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Gauweiler J, Amaral AP, Haug C, Haug JT. Armoured Lepidopteran Caterpillars Preserved in Non-Fossil Resins and What They Tell Us about the Fossil Preservation of Caterpillars. INSECTS 2024; 15:380. [PMID: 38921095 PMCID: PMC11203582 DOI: 10.3390/insects15060380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2024] [Revised: 05/13/2024] [Accepted: 05/15/2024] [Indexed: 06/27/2024]
Abstract
Resin is a plastic-like product of trees. Older occurrences of such resin are referred to as amber and are considered fossil resin. Younger resins are termed copals. Even younger ones have been dubbed defaunation resins. Non-fossil resins remain in a terminological limbo, often referred to as "sub-fossils". We report two lepidopteran caterpillars preserved in non-fossil resin: one from Madagascar, one from Brazil. Prominent hairs (=setae) and spines (=spine-like setae) of the specimens make it likely that they represent larvae of Erebidae (e.g., tussock moths and others). So far, most known caterpillars preserved in resins are either "naked" or bear protective cases; only few are armoured with spines or hairs. In particular, long-haired caterpillars such as the ones reported here are so far almost absent. Only one specimen with comparable setae has been reported from 15-million-year-old Dominican amber, but no significant details of this specimen are accessible. We briefly also review the record of caterpillars known from the Holocene, recognising that it is very sparse. The new specimens demonstrate that very hairy caterpillars can readily be preserved in resins in fine detail. Furthermore, the specimens increase the known size range of caterpillars preserved in resins, with one measuring more than 12 mm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua Gauweiler
- Cytology and Evolutionary Biology, Zoological Institute and Museum, University of Greifswald, Soldmannstraße 23, 17489 Greifswald, Germany;
| | - André P. Amaral
- Biocenter, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU Munich), Großhaderner Str. 2, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany; (A.P.A.); (J.T.H.)
| | - Carolin Haug
- Biocenter, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU Munich), Großhaderner Str. 2, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany; (A.P.A.); (J.T.H.)
- GeoBio-Center at LMU, Richard-Wagner-Str. 10, 80333 München, Germany
| | - Joachim T. Haug
- Biocenter, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU Munich), Großhaderner Str. 2, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany; (A.P.A.); (J.T.H.)
- GeoBio-Center at LMU, Richard-Wagner-Str. 10, 80333 München, Germany
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Peris D, Hammel JU, Cai C, Solórzano-Kraemer MM. First record of Jacobsoniidae (Coleoptera) on the African continent in Holocene copal from Tanzania: biogeography since the Cretaceous. Sci Rep 2023; 13:3735. [PMID: 36878923 PMCID: PMC9988830 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-30368-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2022] [Accepted: 02/21/2023] [Indexed: 03/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Neither fossil nor living Jacobsoniidae are found in abundance. Derolathrus cavernicolus Peck, 2010 is recorded here preserved in Holocene copal from Tanzania with an age of 210 ± 30 BP years. This leads us to three interesting conclusions: (1) This is the first time the family was found on the African continent, extending the family's distribution range to hitherto unknown localities. Derolathrus cavernicolus in Holocene copal from Tanzania expands the known distribution of the species, previously only recorded in the USA (Hawaii and Florida), Barbados, and Japan, both spatially and temporally. (2) All fossil specimens of the family have been found preserved in amber, which might be due to the small size of the specimens that prevents their discovery in other types of deposits. However, we here add a second aspect, namely the occurrence of this cryptic and currently scarce family of beetles in resinous environments, where they live in relationship with resin-producing trees. (3) The discovery of a new specimen from a family unknown on the African continent supports the relevance of these younger resins in preserving arthropods that lived in pre-Anthropocene times. Although we cannot demonstrate their extinction in the region, since it is possible that the family still survives in the already fragmented coastal forests of East Africa, we are detecting a loss of local biodiversity during the so-called Anthropocene, probably due to human activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Peris
- Institut Botànic de Barcelona (CSIC-Ajuntament de Barcelona), 08038, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jörg U Hammel
- Institute of Materials Physics, Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, Outstation at DESY, 22607, Geesthacht, Germany
| | - Chenyang Cai
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, and Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 210008, Nanjing, China.,School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Mónica M Solórzano-Kraemer
- Department of Palaeontology and Historical Geology, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum, 60325, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany.
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Dominican amber net-winged beetles suggest stable paleoenvironment as a driver for conserved morphology in a paedomorphic lineage. Sci Rep 2022; 12:5820. [PMID: 35388125 PMCID: PMC8986798 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-09867-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2022] [Accepted: 03/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Paedomorphosis is a heterochronic syndrome in which adult individuals display features of their immature forms. In beetles, this phenomenon occurs widely in the superfamily Elateroidea, including the net-winged beetles (Lycidae), and, due to the usual flightlessness of paedomorphic females, it is hypothesized to cause speciation rates higher than in non-paedomorphic lineages. However, some fossils of paedomorphic lycids do not support this with palaeobiological data. Discovery of new Lycidae fossils attributed to the West Indian extant paedomorphic genus Cessator Kazantsev in the Dominican amber also suggests morphological stasis within this genus in the Greater Antilles. We describe Cessator anachronicus Ferreira and Ivie, sp. nov. based on adult males, as well as the first ever recorded fossil net-winged beetle larva of the same genus. We propose that the relatively young age of the studied fossils combined with the stable conditions in the forest floor of the Greater Antilles through the last tens of million years could explain the exceptionally conserved morphology in the net-winged beetles affected by the paedomorphic syndrome.
