied plant fossiliferous locality in Gökçeada is revised as middle Miocene, allowing the proposal of an eastern Mediterranean MCO hotspot, including Lesbos, Lemnos, and Gökçeada (Imbros) Islands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dimitra Mantzouka
- Senckenberg Natural History Collections Dresden, Königsbrücker Landstraße, Senckenberg Nature Research Society, Dresden, Germany
| | - Ünal Akkemik
- Department of Forest Botany, Forestry Faculty, Bahçeköy-Sarıyer, Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa, İstanbul, Turkey
| | - Yıldırım Güngör
- Department of Geology Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Avcılar, İstanbul University-Cerrahpasa, İstanbul, Turkey
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Feng Z, Wan S, Sui Q, Labandeira C, Guo Y, Chen J. A Triassic tritrophic triad documents an early food-web cascade. Curr Biol 2022; 32:5165-5171.e2. [PMID: 36351435 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.10.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2022] [Revised: 09/20/2022] [Accepted: 10/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Endophytic oviposition behavior, the insertion of eggs into plant tissues, represents a sophisticated reproductive strategy of insects.1 This process is accomplished by employing a specialized egg-laying device, the ovipositor, that effectively protects eggs through plant tissue concealment.2,3 Endophytic oviposition behavior is currently common in many lineages of several major, extant insect orders, principally Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies), Orthoptera (katydids and grasshoppers), Hemiptera (cicadas, aphids, scale insects, whiteflies, leafhoppers, and bugs), Coleoptera (beetles), Lepidoptera (moths), and Hymenoptera (sawflies).3,4 Based on the occurrences of egg insertion damage and associated scar tissue expressed in fossil plant stems and leaves, endophytic ovipositional behavior is presumed to have emerged as early as the Early Pennsylvanian Period.5 However, for impression fossils, egg morphology and surrounding scar tissue can be difficult to discern on plants, often resulting in ovipositional damage that may be assigned to exophytic (eggs laid on plant surfaces) or to endophytic behavior.6,7,8,9 This ambiguity is due to the spatial relationships and histological mingling of ovipositional damage and enveloping scars with adjoining plant-host tissues. Here, we describe body fossils of insect eggs within ginkgophyte leaves from the Upper Triassic of China. Feeding damage from an egg-predatory insect commonly occurs on these eggs, as some eggs bear up to several feeding punctures. We provide exceptional body-fossil evidence for resource use of a host plant by an ovipositing insect and unravel the earliest-known tritrophic cascade of a host plant, an ovipositing insect, and an egg-predatory insect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhuo Feng
- Institute of Palaeontology, Yunnan Key Laboratory of Earth System Science, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Palaeobiology, MEC International Joint Laboratory for Palaeobiology and Palaeoenvironment, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China.
| | - Sui Wan
- Institute of Palaeontology, Yunnan Key Laboratory of Earth System Science, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Palaeobiology, MEC International Joint Laboratory for Palaeobiology and Palaeoenvironment, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
| | - Qun Sui
- Institute of Palaeontology, Yunnan Key Laboratory of Earth System Science, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Palaeobiology, MEC International Joint Laboratory for Palaeobiology and Palaeoenvironment, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
| | - Conrad Labandeira
- Department of Paleobiology, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013, USA; Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA; College of Life Sciences and Academy for Multidisciplinary Studies, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100048, China
| | - Yun Guo
- Institute of Palaeontology, Yunnan Key Laboratory of Earth System Science, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Palaeobiology, MEC International Joint Laboratory for Palaeobiology and Palaeoenvironment, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
| | - Jianbo Chen
- Institute of Palaeontology, Yunnan Key Laboratory of Earth System Science, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Palaeobiology, MEC International Joint Laboratory for Palaeobiology and Palaeoenvironment, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
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Xiao L, Labandeira CC, Ren D. Insect herbivory immediately before the eclipse of the gymnosperms: The Dawangzhangzi plant assemblage of Northeastern China. INSECT SCIENCE 2022; 29:1483-1520. [PMID: 34874612 DOI: 10.1111/1744-7917.12988] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2021] [Revised: 09/28/2021] [Accepted: 11/18/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The Early Cretaceous terrestrial revolution involved global shifts from gymnosperm- to angiosperm-dominated floras. However, responses of insect herbivores to these changes remain unexamined. We evaluated 2 176 highly sampled plant specimens representing 62 species/morphotypes from the 126 Ma Dawangzhangzi plant assemblage of Northeastern China. Our study consisted of horsetails, ferns, ginkgoaleans, czekanowskialeans, conifers, and an angiosperm. Their herbivory was evaluated by the functional feeding groups of hole feeding, margin feeding, and surface feeding (ectophytic feeders); piercer and suckers, and ovipositing insects (ectoendophytic feeders); mining, galling, and borings (endophytic feeders); and