Articles | Volume 21, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-21-213-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-21-213-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
29 Aug 2018
Research article |
| 29 Aug 2018
| 29 Aug 2018
Marine microorganisms as amber inclusions: insights from coastal forests of New Caledonia
Alexander R. Schmidt
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Geobiology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
Dennis Grabow
Department of Geobiology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
Christina Beimforde
Department of Geobiology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
Vincent Perrichot
Univ. Rennes, CNRS, Géosciences Rennes – UMR 6118, Rennes,
France
Jouko Rikkinen
Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki,
Helsinki, Finland
Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of
Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Simona Saint Martin
Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Département Origines et
Evolution, UMR 7207 CR2P (MNHN CNRS-SU), Paris, France
Volker Thiel
Department of Geobiology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
Leyla J. Seyfullah
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Geobiology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
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Leyla J. Seyfullah, Emily A. Roberts, Phillip E. Jardine, and Alexander R. Schmidt
Foss. Rec., 24, 321–337, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-321-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-321-2021, 2021
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Currently, little is known about the natural chemical variability of resins and ambers. To understand how much resin variability occurs naturally we ran experiments on plants and then investigated the resultant resins with FTIR-ATR spectroscopy. We detected that resin viscosity and genetic variation are important factors in determining the amount of variation in resin chemistry. This natural variability needs to be taken into account when testing resin and amber chemistries in the future.
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An extinct species of fly is described from 16–23-million-year-old amber of Ethiopia. It is the first fossil of the fly family Mycetophilidae discovered from Africa. This discovery informs the evolutionary history of Afrotropical fungus gnats.
Leyla J. Seyfullah, Emily A. Roberts, Phillip E. Jardine, and Alexander R. Schmidt
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Currently, little is known about the natural chemical variability of resins and ambers. To understand how much resin variability occurs naturally we ran experiments on plants and then investigated the resultant resins with FTIR-ATR spectroscopy. We detected that resin viscosity and genetic variation are important factors in determining the amount of variation in resin chemistry. This natural variability needs to be taken into account when testing resin and amber chemistries in the future.
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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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Today, sterols are widespread in plants, animals, and fungi but are almost absent in the oldest rocks. Microbial mats, representing the earliest complex ecosystems on Earth, were omnipresent in Precambrian marine environments and may have degraded the sterols at that time. Here we analyze the distribution of sterols through a microbial mat. This provides insight into how variations in biological and nonbiological factors affect the preservation of sterols in modern and ancient microbial mats.
Manuel Reinhardt, Walter Goetz, Jan-Peter Duda, Christine Heim, Joachim Reitner, and Volker Thiel
Biogeosciences, 16, 2443–2465, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-2443-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-2443-2019, 2019
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Organic matter in Archean hydrothermal cherts may contain molecular traces of early life. Alteration processes during and after deposition, however, may have obliterated potential biosignatures. Our results from modern analog samples (Pleistocene cherts from Lake Magadi, Kenya) show that biomolecules can survive early hydrothermal destruction in the macromolecular fraction of the organic matter. A conservation of molecular biosignatures in Archean hydrothermal cherts therefore seems possible.
Volker Lohrmann, Michael Ohl, Peter Michalik, James P. Pitts, Laurent Jeanneau, and Vincent Perrichot
Foss. Rec., 22, 31–44, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-22-31-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-22-31-2019, 2019
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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.
Beate Stawiarski, Stefan Otto, Volker Thiel, Ulf Gräwe, Natalie Loick-Wilde, Anna K. Wittenborn, Stefan Schloemer, Janine Wäge, Gregor Rehder, Matthias Labrenz, Norbert Wasmund, and Oliver Schmale
Biogeosciences, 16, 1–16, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-1-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-1-2019, 2019
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The understanding of surface water methane production in the world oceans is still poor. By combining field studies and incubation experiments, our investigations suggest that zooplankton contributes to subthermocline methane enrichments in the central Baltic Sea by methane production within the digestive tract of copepods and/or by methane production through release of methane precursor substances into the surrounding water, followed by microbial degradation to methane.
Sonja Geilert, Christian Hensen, Mark Schmidt, Volker Liebetrau, Florian Scholz, Mechthild Doll, Longhui Deng, Annika Fiskal, Mark A. Lever, Chih-Chieh Su, Stefan Schloemer, Sudipta Sarkar, Volker Thiel, and Christian Berndt
Biogeosciences, 15, 5715–5731, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-5715-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-5715-2018, 2018
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Abrupt climate changes in Earth’s history might have been triggered by magmatic intrusions into organic-rich sediments, which can potentially release large amounts of greenhouse gases. In the Guaymas Basin, vigorous hydrothermal venting at the ridge axis and off-axis inactive vents show that magmatic intrusions are an effective way to release carbon but must be considered as very short-lived processes in a geological sense. These results need to be taken into account in future climate models.
