Amber Research Articles

Amber collectors hit on oldest mushroom find

Amber collectors hit on oldest mushroom find

First Records of Extant Hispaniolan Spiders of the Families Mysmenidae, Symphytognathidae, and Ochyroceratidae (Araneae), Including a New Species of Ochyrocera

Abstract A new species of ochyroceratid spider, Ochyrocera cachote, n.sp., is described and its unique web architecture is documented. This is the first record of Ochyroceratidae for the extant fauna of Hispaniola. Additional new family records include Symphytognathidae (Patu sp. and Symphytognatha sp.) and Mysmenidae (Microdipoena sp.), with the latter family having been previously recorded from the fossil amber fauna. This makes a new total of 46 spider families recorded from the extant Hispaniolan fauna, but on the whole the island's araneofauna remains poorly known and warrants further investigation.

A revision of the Afrotropical species of Hersilia Audouin (Araneae: Hersiliidae)

This study revises the taxonomy of the most diverse genus in the family Hersiliidae, Hersilia, from the Afrotropical Region. Of the 22 previously known species, 16 species are redescribed and figured, two species synonymized: H. segregata Benoit with H. occidentalis Simon and H. nossibeensis Strand with H. insulana Strand, three species: H. kauderni Strand, H. stumpfi Strand and H. fossulata Strand are listed as nomina dubia and Hersilia corticola Lawrence is transferred to Neotama Baehr & Baehr. A neotype was designated for H. vinsoni Lucas. Hersiliopsis madagascariensis Wunderlich, previously only known from fossil amber, is transferred to Hersilia with the first description of the female. Fourteen new species are described and figured. Eight of these are described in both sexes: H. aldabrensis sp. n. from Aldabra Island Group and Comoros, H. bubi sp. n. from Equatorial Guinea and Uganda, H. furcata sp. n. from DR Congo, H. mboszi sp. n. from Cameroon, H. mowomogbe sp. n. from Cameroon, H. sagitta sp. n. from Kenya to South Africa, H. scrupulosa sp. n. from Kenya, H. selempoi sp. n. from Kenya, and four, H. caronae sp. n. from Ivory Coast, H. eloetsensis sp. n. from Madagascar, H. moheliensis sp. n. from Comoros, H. taita sp. n. from Kenya, and H. tamatavensis sp. n. from Madagascar are only known from males and H. igiti sp. n., from Rwanda, is only known from females. Five species groups are proposed for the 31 recognized species based on genital morphology: H. aldabrensis, H. baforti, H. caudata, H. savignyi and H. pectinata. Hersilia arborea Lawrence remains incertae cedis. Keys to these species groups and the 31 species are provided.

Fossiliferous amber deposits from the Cretaceous (Albian) of Spain

Amber-bearing deposits are a specific kind of fossil bioaccumulation that preserves exceptionally well palaeobiological information from the past. The present article discusses the ‘state of the art’ of the knowledge of certain Spanish amber-bearing deposits from the Cretaceous (Albian-Cenomanian). A bibliographic compilation of previous studies, together with new discoveries, shows the existence of over 100 amber localities; nevertheless, only in seven of these have arthropod inclusions been found. The sites are Albian in age, associated with coal deposited on deltaic environments. These outcrops are distributed in a strip curve through the North to the East of the Iberian Peninsula and which corresponds to the coastal line during the Early Cretaceous. It includes (from the northwest to the east): the Central Asturian Depression, the Basque-Cantabrian Basin, and the Maestrat Basin, respectively. Infrared spectroscopy (IRTF) analyses show close similarities between all these amber localities. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) of the Álava amber suggests that Agathis (Coniferales: Araucariaceae) or another closely related group of conifers was one of the resin producer trees of Spanish ambers. Numerous new records and taxa occur in the botanical source for Spanish Cretaceous amber; additional material has been newly excavated in the Moraza-Peñacerrada, Arroyo de la Pascueta, La Hoya, and San Just outcrops. More than two thousand inclusions are found in the Moraza-Peñacerrada sites (Burgos and Álava Provinces). In all the amber outcrops, the dominant group is composed by arthropods, and among them hexapods, with 17 orders being recognized to date. The most abundant and diverse insect groups are dipterans, hymenopterans and coleopterans, mainly parasitoid, saproxylic or herbivorous forms.