pathogens, collectively constituting 65 damage types (DTs). The plant assemblage was assessed for herbivory richness by DT richness, component community structure, and DT specialization on plant hosts; for herbivory intensity, it was evaluated for DT frequency, herbivorized surface area, and feeding event occurrences. Using feeding event occurrences, the data supported seven species/morphotypes as most intensely herbivorized: Liaoningocladus boii (76.6%), Czekanowskia sp. 1 (8.4%), Czekanowskia rigida (4.10%), Lindleycladus lanceolatus (3.5%), Ginkgoites sp. 2 (2.0%), Podozamites sp. 1 (1.1%), and Solenites sp. 1 (0.9%). The most herbivorized taxa were pinaleans (conifers), then czekanowskialeans, and lastly ginkgoaleans; the monodominant component community was the conifer Liaoningocladus boii. DT host specialization levels were low. The plant assemblage had an overall low 0.86% of foliage removed by herbivores, explained by physical and chemical antiherbivore defenses, and parasitoid attack. Although Paleozoic, gymnosperm-dominated assemblages had greater herbivory, component community structure of the three most herbivorized taxa are more similar to modern bracken fern and willow than modern gymnosperm taxa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lifang Xiao
- College of Life Science and Academy for Multidisciplinary Studies, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Conrad C Labandeira
- College of Life Science and Academy for Multidisciplinary Studies, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China
- Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC, USA
- Department of Entomology and Bees Program, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Dong Ren
- College of Life Science and Academy for Multidisciplinary Studies, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China
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Buatois LA, Davies NS, Gibling MR, Krapovickas V, Labandeira CC, MacNaughton RB, Mángano MG, Minter NJ, Shillito AP. The Invasion of the Land in Deep Time: Integrating Paleozoic Records of Paleobiology, Ichnology, Sedimentology, and Geomorphology. Integr Comp Biol 2022; 62:297-331. [PMID: 35640908 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icac059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2022] [Revised: 04/19/2022] [Accepted: 05/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The invasion of the land was a complex, protracted process, punctuated by mass extinctions, that involved multiple routes from marine environments. We integrate paleobiology, ichnology, sedimentology, and geomorphology to reconstruct Paleozoic terrestrialization. Cambrian landscapes were dominated by laterally mobile rivers with unstable banks in the absence of significant vegetation. Temporary incursions by arthropods and worm-like organisms into coastal environments apparently did not result in establishment of continental communities. Contemporaneous lacustrine faunas may have been inhibited by limited nutrient delivery and high sediment loads. The Ordovician appearance of early land plants triggered a shift in the primary locus of the global clay mineral factory, increasing the amount of mudrock on the continents. The Silurian-Devonian rise of vascular land plants, including the first forests and extensive root systems, was instrumental in further retaining fine sediment on alluvial plains. These innovations led to increased architectural complexity of braided and meandering rivers. Landscape changes were synchronous with establishment of freshwater and terrestrial arthropod faunas in overbank areas, abandoned fluvial channels, lake margins, ephemeral lakes, and inland deserts. Silurian-Devonian lakes experienced improved nutrient availability, due to increased phosphate weathering and terrestrial humic matter. All these changes favoured frequent invasions to permament establishment of jawless and jawed fishes in freshwater habitats and the subsequent tetrapod colonization of the land. The Carboniferous saw rapid diversification of tetrapods, mostly linked to aquatic reproduction, and land plants, including gymnosperms. Deeper root systems promoted further riverbank stabilization, contributing to the rise of anabranching rivers and braided systems with vegetated islands. New lineages of aquatic insects developed and expanded novel feeding modes, including herbivory. Late Paleozoic soils commonly contain pervasive root and millipede traces. Lacustrine animal communities diversified, accompanied by increased food-web complexity and improved food delivery which may have favored permanent colonization of offshore and deep-water lake environments. These trends continued in the Permian, but progressive aridification favored formation of hypersaline lakes, which were stressful for colonization. The Capitanian and end-Permian extinctions affected lacustrine and fluvial biotas, particularly the invertebrate infauna, although burrowing may have allowed some tetrapods to survive associated global warming and increased aridification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis A Buatois
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5E2, Canada
| | - Neil S Davies
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire CB2 3EQ, UK
| | - Martin R Gibling
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4R2, Canada
| | - Verónica Krapovickas
- Departamento de Ciencias Geológicas, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Intendente Güiraldes 2160, Ciudad Universitaria, C1428EGA, Argentina
| | - Conrad C Labandeira
- Department of Paleobiology, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC 20013-7012, USA.,Department of Entomology and BEES Program, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 21740, USA.,College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100048, China