Jan-Peter Duda, Volker Thiel, Thorsten Bauersachs, Helge Mißbach, Manuel Reinhardt, Nadine Schäfer, Martin J. Van Kranendonk, and Joachim Reitner
Biogeosciences, 15, 1535–1548, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-1535-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-1535-2018, 2018
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The origin of organic matter in the oldest rocks on Earth is commonly ambiguous (biotic vs. abiotic). This problem culminates in the case of hydrothermal chert veins that contain abundant organic matter. Here we demonstrate a microbial origin of kerogen embedded in a 3.5 Gyr old hydrothermal chert vein. We explain this finding with the large-scale redistribution of biomass by hydrothermal fluids, emphasizing the interplay between biological and abiological processes on the early Earth.
B. A. Thomas and L. J. Seyfullah
Foss. Rec., 19, 1–9, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-19-1-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-19-1-2016, 2016
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We discovered two new species of Sigillariostrobus cones belonging to the extinct arborescent lycophytes (club mosses). These cones usually fall apart, so finding new intact cones is rare and very important for understanding the diversity of Carboniferous lycophytes. The two species are the first from Britain, although the other cones are known from Europe. One of the cone species has Laevigatisporites glabratus-type spores inside; the other has Tuberculatisporites brevispiculus-type spores.
C. Hartl, A. R. Schmidt, J. Heinrichs, L. J. Seyfullah, N. Schäfer, C. Gröhn, J. Rikkinen, and U. Kaasalainen
Foss. Rec., 18, 127–135, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-18-127-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-18-127-2015, 2015
C. Berndmeyer, V. Thiel, O. Schmale, N. Wasmund, and M. Blumenberg
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The water column of the Landsort Deep, central Baltic Sea, is stratified into an oxic, suboxic, and anoxic zone. This stratification controls the distributions of individual microbial communities and biogeochemical processes. Our study of in situ biomarkers in the Landsort Deep provides an integrated insight into the distribution of relevant compounds and describes useful tracers to reconstruct stratified water columns in the geological record.
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O. Schmale, M. Blumenberg, K. Kießlich, G. Jakobs, C. Berndmeyer, M. Labrenz, V. Thiel, and G. Rehder
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Related subject area
Taxonomy and biodiversity
Ingensalinae subfam. nov. (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha: Fulgoroidea: Inoderbidae), a new planthopper subfamily from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber from Myanmar
The first xiphydriid wood wasp in Cretaceous amber (Hymenoptera: Xiphydriidae) and a potential association with Cycadales
Albian to Turonian agglutinated foraminiferal assemblages of the Lower Saxony Cretaceous sub-basins – implications for sequence stratigraphy and paleoenvironmental interpretation
Past ecosystems drive the evolution of the early diverged Symphyta (Hymenoptera: Xyelidae) since the earliest Eocene
Ontogenetic development of the European basal aquatic turtle Pleurosternon bullockii (Paracryptodira, Pleurosternidae)
Cretopachyderes gen. nov., a new remarkable click beetle (Coleoptera: Elateridae: Agrypninae) from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber
The genus Allodia (Diptera: Mycetophilidae) in Miocene Ethiopian amber
The southernmost occurrence of Ichthyosaurus from the Sinemurian of Portugal
A new odontocete (Inioidea, Odontoceti) from the late Neogene of North Carolina, USA
The first Fulgoridae (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha) from the Eocene of the central Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau
New shell information and new generic attributions for the Egyptian podocnemidid turtles “Podocnemis” fajumensis (Oligocene) and “Podocnemis” aegyptiaca (Miocene)
At the crossroads: early Miocene marine fishes of the proto-Mediterranean Sea
The first extinct species of Acritus LeConte, 1853 (Histeridae: Abraeinae) from Eocene Baltic amber: a microscopic beetle inclusion studied with X-ray micro-computed tomography
A new enigmatic lineage of Dascillidae (Coleoptera: Elateriformia) from Eocene Baltic amber described using X-ray microtomography, with notes on Karumiinae morphology and classification
First record of the subfamily Sagrinae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) from the Eocene of North America
The polycentropodid genus Cernotina (Insecta, Trichoptera) in Miocene Dominican amber
Two new species of the family Rhynchitidae (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea) from Eocene Baltic amber, with key to species and assumed trophic relationships
Extensive vertebrate tracksite from the Upper Red Formation (middle–late Miocene), west Zanjan, northwestern Iran
A new delphinid from the lower Pliocene of the North Sea and the early radiations of true dolphins
A new Eocene Bacanius species (Histeridae: Dendrophilinae) from Baltic amber
Selenogonus narinoensis Stirton, 1947 (Tayassuidae, Cetartiodactyla, Mammalia): taxonomic status and paleobiogeographic implications
Osteology of the Permian temnospondyl amphibian Glanochthon lellbachae and its relationships
First occurrence of brachyopid temnospondyls in Southeast Asia and review of the Mesozoic amphibians from Thailand
The first described turtle beetles from Eocene Baltic amber, with notes on fossil Chelonariidae (Coleoptera: Byrrhoidea)
A new late Miocene bovid (Mammalia: Artiodactyla: Bovidae) from Çorakyerler (Turkey)
A new species of the genus Glaesotropis Gratshev and Zherikhin, 1995 (Coleoptera, Anthribidae) from Rovno amber
New genus of the tribe Ceutorhynchini (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) from the late Oligocene of Enspel, southwestern Germany, with a remark on the role of weevils in the ancient food web
A new wing skeleton of Forfexopterus (Pterosauria: Ctenochasmatidae) from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota reveals a developmental variation
An ankylosaurian dinosaur from the Cenomanian Dunvegan Formation of northeastern British Columbia, Canada
The first record of Brentidae (Coleoptera) in Eocene Rovno amber with description of a new fossil species of Toxorhynchus Scudder, 1893
An unfamiliar physeteroid periotic (Cetacea: Odontoceti) from the German middle–late Miocene North Sea basin at Groß Pampau
A revision of Ophidiaster davidsoni de Loriol and Pellat 1874 from the Tithonian of Boulogne (France) and its transfer from the Valvatacea to the new forcipulatacean genus Psammaster gen. nov.