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Kong D, Meng Y, McKenna GB. Determination of the molecular weight between cross‐links for different ambers: Viscoelastic measurements of the rubbery plateau*. POLYM ENG SCI 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/pen.25903] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Dejie Kong
- Department of Chemical Engineering Texas Tech University Lubbock Texas USA
| | - Yan Meng
- College of Materials Science and Engineering Beijing University of Chemical Technology Beijing China
| | - Gregory B. McKenna
- Department of Chemical Engineering Texas Tech University Lubbock Texas USA
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering North Carolina State University Raleigh North Carolina USA
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Spectroscopic Identification of Amber Imitations: Different Pressure and Temperature Treatments of Copal Resins. CRYSTALS 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/cryst11101223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Copal resins can be treated with heat and/or pressure to imitate ambers in the gem market. To explore the effects of different modification conditions on post-treatment spectral changes, five experimental methods with different temperature–pressure parameters were designed to modify two types of copal resins. The treated copal resins were examined by infrared, Raman and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Results indicate that all the treatment methods simulate the maturation process, with spectral characteristics becoming more similar to those of ambers. Multi-stage heat–pressure treatment has the most significant effect on Colombia and Madagascar copal resins, with their spectra being similar to those of Dominican and Mexican ambers. Rapid high-temperature treatment at 180 °C modified the Borneo copal resin, with its infrared spectrum developing a “Baltic shoulder” resembling that of heat-treated Baltic amber. Even though there are many similarities between treated copal resins and natural ambers, they can still be distinguished by spectroscopic methods.
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Sánchez-García A, Peñalver E, Delclòs X, Engel MS. Terrestrial Isopods from Spanish Amber (Crustacea: Oniscidea): Insights into the Cretaceous Soil Biota. AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES 2021. [DOI: 10.1206/3974.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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Smith KT. Paleontology: It's a bird, it's a plane, it's Oculudentavis! Curr Biol 2021; 31:R950-R952. [PMID: 34375597 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.06.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Few animals have experienced such jarring taxonomic whiplash as has Oculudentavis, a tiny tetrapod preserved in amber. A new specimen of this perplexing lineage now shows that it is a lizard unlike any ever discovered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Krister T Smith
- Department of Messel Research and Mammalogy, Senckenberg Research Institute, and Faculty of Biological Sciences, Goethe University, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
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Kundrata R, Packova G, Prosvirov AS, Hoffmannova J. The Fossil Record of Elateridae (Coleoptera: Elateroidea): Described Species, Current Problems and Future Prospects. INSECTS 2021; 12:286. [PMID: 33805978 PMCID: PMC8064311 DOI: 10.3390/insects12040286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2021] [Revised: 03/22/2021] [Accepted: 03/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
The Elateridae (click-beetles) are the largest family in Elateroidea; however, their relationships, systematics and classification remain unclear. Our understanding of the origin, evolution, palaeodiversity and palaeobiogeography of Elateridae, as well as reconstruction of a reliable time-calibrated phylogeny for the group, are hampered by the lack of detailed knowledge of their fossil record. In this study, we summarize the current knowledge on all described fossil species in Elateridae, including their type material, geographic origin, age, bibliography and remarks on their systematic placement. Altogether, 261 fossil species classified in 99 genera and nine subfamilies are currently listed in this family. The Mesozoic click-beetle diversity includes 143 species, with most of them described from the Jurassic Karatau, and 118 described species are known from the Cenozoic deposits, mainly from the Eocene North American Florissant Formation and European Baltic amber. Available data on the described past diversity of Elateridae suggest that almost all fossil lineages in this group are in urgent need of revision and numerous Mesozoic species might belong to different families. Our study is intended to serve as a comprehensive basis for all subsequent research focused on the click-beetle fossil record.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robin Kundrata
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Palacky University, 17. listopadu 50, 77146 Olomouc, Czech Republic; (G.P.); (J.H.)
| | - Gabriela Packova
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Palacky University, 17. listopadu 50, 77146 Olomouc, Czech Republic; (G.P.); (J.H.)
| | - Alexander S. Prosvirov
- Department of Entomology, Faculty of Biology, Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1/12, 119234 Moscow, Russia;
| | - Johana Hoffmannova
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Palacky University, 17. listopadu 50, 77146 Olomouc, Czech Republic; (G.P.); (J.H.)
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Successful extraction of insect DNA from recent copal inclusions: limits and perspectives. Sci Rep 2021; 11:6851. [PMID: 33767248 PMCID: PMC7994385 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-86058-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2020] [Accepted: 03/01/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Insects entombed in copal, the sub-fossilized resin precursor of amber, represent a potential source of genetic data for extinct and extant, but endangered or elusive, species. Despite several studies demonstrated that it is not possible to recover endogenous DNA from insect inclusions, the preservation of biomolecules in fossilized resins samples is still under debate. In this study, we tested the possibility of obtaining endogenous ancient DNA (aDNA) molecules from insects preserved in copal, applying experimental protocols specifically designed for aDNA recovery. We were able to extract endogenous DNA molecules from one of the two samples analyzed, and to identify the taxonomic status of the specimen. Even if the sample was found well protected from external contaminants, the recovered DNA was low concentrated and extremely degraded, compared to the sample age. We conclude that it is possible to obtain genomic data from resin-entombed organisms, although we discourage aDNA analysis because of the destructive method of extraction protocols and the non-reproducibility of the results.
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