| | - Robert B MacNaughton
- Geological Survey of Canada (Calgary), Natural Resources Canada, Calgary, Alberta T2L 2A7, Canada
| | - M Gabriela Mángano
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5E2, Canada
| | - Nicholas J Minter
- School of the Environment, Geography, and Geosciences, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, Hampshire PO1 3QL, UK
| | - Anthony P Shillito
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, UK
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Chen L, Gu JJ, Yang Q, Ren D, Blanke A, Béthoux O. Ovipositor and mouthparts in a fossil insect support a novel ecological role for early orthopterans in 300 million years old forests. eLife 2021; 10:e71006. [PMID: 34844668 PMCID: PMC8631945 DOI: 10.7554/elife.71006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2021] [Accepted: 09/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
A high portion of the earliest known insect fauna is composed of the so-called 'lobeattid insects', whose systematic affinities and role as foliage feeders remain debated. We investigated hundreds of samples of a new lobeattid species from the Xiaheyan locality using a combination of photographic techniques, including reflectance transforming imaging, geometric morphometrics, and biomechanics to document its morphology, and infer its phylogenetic position and ecological role. Ctenoptilus frequens sp. nov. possessed a sword-shaped ovipositor with valves interlocked by two ball-and-socket mechanisms, lacked jumping hind-legs, and certain wing venation features. This combination of characters unambiguously supports lobeattids as stem relatives of all living Orthoptera (crickets, grasshoppers, katydids). Given the herein presented and other remains, it follows that this group experienced an early diversification and, additionally, occurred in high individual numbers. The ovipositor shape indicates that ground was the preferred substrate for eggs. Visible mouthparts made it possible to assess the efficiency of the mandibular food uptake system in comparison to a wide array of extant species. The new species was likely omnivorous which explains the paucity of external damage on contemporaneous plant foliage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lu Chen
- College of Life Sciences and Academy for Multidisciplinary Studies, Capital Normal UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Jun-Jie Gu
- Institute of Ecological Agriculture, College of Agronomy, Sichuan Agricultural UniversityChengduChina
| | - Qiang Yang
- School of Life Sciences, Guangzhou University, 230 Waihuanxi Road, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega CenterGuangzhouChina
| | - Dong Ren
- College of Life Sciences and Academy for Multidisciplinary Studies, Capital Normal UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Alexander Blanke
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Animal Ecology, University of BonnBonnGermany
| | - Olivier Béthoux
- CR2P (Centre de Recherche en Paléontologie – Paris), MNHN – CNRS – Sorbonne Université; Muséum National d’Histoire NaturelleParisFrance
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The earliest beetle with mouthparts specialized for feeding on nectar is a parasitoid of mid-Cretaceous Hymenoptera. BMC Ecol Evol 2021; 21:207. [PMID: 34809578 PMCID: PMC8607574 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-021-01930-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2021] [Accepted: 10/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Background During the Mesozoic, there were many insects in several holometabolous orders (Neuroptera, Mecoptera and Diptera) with elongated mouthparts adapted for feeding on nectar. The evolutionary history of the megadiverse order Coleptera, which has a great diversity of mouthparts and feeding strategies, is well documented since early Permian with a significant peak in diversity in the Triassic. Currently, however, there is no evidence that in the Mesozoic these beetles fed on nectar despite the recorded specializations for pollination of flowering plants in several families since the mid-Cretaceous. Results Here we describe a new wedge-shaped beetle Melanosiagon serraticornis gen. et sp. nov. from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber attributed to Macrosiagonini (Ripiphoridae: Ripiphorinae), which has elongated galea comparable to that in the extant parasitoid genus Macrosiagon, and a well known example of adaptation for nectar feeding in Coleoptera. Furthermore, Salignacicola gen. nov. is established for Macrosiagon ebboi Perrichot, Nel et Néraudeau, 2004, based on the holotype found in mid-Cretaceous amber from France. Systematic positions of both newly established genera are discussed. A list of potential wasp and bee hosts of Ripiphorinae from the Mesozoic is provided. Conclusions This study presents evidence of the earliest occurrence of specialized nectar feeding mouthparts in Coleoptera. Melanosiagon serraticornis is closely related to extant Macrosiagonini. In all genera belonging to subfamily Ripiphorinae the primary larvae are adapted for parasitism on aculeate Hymenoptera (bees and wasps) and adults are associated with blossoms of flowering plants, in terms of their specialized morphology. Adults of Macrosiagon visit blossoms of flowering plants to obtain nectar and lay eggs from which the hatching larvae attack visiting wasps and bees. An association with flowers of some tropical trees is already corroborated in some extant species. Interestingly the larvae of Ripiphorinae are also found in Burmese amber. Thus, both life stages of the mid-Cretaceous Ripiphorinae indicate a close association of this lineage with flowering trees. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12862-021-01930-6.