Two new species of Mennerotodus Zhelezko, 1994 (Chondrichthyes: Lamniformes: Odontaspididae), from the Paleogene of the southeastern United States
Description of the male of fossil Calomicrus eocenicus Bukejs et Bezděk (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Galerucinae) from Eocene Baltic amber using X-ray microtomography
An alternative interpretation of Peltochelys duchastelii as a paracryptodire
A new fossil species of Attagenus Latreille (Coleoptera: Dermestidae) in Rovno and Baltic ambers, with a brief review of known fossil beetles from the Rovno amber Lagerstätte
A new Eocene genus of the subtribe Tylodina (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) and notes concerning local differences of Baltic amber in the Kaliningrad Region
A new, rare and small “lobeattid” species (Insecta: Archaeorthoptera) found at Xiaheyan (Pennsylvanian; Ningxia, China)
On the first Silis Charpentier, 1825 from Baltic amber (Coleoptera, Cantharidae)
The second fossil species of Cathartosilvanus (Coleoptera: Cucujoidea: Silvanidae) from Eocene Baltic amber
Microanatomy and growth of the mesosaurs Stereosternum tumidum and Brazilosaurus sanpauloensis (Reptilia, Parareptilia)
The new encrusting microproblematicum Circumpodium enigmaticum and its attachment trace Circumpodichnus serialis from the Middle Jurassic of Normandy (France)
Dignoptinus, a new genus for fossil Dignomus regiomontanus Alekseev from Eocene Baltic amber, and new status for Bruchoptinus Reitter and Pseudoptinus Reitter (Coleoptera: Ptinidae)
An insect wing discovered in the Early Permian Taiyuan Formation (Shanxi Province, China)
Presence of the Jehol Biota turtle Ordosemys liaoxiensis in the Early Cretaceous Hengtongshan Formation of southern Jilin Province, China
A new bizarre dysoneurid species (Insecta, Trichoptera) in Burmese amber
Groehnius, a new genus of Eugnomini (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) from Eocene Baltic amber
Notes on rhopalosomatid wasps of Dominican and Mexican amber (Hymenoptera: Rhopalosomatidae) with a description of the first fossil species of Rhopalosoma Cresson, 1865
First record of the tribe Naupactini (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Rovno amber
On a remarkable new species of Tharsis, a Late Jurassic teleostean fish from southern Germany: its morphology and phylogenetic relationships
Cihang Luo, Zhishun Song, Xiaojing Liu, Tian Jiang, Edmund A. Jarzembowski, and Jacek Szwedo
Foss. Rec., 24, 455–465, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-455-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-455-2022, 2022
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Ingensala xiai gen. et sp. nov. is described based on a specimen from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. The new genus can be definitely attributed to Inoderbidae mainly based on its head structure, pronotum, and mesonotum without median and lateral carinae, but it differs from the type genus to a large extent and two new subfamilies are established for these two genera respectively. The similarities between Ingensala, Qiyangiricaniidae, Weiwoboidae, and Tropiduchidae are discussed.
Jia Gao, Michael S. Engel, Friðgeir Grímsson, Lei Gu, Dong Ren, and Tai-Ping Gao
Foss. Rec., 24, 445–453, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-445-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-445-2022, 2022
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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.
Richard M. Besen, Ulrich Struck, and Ekbert Seibertz
Foss. Rec., 24, 395–441, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-395-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-395-2021, 2021
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The agglutinated foraminiferal fauna in carbonate rocks from the mid-Cretaceous of Lower Saxony is documented and applied to reconstruct former paleoenvironmental conditions. Especially, sea level fluctuations are possible to reconstruct from changes in the foraminiferal record. Differences of the foraminiferal assemblages in different locations, closer or further away from the former coast, are discussed. Described bio-events of the time interval are linked to foraminiferal bio-events.
