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Zhuang Y, Xu W, Zhang G, Mai H, Li X, He H, Ran H, Liu Y. Unparalleled details of soft tissues in a Cretaceous ant. BMC Ecol Evol 2022; 22:146. [PMID: 36526958 PMCID: PMC9756460 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-022-02099-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2022] [Accepted: 12/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
For social insects such as ants, the internal organs are likely important in understanding their eusocial behavior and evolution. Such organs, however, are rarely preserved on fossils. In each of the few cases reporting exceptionally fossilized soft tissues in arthropods, the nervous, muscular and cardiovascular systems have been described individually, but never in combination. Here, we report a female specimen (gyne) of the extinct ant group-†Zigrasimecia-included in a Cretaceous amber piece from Kachin, Myanmar, with an almost complete system formed by various internal organs. These include the brain, the main exocrine system, part of the digestive tract, and several muscle clusters. This research expands our knowledge of internal anatomy in stem group ants. As the gyne bears a morphologically unique labrum, our specimen's internal and external features support the notion that the early ant may have special ecological habits during the Cretaceous period.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuhui Zhuang
- grid.440773.30000 0000 9342 2456Yunnan Key Laboratory for Palaeobiology, Institute of Palaeontology, Yunnan University, South Waihuan Road, Chenggong District, Kunming, 650500 China ,grid.440773.30000 0000 9342 2456MEC International Joint Laboratory for Palaeobiology and Palaeoenvironment, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650500 China
| | - Wenjing Xu
- grid.144022.10000 0004 1760 4150Key Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration On Management of Forest Bio-Disaster, College of Forestry, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100 Shaanxi China
| | - Guojie Zhang
- grid.13402.340000 0004 1759 700XEvolutionary & Organismal Biology Research Center, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310058 China ,grid.9227.e0000000119573309State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650223 China ,grid.5254.60000 0001 0674 042XVillum Center for Biodiversity Genomics, Section for Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Huijuan Mai
- grid.440773.30000 0000 9342 2456Yunnan Key Laboratory for Palaeobiology, Institute of Palaeontology, Yunnan University, South Waihuan Road, Chenggong District, Kunming, 650500 China ,grid.440773.30000 0000 9342 2456MEC International Joint Laboratory for Palaeobiology and Palaeoenvironment, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650500 China
| | - Xiaoqin Li
- grid.440773.30000 0000 9342 2456Yunnan Key Laboratory for Palaeobiology, Institute of Palaeontology, Yunnan University, South Waihuan Road, Chenggong District, Kunming, 650500 China ,grid.440773.30000 0000 9342 2456MEC International Joint Laboratory for Palaeobiology and Palaeoenvironment, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650500 China
| | - Hong He
- grid.144022.10000 0004 1760 4150Key Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration On Management of Forest Bio-Disaster, College of Forestry, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100 Shaanxi China
| | - Hao Ran
- grid.9227.e0000000119573309State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650223 China ,Key Laboratory of Ecology of Rare and Endangered Species and Environmental Protection, Ministry of Education, Guilin, 541004 China ,Biological Education and Research Laboratory, Mancheng High School of Hebei Province, Baoding, 072150 China
| | - Yu Liu
- grid.440773.30000 0000 9342 2456Yunnan Key Laboratory for Palaeobiology, Institute of Palaeontology, Yunnan University, South Waihuan Road, Chenggong District, Kunming, 650500 China ,grid.440773.30000 0000 9342 2456MEC International Joint Laboratory for Palaeobiology and Palaeoenvironment, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650500 China
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