Articles | Volume 20, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-20-239-2017
© Author(s) 2017. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-20-239-2017
© Author(s) 2017. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Research article
| 
25 Aug 2017
Research article |
| 25 Aug 2017
The wasp larva's last supper: 100 million years of evolutionary stasis in the larval development of rhopalosomatid wasps (Hymenoptera: Rhopalosomatidae)
Volker Lohrmann
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Übersee-Museum Bremen, Bahnhofsplatz 13, 28195 Bremen, Germany
Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz-Institut für Evolutions- und
Biodiversitätsforschung, Invalidenstraße 43, 10115 Berlin, Germany
Michael S. Engel
Division of Entomology, Natural History Museum, and Department of
Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, 1501 Crestline Drive – Suite 140,
University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045-4415, USA
Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History,
Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, New York 10024-5192, USA
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A new mid-Cretaceous rhopalosomatid wasp, Cretolixon alatum Lohrmann gen. et sp. nov., is described from Burmese (Kachin) amber. The new genus has a unique mixture of characters, some of which are only known from the recent brachypterous genus Olixon and others of which are known only from the recent macropterous genera. Thus, Cretolixon not only provides further evidence for the monophyly of the family but also contributes evidence for the monophyly of the Rhopalosomatinae.
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Here, we report three new fossil rhopalosomatid wasp specimens from Dominican and Mexican amber. Rhopalosoma hispaniola Lohrmann sp. nov. is described and documented from Dominican amber by two separate inclusions – one of each sex. An additional fossil female Rhopalosoma is described and documented from Mexican amber. The new fossils do not only represent the first fossil records of an extant genus of this peculiar family but also the first records of the family in Dominican and Mexican amber.
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We described the first xiphydriid wood wasp fossil, which extends the occurrence of Xiphydriidae into the mid-Cretaceous and adds to the known diversity of features in the family. In addition, the simplification of the wing venation and hypothesized host-plant affiliations of early xiphydriids are discussed based on the pollen of Cycadales preserved with the wasp.
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A new mid-Cretaceous rhopalosomatid wasp, Cretolixon alatum Lohrmann gen. et sp. nov., is described from Burmese (Kachin) amber. The new genus has a unique mixture of characters, some of which are only known from the recent brachypterous genus Olixon and others of which are known only from the recent macropterous genera. Thus, Cretolixon not only provides further evidence for the monophyly of the family but also contributes evidence for the monophyly of the Rhopalosomatinae.
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Here, we report three new fossil rhopalosomatid wasp specimens from Dominican and Mexican amber. Rhopalosoma hispaniola Lohrmann sp. nov. is described and documented from Dominican amber by two separate inclusions – one of each sex. An additional fossil female Rhopalosoma is described and documented from Mexican amber. The new fossils do not only represent the first fossil records of an extant genus of this peculiar family but also the first records of the family in Dominican and Mexican amber.
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†Cretolixon – a remarkable new genus of rhopalosomatid wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespoidea: Rhopalosomatidae) from chemically tested, mid-Cretaceous Burmese (Kachin) amber supports the monophyly of Rhopalosomatinae
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New information on the Cenomanian bothremydid turtle Algorachelus based on new, well-preserved material from Spain
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The fossil history of pseudoscorpions (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones)
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Olivier Béthoux, Rowan E. Norrad, Matthew R. Stimson, Olivia A. King, Luke F. Allen, Isabelle Deregnaucourt, Steven J. Hinds, Jake H. Lewis, and Jörg W. Schneider
Foss. Rec., 24, 207–221, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-207-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-207-2021, 2021
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A specimen of an extinct relative of damsel- and dragonflies was discovered from ca. 310-million-years-old strata from New Brunswick (Canada). It is composed of an incomplete hindwing belonging to a new species whose wingspan was about 35 cm. Despite its incompleteness, it composes a useful addition to our knowledge of the early evolution of the group, owing to its unique combination of traits.
Oldřich Fatka, Petr Budil, and Petr Kraft
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Alan Vincelette
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Sandra R. Schachat, S. Augusta Maccracken, and Conrad C. Labandeira
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Walter G. Joyce, Yann Rollot, and Richard L. Cifelli
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Pavel Skutschas, Veniamin Kolchanov, Elizaveta Boitsova, and Ivan Kuzmin
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Nicole Klein and Eva Maria Griebeler
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Adán Pérez-García
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Constanze Bickelmann and Linda A. Tsuji
Foss. Rec., 21, 109–118, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-21-109-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-21-109-2018, 2018
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Bryan M. Gee and Robert R. Reisz
Foss. Rec., 21, 79–91, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-21-79-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-21-79-2018, 2018
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This paper presents a description of an extremely well-preserved and articulated skeleton of a temnospondyl amphibian from the early Permian of Oklahoma. Postcranial material is not often well-preserved or well-described in the literature for this group, known as dissorophids, and acquiring new data on this region of the skeleton is important for understanding the evolution of the group. It also represents the first documentation at this site of a genus that was otherwise known only from Texas.
Benjamin Ramassamy, Olivier Lambert, Alberto Collareta, Mario Urbina, and Giovanni Bianucci
Foss. Rec., 21, 11–32, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-21-11-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-21-11-2018, 2018
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Extant beaked whales perform deep dives to forage for squids. We studied the morphology of the fossil ziphiid Messapicetus gregarius to evaluate its ability to perform such dives. Our analysis suggests an enlargement of the pterygoid sinus system in deep divers. In M. gregarius, the pterygoid sinus is enlarged, but other lines of evidence indicate that the coastal environment also represented an important part of its home range.