Corentin Jouault, Arvid Aase, and André Nel
Foss. Rec., 24, 379–393, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-379-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-379-2021, 2021
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Here we describe two new genera of fossil sawfly belonging to the Xyelidae. The fossil record of the family during the Mesozoic and Cenozoic is analyzed, supporting the hypothesis that the Eocene biomes shape the current distribution of the Xyelidae. These discoveries were made possible thanks to the study of old specimens housed in institutional collections or donated by an American citizen.
Andrea Guerrero and Adán Pérez-García
Foss. Rec., 24, 357–377, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-357-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-357-2021, 2021
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Several British specimens corresponding to shells of small pleurosternid turtles (Lower Cretaceous) are analysed in detail here. Due to the scarce knowledge available to date about these specimens, their taxonomic status was doubtful. A detailed study through qualitative and quantitative approaches is performed. The results provide evidence of a significant range of shape variability because of the ontogeny. Thus, their attribution to juvenile individuals of Pleurosternon bullockii is justified.
Robin Kundrata, Alexander S. Prosvirov, Roger Long, and Gabriela Packova
Foss. Rec., 24, 347–355, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-347-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-347-2021, 2021
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Although the Mesozoic Era played an important role in the evolution and diversification of Elateridae, the Cretaceous click-beetle fauna remains very poorly known. Here we describe Cretopachyderes burmitinus gen. et sp. nov. based on a single specimen from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. This species is remarkable for its extremely long posterior angles of pronotum, which is a unique character among fossil Elateridae.
Valentine Bouju, Simon Rosse-Guillevic, Marion Griffon, Błażej Bojarski, Jacek Szwedo, and Vincent Perrichot
Foss. Rec., 24, 339–346, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-339-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-339-2021, 2021
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An extinct species of fly is described from 16–23-million-year-old amber of Ethiopia. It is the first fossil of the fly family Mycetophilidae discovered from Africa. This discovery informs the evolutionary history of Afrotropical fungus gnats.
João Sousa and Octávio Mateus
Foss. Rec., 24, 287–294, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-287-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-287-2021, 2021
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In this work we sought to use modern research techniques to revisit a ichthyosaur specimen from Portugal, the most complete fin of our fossil record, and verify the validity of the specimen's historical identification. Through the use of phylogenetic analysis and anatomical comparisons with other specimens, we have assigned a new classification to the specimen and concluded it is the southernmost exemplar of the group.
Stephen J. Godfrey, Carolina S. Gutstein, and Donald J. Morgan III
Foss. Rec., 24, 275–285, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-275-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-275-2021, 2021
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A new species of dolphin is named on the basis of a partial skull. It was found on a riverbed in North Carolina, USA. During the Miocene it lived in a marine environment. It is most closely related to the Amazon river dolphin. During the Miocene and Pliocene epochs, relatives of the freshwater river dolphins were living in marine environments. More recently, these marine species became extinct, survived only by those species that successfully invaded South American riverine systems.
Xiao-Ting Xu, Wei-Yu-Dong Deng, Zhe-Kun Zhou, Torsten Wappler, and Tao Su
Foss. Rec., 24, 263–274, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-263-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-263-2021, 2021
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The Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau (QTP) played a crucial role in shaping the biodiversity in Asia during the Cenozoic, but the evolutionary history of biodiversity in this large region remains unclear. Here, we report a new fossil record of Fulgoridae from the middle Eocene Lunpola Basin, central QTP, which represents the earliest Fulgoridae fossil record in Asia and suggests a warm climate with relatively low elevation during the middle Eocene in central QTP.
Adán Pérez-García
Foss. Rec., 24, 247–262, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-247-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-247-2021, 2021
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The early Oligocene
Podocnemisfajumensis and the early Miocene
Podocnemisaegyptiaca are two podocnemidid pleurodiran turtles from northern Egypt, defined more than a century ago. Both species are confirmed as valid. They are attributed to two new genera, corresponding to the oldest defined for the African record of Erymnochelyini. Thus, the new combinations Shetwemys fajumensis and Apeshemys aegyptiaca are proposed.
Konstantina Agiadi, Efterpi Koskeridou, and Danae Thivaiou
Foss. Rec., 24, 233–246, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-233-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-233-2021, 2021
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Climate and connection between marine basins have formed the modern Mediterranean fish fauna. Here, we present new data for the early stages of the fish fauna, 20–23 million years ago, when the Mediterranean Sea was starting to take its actual shape, and we show its relationship to the fish faunas of the surrounding seas. Two new fish species are described: Ariosoma mesohellenica and Gnathophis elongatus.