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Xiao L, Labandeira CC, Ben-Dov Y, Maccracken SA, Shih C, Dilcher DL, Ren D. Early Cretaceous mealybug herbivory on a laurel highlights the deep-time history of angiosperm-scale insect associations. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2021; 232:1414-1423. [PMID: 34379798 DOI: 10.1111/nph.17672] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2021] [Accepted: 08/02/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Insect fluid-feeding on fossil vascular plants is an inconspicuous and underappreciated mode of herbivory that can provide novel data on the evolution of deep-time ecological associations and indicate the host-plant preferences of ancient insect herbivores. Previous fossil studies have documented piercing-and-sucking herbivory but often are unable to identify culprit insect taxa. One line of evidence are punctures and scale-insect impression marks made by piercing-and-sucking insects that occasionally provide clues to the systematic identities and relationships of particular insect herbivores. We report here the earliest occurrences of piercing and sucking on early angiosperms as evidenced by scale insect covers, impression marks, punctures and body fossils - notably a mealybug - from the Lower Cretaceous Rose Creek Flora of the Dakota Formation (c. 103 Ma), in southeastern Nebraska, USA. The mealybug, two other scale insect taxa, and several distinctive damage types on laurel leaves and seed-plant stems at Rose Creek document a diverse guild of piercing-and-sucking insects on early angiosperms. The discovery of an Early Cretaceous female mealybug indicates an early herbivorous association with a laurel host. These data provide direct evidence for co-associations and possible coevolution of scale insects and their plant hosts during early angiosperm diversification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lifang Xiao
- College of Life Sciences and Academy for Multidisciplinary Studies, Capital Normal University, Beijing, 100048, China
- Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, 20013, USA
| | - Conrad C Labandeira
- College of Life Sciences and Academy for Multidisciplinary Studies, Capital Normal University, Beijing, 100048, China
- Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, 20013, USA
- Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver, CO, 80205, USA
- Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20740, USA
| | - Yair Ben-Dov
- Department of Entomology, Agricultural Research Organization, Bet Dagan, 50250, Israel
| | - S Augusta Maccracken
- Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, 20013, USA
- Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver, CO, 80205, USA
- Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20740, USA
| | - Chungkun Shih
- College of Life Sciences and Academy for Multidisciplinary Studies, Capital Normal University, Beijing, 100048, China
- Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, 20013, USA
| | - David L Dilcher
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA
| | - Dong Ren
- College of Life Sciences and Academy for Multidisciplinary Studies, Capital Normal University, Beijing, 100048, China
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Xiao L, Labandeira C, Dilcher D, Ren D. Florivory of Early Cretaceous flowers by functionally diverse insects: implications for early angiosperm pollination. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20210320. [PMID: 34132112 PMCID: PMC8207559 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.0320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Florivory (flower consumption) occurs worldwide in modern angiosperms, associated with pollen and nectar consumption. However, florivory remains unrecorded from fossil flowers since their Early Cretaceous appearance. We test hypotheses that earliest angiosperms were pollinated by a diverse insect fauna by evaluating 7858 plants from eight localities of the latest Albian Dakota Formation from midcontinental North America, in which 645 specimens (8.2%) were flowers or inflorescences. Well-preserved specimens were categorized into 32 morphotypes, nine of which displayed 207 instances of damage from 11 insect damage types (DTs) by four functional-feeding groups of hole feeding, margin feeding, surface feeding and piercing-and-sucking. We assessed the same DTs inflicted by known florivores on modern flowers that also are their pollinators, and associated insect mouthpart types causing such damage. The diverse, Dakota florivore-pollinator community showed a local pattern at Braun's Ranch of flower morphotypes 4 and 5 having piercing-and-sucking as dominant and margin feeding as minor interactions, whereas Dakotanthus cordiformis at Rose Creek I and II had an opposite pattern. We found no evidence for nectar robbing. These data support the rapid emergence of early angiosperms of florivore and associated pollinator guilds expressed at both the local and regional community levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lifang Xiao
- College of Life Science and Academy for Multidisciplinary Studies, Capital Normal University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.,Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Tenth Street and Constitution Avenue, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Conrad Labandeira
- College of Life Science and Academy for Multidisciplinary Studies, Capital Normal University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.,Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Tenth Street and Constitution Avenue, Washington, DC, USA.,Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - David Dilcher
- Department of Geology, Indiana University, 1001 Tenth Street, Bloomington, IN, USA
| | - Dong Ren
- College of Life Science and Academy for Multidisciplinary Studies, Capital Normal University, Beijing, People's Republic of China
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