Tanja Wintrich, Martin Scaal, and P. Martin Sander
Foss. Rec., 20, 279–290, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-20-279-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-20-279-2017, 2017
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Plesiosaurians retain a very long neck but greatly reduce neck flexibility, and the cervicals have large, paired, and highly symmetrical foramina on the ventral side of the centrum, traditionally termed
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Danilo Harms and Jason A. Dunlop
Foss. Rec., 20, 215–238, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-20-215-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-20-215-2017, 2017
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We review the fossil history of pseudoscorpions (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones), one of the oldest terrestrial lineages with
a fossil record that goes back to the Devonian. Pseudoscorpions do not fossilise easily, and records from the Mesozoic and
Cenozoic consist almost exclusively of amber inclusions. Overall, 16 of the 26 recent families have been documented from
fossils. This is a group of evolutionary stasis and we discuss aspects of palaeobiology, preservation, and ecology.
Wolfram Mey, Wilfried Wichard, Patrick Müller, and Bo Wang
Foss. Rec., 20, 129–145, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-20-129-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-20-129-2017, 2017
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Based on a total of 14 inclusions from Burmese amber the new, extinct insect order Tarachoptera was established. The new order Tarachoptera is placed in the superorder Amphiesmenoptera. The species of Tarachoptera are tiny insects with a wing span of 2.3–4.5 mm, but are highly specialized according to their aberrant morphology. They lived in the forests of Southeast Asia about 100 million years ago.
Florian Witzmann and Elizabeth Brainerd
Foss. Rec., 20, 105–127, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-20-105-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-20-105-2017, 2017
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Based on the estimation of its body mass and metabolic rate, we calculated heat balance, gas exchange, osmoregulation, and digestion of the 290-million-year-old aquatic amphibian Archegosaurus. Our results suggest that its physiology was more fish- than tetrapod-like in many respects. We conducted this study, which is mainly based on theoretical calculations and comparison with extant analogs, to shed light on the physiology and lifestyle of early tetrapods.
Torsten M. Scheyer, Elena V. Syromyatnikova, and Igor G. Danilov
Foss. Rec., 20, 69–85, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-20-69-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-20-69-2017, 2017
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We review shell bone microstructures of Adocidae and Nanhsiungchelyidae, two groups of extinct hide-necked turtles related to modern soft-shelled turtles (Trionychidae) and the pig-nosed turtle Carettochelys insculpta (Carettochelyidae). Adocids and nanhsiungchelyids both have a good fossil record in North America and Asia during the Cretaceous and Cenozoic. Our microstructural data supplement previously reported differences in external shell morphology between adocids and nanhsiungchelyids.
Olivier Béthoux, Artémis Llamosi, and Séverine Toussaint
Foss. Rec., 20, 1–7, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-20-1-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-20-1-2016, 2016
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Fossil insects preserved as an imprint on laminae have subtle differences in relief which can be difficult to photograph. Recourse to reflectance transformation imaging allowed us to deliver exhaustive and interactive photographic data for Protelytron permianum. Based on these data we were able ascertain that it is an early relative of earwigs. In order to better appreciate its elaborate hind wing folding mechanism, we provide guidelines to build and operate a paper model.
Florian Witzmann, Sven Sachs, and Christian J. Nyhuis
Foss. Rec., 19, 83–100, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-19-83-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-19-83-2016, 2016
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In this study, the well-preserved skull of a giant amphibian from the Late Triassic Stuttgart Formation (Schilfsandstein) of Bielefeld-Sieker in NW Germany is described and a new species, Cyclotosaurus buechneri sp. nov., is erected. Cyclotosaurus buechneri represents the only unequivocal evidence of Cyclotosaurus in northern Germany. The amphibian skull was found more than 40 years ago and is well known in Bielefeld and the surrounding areas but has so far never been described.
G. Arratia
Foss. Rec., 19, 31–59, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-19-31-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-19-31-2016, 2016
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Complete morphological descriptions of exceptionally beautifully preserved Late Jurassic fishes from Bavaria (e.g., Ettling and Eichsttät), southern Germany, are provided for a new genus and species, which is endemic of Ettling and for a new family, Ascalaboidae. The new family is only known from marine Upper Jurassic localities of Europe and is interpreted as an extinct and primitive group of Teleostei, which is considered the largest group within osteichthyans (bony fishes).
N. B. Fröbisch, A. Brar, and R. R. Reisz
Foss. Rec., 18, 73–80, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-18-73-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-18-73-2015, 2015
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Here we describe a large specimen of the Paleozoic dissorophid amphibian Cacops woehri from the Fort Sill locality in Oklahoma, which was previously only known from a partial juvenile skull. The new data show that, in contrast to the closely related species C. morrisi, C. woehri underwent only subtle changes in skull morphology in late ontogeny, which indicates different functional demands possibly associated with a different ecology.
B. J. Burger and L. Tackett II
Foss. Rec., 17, 69–74, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-17-69-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-17-69-2014, 2014
K. Kienapfel, S. Läbe, and H. Preuschoft
Foss. Rec., 17, 59–67, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-17-59-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-17-59-2014, 2014
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Short summary
Amber functions as a window into the past, capable of capturing behaviors
frozenfor millions of years. Here, we report on the exceptionally rare discovery of a dinosaur-age larva of a stinging wasp, feeding on its cricket host, in mid-Cretaceous amber from Myanmar. It reveals a considerable constancy in the biology of this particular family over the last 100 million years. The excellent preservation of the larva is remarkable and due solely to the fidelity permitted by inclusion in amber.
Amber functions as a window into the past, capable of capturing behaviors
frozenfor millions of...