Vitalii I. Alekseev and Andris Bukejs
Foss. Rec., 24, 223–231, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-223-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-223-2021, 2021
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A new micro-histerid species is described and illustrated from Eocene Baltic amber. As the first extinct member of the subfamily Abraeinae (Histeridae) and the smallest known fossil histerid specimen, this material was examined using a combination of light microscopy and X-ray micro-computed tomography (μCT). Internal features of the abdomen are well preserved, allowing us to study sclerotized parts of the aedeagus and illustrate these structures in detail.
Robin Kundrata, Matthew L. Gimmel, Gabriela Packova, Andris Bukejs, and Stephan M. Blank
Foss. Rec., 24, 141–149, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-141-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-141-2021, 2021
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Dascillidae are a species-poor beetle group with a scarce fossil record. Here, we used light microscopy and X-ray microtomography to describe Baltodascillus serraticornis gen. et sp. nov. based on a well-preserved specimen from Eocene Baltic amber. We tentatively place this species in the subfamily Karumiinae. This is the first representative of the Dascillidae formally described from Baltic amber and the first described fossil member of the subfamily Karumiinae.
Andrei A. Legalov
Foss. Rec., 24, 135–139, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-135-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-135-2021, 2021
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Palaeatalasis monrosi gen. at sp. nov. belonging to the subfamily Sagrinae (Chrysomelidae) is described from the Green River Formation (age 53.5–48.5 Ma). The new genus is similar to Atalasis Lacordaire, 1845 from Argentina. It also differs from the Eocene Eosagra Haupt, 1950 and the Paleocene Gallopsis Legalov, Kirejtshuk et Nel, 2019. It is the first record of the Sagrinae from North America and the fourth known species of the family Chrysomelidae from the Green River.
Wilfried Wichard and Christian Neumann
Foss. Rec., 24, 129–133, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-129-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-129-2021, 2021
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A new polycentropodid caddisfly species is described from Miocene Dominican amber. The family Polycentropodidae is therefore represented in the Dominican amber with two species belonging to the genus Cernotina: C. pulchra Wichard, 2007, and C. fossilinova sp. nov. The endemic C. danieli Flint & Sykora, 2004, is the only representative of the genus occurring on Hispaniola today and is similar to the two fossil species.
Andris Bukejs and Andrei A. Legalov
Foss. Rec., 24, 117–127, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-117-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-117-2021, 2021
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Baltocar sontagae sp. nov. and Pseudomesauletes lobanovi sp. nov. from the family Rhynchitidae are described from Eocene Baltic amber. It is the first record of Pseudomesauletes from Baltic amber. Keys to species of the genus Baltocar and to the Eocene species of the genus Pseudomesauletes are given. Assumed trophic relationships of the genus Baltocar with Cupressaceae and Pseudomesauletes lobanovi sp. nov. with Rosaceae are discussed.
Nasrollah Abbassi, Masoumeh Khoshyar, Spencer G. Lucas, and Farid Esmaeili
Foss. Rec., 24, 101–116, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-101-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-101-2021, 2021
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The Chehrabad area, NW Iran, is known as the historical site of Saltmen mine dated to the Achaemenid and Sassanid eras. We, however, discovered animal footprints in NW Chehrabad (ca. 3 km NW of the Saltmen mine) on a very large slab. These footprints belong to the Miocene age and include canid, felid and bird tracks as old as 10.7 Ma. The canid footprint record establishes the late Miocene presence of canids on the Iranian Plateau as part of the Eurasia-wide “Eucyon event”.
Alice Belluzzo and Olivier Lambert
Foss. Rec., 24, 77–92, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-77-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-77-2021, 2021
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Whereas true dolphins (Delphinidae) are the most diversified family of cetaceans today, their evolutionary history remains poorly known due to a relatively patchy fossil record. Based on a fossil skull discovered in early Pliocene (5 to 4.4 million years ago) marine sediments from Antwerp (Belgium), we describe here a new genus and species of small dolphin, Pliodelphis doelensis. This is the first delphinid species to be recorded from the early Pliocene in the North Sea.
Vitalii I. Alekseev and Andris Bukejs
Foss. Rec., 24, 93–99, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-93-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-93-2021, 2021
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Clown beetles (Histeridae) are insufficiently studied in fossil resins. The aim of the present research is to describe a new species of Bacaniini from Eocene Baltic amber. The specimen is studied using X-ray micro-computed tomography, imaged and compared with fossil and extant related beetles. A mixed sporophagous–predaceous diet in rotten wood of fallen and standing trees was assumed to be the ecological niche for the fossil species.
Germán M. Gasparini, Oscar F. Moreno-Mancilla, and José L. Cómbita
Foss. Rec., 24, 65–75, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-65-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-65-2021, 2021
Rainer R. Schoch
Foss. Rec., 24, 49–64, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-49-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-49-2021, 2021
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The 296 million year old rocks of Odernheim (Germany) preserve numerous fossils of fishes and amphibians (temnospondyls) of Permian age. This site is exceptional for yielding two large temnospondyl predators: the 2 m long Sclerocephalus nobilis and 1.5 m long Glanochthon lellbachae. A revision of G. lellbachae reveals that it forms the most ancient relative of the genus Glanochthon, a gracile fish eater, and that the origin of this group can be traced back to the genus Sclerocephalus.
Thanit Nonsrirach, Sita Manitkoon, and Komsorn Lauprasert
Foss. Rec., 24, 33–47, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-33-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-33-2021, 2021
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Although thousands of vertebrate remains have been found in Thailand, few amphibian remains have been reported. Here, we present an overview on the Thai amphibian paleo-diversity. The Thai amphibian fossils show the most diverse Mesozoic amphibian record in Southeast Asia, and this agrees with the hypothesis of a large physical connection between the Indochina block and Laurussia during the Mesozoic era.
Vitalii I. Alekseev, Jerit Mitchell, Ryan C. McKellar, Mauricio Barbi, Hans C. E. Larsson, and Andris Bukejs
Foss. Rec., 24, 19–32, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-19-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-19-2021, 2021
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Two new fossil species of turtle beetles have been identified from inclusions in Baltic amber (approx. 41–38 million years old). These beetles are the first described representatives of the family from this amber type and the first known turtle beetles from Europe. The paper also contains a discussion about possible association of the fossil turtle beetles with orchids in the Eocene
amberiferous forestand remarks concerning fossil beetles of the group.
Dimitris S. Kostopoulos, Ayla Sevim Erol, Alper Yener Yavuz, and Serdar Mayda
Foss. Rec., 24, 9–18, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-9-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-9-2021, 2021
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Biodiversity at the primate-bearing Çorakyerler site, Turkey, dating to the upper Miocene, is high, including up to 10 distinct bovid taxa. In this work, we describe five new bovid crania of a new bovid genus and species, Gangraia anatolica. The new taxon is characterized by long, keelless, and transversally ridged, homonymously twisted horn cores, and it shows a particular mixture of caprine and alcelaphine cranial features that are similar to the Alcelaphini–Caprini–Hippotragini clade.
Andrei A. Legalov, Vitaliy Y. Nazarenko, and Evgeny E. Perkovsky
Foss. Rec., 24, 1–7, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-1-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-24-1-2021, 2021
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Glaesotropis rohdendorfi sp. nov. belongs to the subgenus Electranthribus, described from Eocene Rovno amber. The new species is similar to G. zherikhini from Baltic amber. It is the first described beetle from the Olevsk amber locality, the sixth amber species reported from the Zhytomyr region, the first record of the subgenus Electranthribus, and the third Anthribidae from Rovno amber. An aggregation of glaesacarid mites as a syninclusion with the fungus weevil is reported for the first time.
Andrei A. Legalov and Markus J. Poschmann
Foss. Rec., 23, 197–204, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-23-197-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-23-197-2020, 2020
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The new weevil Igneonasus rudolphi gen. et sp. nov. of the tribe Ceutorhynchini is described from the late Oligocene of Fossillagerstätte Enspel, Germany. The new genus is similar to the Recent genus Stenocarus and the largest representative of the supertribe Ceutorhynchitae. It is the first fossil Curculionidae species described from the paleolake Enspel. In this ancient ecosystem, weevils were at least sometimes an important food resource for the cyprinid fish Palaeorutilus enspelensis.
Chang-Fu Zhou, Jiahao Wang, and Ziheng Zhu
Foss. Rec., 23, 191–196, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-23-191-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-23-191-2020, 2020
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Filter-feeding ctenochasmatid pterosaurs flourished in the Jehol Biota. Here, a new wing skeleton of the ctenochasmatid Forfexopterus is described from the Early Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation in Jianchang, western Liaoning, China. Interestingly, it exhibits a skeletal maturity with co-ossified elements, but it is only about 75 % the size of the immature holotype, revealing a developmental variation of Forfexopterus.
Victoria M. Arbour, Derek Larson, Matthew Vavrek, Lisa Buckley, and David Evans
Foss. Rec., 23, 179–189, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-23-179-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-23-179-2020, 2020
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We describe the first dinosaur skeletal fossils from the Dunvegan Formation of British Columbia, collected near the Pine River in 1930. These are some of the oldest dinosaur body fossils from British Columbia and western Canada. We identify these bones as partial dorsal vertebrae and ribs from an ankylosaur; ankylosaur footprints are some of the most common fossils in this formation and in this region.
Andris Bukejs and Andrei A. Legalov
Foss. Rec., 23, 169–177, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-23-169-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-23-169-2020, 2020
Irene Montañez-Rivera and Oliver Hampe
Foss. Rec., 23, 151–168, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-23-151-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-23-151-2020, 2020
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The locality of Groß Pampau in northern Germany is famous for its rich marine mammal assemblage of the Miocene age. A newly discovered ear bone of a fossil sperm whale is described here with morphological characters so far unknown from other sperm whales. It remains unclear at this point if it could belong to a sperm whale whose fragments were discovered in the same locality or to another, already-described taxon, of which the ear bones are still unknown.
Marine Fau, Loïc Villier, Timothy A. M. Ewin, and Andrew S. Gale
Foss. Rec., 23, 141–149, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-23-141-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-23-141-2020, 2020
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Forcipulatacea is one of the major clades of extant sea stars with 400 extant species described, but with fewer than 25 fossil species known. Thus, the identification of any new fossil representatives is significant. We reappraise Ophidiaster davidsoni from the Tithonian of Boulogne, France, which was assigned to another major extant group, and reassign it within a new forcipulatacean genus Psammaster gen. nov. A phylogenetic analysis does not place it within any existing forcipulatacean family.
David J. Cicimurri, Jun A. Ebersole, and George Martin
Foss. Rec., 23, 117–140, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-23-117-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-23-117-2020, 2020
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Mennerotodus is a genus of fossil shark that lived during the Paleogene Period, between 65 and 38 million years ago, and was previously known only from Asia and Europe. In this study, new species of Mennerotodus have been identified in the USA from Alabama (Mennerotodus mackayi) and South Carolina (Mennerotodus parmleyi). Mennerotodus mackayi is the oldest of the species, suggesting the genus originated in the Gulf Coastal Plain of the USA during the Paleocene Epoch (~ 65 million years ago).
Andris Bukejs, Jan Bezděk, Vitalii I. Alekseev, Kristaps Kairišs, and Ryan C. McKellar
Foss. Rec., 23, 105–115, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-23-105-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-23-105-2020, 2020
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A male of the extinct leaf-beetle species Calomicrus eocenicus embedded in Baltic amber is found and compared with an earlier known female. The beetle genitalia are illustrated in detail using X-ray microtomography. The male is smaller than female and has a modified last abdominal segment. The extinct species (about 40 million years old) possesses typical sexual characters which are similar to the characters of extant beetles within the group.
Walter G. Joyce and Yann Rollot
Foss. Rec., 23, 83–93, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-23-83-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-23-83-2020, 2020
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Peltochelys duchastelii is an enigmatic fossil turtle from the Early Cretaceous of Bernissart, Belgium. Here we provide an alternative interpretation of the morphology of this turtle, which suggests for the first time relationships with paracryptodires, a now extinct group of turtles known from coeval deposits throughout western Europe and North America.
Andris Bukejs, Jiří Háva, and Vitalii I. Alekseev
Foss. Rec., 23, 95–104, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-23-95-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-23-95-2020, 2020
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New fossil species of skin beetles (Dermestidae) from two bioinclusions in Eocene ambers (Baltic and Rovno) are described and compared with extinct and extant congeners. The affinity of the Rovno and Baltic amber varieties is briefly reviewed. The checklist of the described beetles (57 species) from Rovno amber is compiled and presented for the first time.
Andris Bukejs, Vitalii I. Alekseev, and Andrei A. Legalov
Foss. Rec., 23, 75–81, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-23-75-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-23-75-2020, 2020
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We describe a new species and genus of weevils, Baltacalles triumurbium, from the Eocene amber of the Sambia Peninsula (Kaliningrad Region, Russia). The new fossil represents the first Eocene representative of the group. In addition to the taxonomic work, the locally distinct deposits of Baltic amber in the Kaliningrad Region are listed, discussed, photographed and mapped. The importance of the possible exact labeling of the amber material is underlined.
Lu Chen, Dong Ren, and Olivier Béthoux
Foss. Rec., 23, 71–74, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-23-71-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-23-71-2020, 2020
Francesco Parisi and Fabrizio Fanti
Foss. Rec., 22, 119–123, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-22-119-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-22-119-2019, 2019
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Only in recent years have new genera and species of the subfamily Silinae Mulsant, 1862 been described as inclusions in amber. However, no representative of the genus Silis Charpentier, 1825 had been described from Baltic amber, even if few specimens were already known at the generic level. Silis lombardii sp. nov. is entirely dark brown and shows (as usual for the genus) the two characteristic lobes in the sides of pronotum, elongated elytra, and a basal small tooth only on the anterior claws.
Vitalii I. Alekseev, Andris Bukejs, and Ryan C. McKellar
Foss. Rec., 22, 111–118, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-22-111-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-22-111-2019, 2019
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In this paper we describe a new fossil species of the silvanid flat bark beetle from Baltic amber. The new beetle species from European Eocene belongs to the genus living only in the New World now. Possible, the studied specimen is an adult beetle entrapped in resin shortly after moulting.
Nicole Klein, Antoine Verrière, Heitor Sartorelli, Tanja Wintrich, and Jörg Fröbisch
Foss. Rec., 22, 91–110, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-22-91-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-22-91-2019, 2019
Max Wisshak and Liane Hüne
Foss. Rec., 22, 77–90, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-22-77-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-22-77-2019, 2019
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Here, we describe an enigmatic new microfossil that was found encrusting a belemnite from the Middle Jurassic of the Falaises des Vaches Noires in Normandy, France. The organism has produced a conspicuous attachment etching on the belemnite for better adhesion and this trace fossil is new to science as well. Based on morphological criteria and the capacity to bioerode, the new microproblematicum can best be compared to encrusting bryozoans and foraminiferans.
Vitalii I. Alekseev, Andris Bukejs, and Xavier Bellés
Foss. Rec., 22, 65–72, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-22-65-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-22-65-2019, 2019
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The current paper describes a new fossil genus of spider beetles from Baltic amber (Eocene, 34–55 million years old). This fossil resin can be found throughout the Baltic Sea coastal area in northern Europe (Kaliningrad region, Russia; Poland; Denmark; Sweden; Germany; and Lithuania). The examined fossil material is housed in the private collection of Christel and Hans Werner Hoffeins (Hamburg, Germany).
Jin Wang, Olivier Béthoux, Dong Ren, and Yingying Cui
Foss. Rec., 22, 73–76, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-22-73-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-22-73-2019, 2019
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In this paper we focus on an insect wing fragment from the rarely known Taiyuan Formation (Early Permian; China). It is the first discovery of an arthropod as well as being the first insect, but currently we think the combination characters that the new material exhibited make it difficult to assign it to any known insect group. This indicates that more data are needed in the future. Hopefully our current documentation will be useful for the potential fossil discovery in the Taiyuan Formation.
Chang-Fu Zhou, Wen-Hao Wu, and Márton Rabi
Foss. Rec., 22, 57–64, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-22-57-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-22-57-2019, 2019
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The Jehol Biota of northeastern China (western Liaoning and conjoint areas) is renowned for its exquisite preservation of plant, invertebrate and vertebrate fossils. Here, we report three new specimens of the freshwater sinemydid turtle Ordosemys liaoxiensis from Hengtongshan Formation of Meihekou City, Jilin Province, northeastern China. As the first Mesozoic turtle of Jilin Province, this record represents the first tetrapod to indicate the presence of the Jehol Biota in the region.
Wilfried Wichard and Christian Neumann
Foss. Rec., 22, 51–56, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-22-51-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-22-51-2019, 2019
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We describe a bizarre and extinct caddisfly species, Cretapsyche palpinova sp. nov., from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber.
Andris Bukejs and Andrei A. Legalov
Foss. Rec., 22, 45–49, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-22-45-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-22-45-2019, 2019
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This paper describes a new genus and species of weevils from Baltic amber (Eocene, 55–34 million years old). This fossil resin can be found throughout the Baltic Sea coastal area in northern Europe (Kaliningrad region, Russia; Poland; Denmark; Sweden; Germany; and Lithuania). The new fossil weevil is more similar to extant American genera, but its host plants cannot be assumed. The new fossil genus is named in honour of Carsten Gröhn (Germany), an enthusiast and specialist in Baltic amber.
Volker Lohrmann, Michael Ohl, Peter Michalik, James P. Pitts, Laurent Jeanneau, and Vincent Perrichot
Foss. Rec., 22, 31–44, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-22-31-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-22-31-2019, 2019
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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.
Andris Bukejs and Andrei A. Legalov
Foss. Rec., 22, 25–30, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-22-25-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-22-25-2019, 2019
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New entimine weevil, Arostropsis perkovskyi Bukejs and Legalov, sp. nov. from the tribe Naupactini of subfamily Entiminae of the family Curculionidae is described from Late Eocene Rovno amber (Ukraine). The new species is similar to Arostropsis groehni Yunakov et Kirejtshuk, 2011 from Baltic amber. Arostropsis perkovskyi is the second species of the genus Arostropsis. It is the first record of the tribe Naupactini from Rovno amber. Composition of weevil subfamilies in Rovno amber is discussed.
Gloria Arratia, Hans-Peter Schultze, and Helmut Tischlinger
Foss. Rec., 22, 1–23, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-22-1-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-22-1-2019, 2019
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The teleosts (e.g., herrings, trouts) comprise the largest group of living fishes today. The aim of the present study is to investigate and describe a new species of the primitive teleost Tharsis from the Late Jurassic. Tharsis is currently known by one species, Tharsis dubious, which is one of the most common fish in the Solnfohen limestone, Bavaria, Germany. A new species, Tharsis elleri, is described and assigned to the family Ascalaboidae within the new order Ascalaboidiformes.
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Short summary
Amber is fossilized resin and so has a terrestrial source; however, very rarely have marine microorganisms been reported, and only in a few amber pieces. We aim to understand how this rare phenomenon could be possible. Several different mechanisms were proposed, and we then tested the wind-blown idea via our experiments on resin-rich forests on the coast of New Caledonia. These forests encompass the best model for the Cretaceous ambers that contain these marine microorganisms.
Amber is fossilized resin and so has a terrestrial source; however, very rarely have marine...