Dryophthorine weevils in Dominican amber (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

Abstract Two new species of dryophthorine weevils (Curculionoidea: Curculionidae: Dryophthorinae: Dryophthorini) are described and figured from remains preserved in Early Miocene (Burdigalian) amber from the Dominican Republic. Stenommatus pulvereus n. sp. and Dryophthorus acarophilus n. sp. are distinguished from each other as well as modern congeners. These are the first, described amber fossils of the subfamily Dryophthorinae and the fourth and fifth definitive fossil records for the Dryophthorini. Like many modern species of dryophthorines the fossils have been found in association with mites (Acari), indicating that this likely phoretic interaction is at least 19 million years old.

Tertiary neotropical Hersiliidae (Arthropoda, Araneae) with new combinations for the extant fauna and comments on historical biogeography of the family

Abstract: The Neotropical fossil amber Hersiliidae are revised. Prototama Petrunkevitch is a senior synonym of both Priscotama Petrunkevitch and Neotama Baehr and Baehr. Fictotama Petrunkevitch and Perturbator Petrunkevitch are removed from synonymy and are considered nomina dubia because the fossils are poorly preserved. The following new combinations are established for the fossil fauna: Prototama antiqua (Petrunkevitch), P. maior (Wunderlich), P. media (Wunderlich), and P. minor (Wunderlich), and for the extant fauna: P. cunhabebe (Rheims and Brescovit), P. forcipata (F. O. P.‐Cambridge), P. longimana (Baehr and Baehr), P. mexicana (O. P.‐Cambridge), P. obatala (Rheims and Brescovit), P. punctigera (Baehr and Baehr), P. rothorum (Baehr and Baehr) and P. variata (Pocock) (all ex Neotama). It is predicted that at least one undiscovered, extant Prototama species exists on Hispaniola. Hersiliidae have a diverse fossil record. The presence of Oecobiidae, the sister taxon of the Hersiliidae, in New Jersey and Lebanese ambers predicts a minimum geological age of Early Cretaceous for the family. Fossils are of paramount importance in studies of historical biogeography but were not considered in earlier hypotheses regarding the palaeogeographical origins of the family. Previous conclusions that Hersiliidae originated in Africa are here considered to be speculative and unsupported.

Mitochondrial phylogeography of a leafminer parasitoid, Diglyphus isaea (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) in China

Diglyphus isaea is one of the primary parasitoids of agromyzid leafminers. Mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I sequences from 10 Chinese localities were used to investigate geographic variation within this widespread and morphologically uniform parasitoid. Phylogeographic analyses and sequence variation indicated that this species was actually a species-complex. We used an amber fossil record of the genus Entedon (Eulophidae: Entedoninae) as a reference to estimate the divergence time of major clades within D. isaea . With reference to the fossil record of its hosts, our results indicate that associations between parasitoids and leaf-miners could have been possibly established 38.2 million years ago.

Rediscovery of a fossil dolichoderine ant lineage (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Dolichoderinae) and a description of a new genus from South America

We describe a new genus, Gracilidris Wild & Cuezzo gen. nov., and a new species, G. pombero Wild and Cuezzo sp. nov., of dolichoderine ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Dolichoderinae) from Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina based on the worker caste. These ants are morphologically similar to the extinct Gracilidris humilioides (Wilson 1985) comb. nov., known from a single Dominican amber fossil, that we redescribe and transfer to Gracilidris from Linepithema Mayr.

Comparing amber fossil assemblages across the Cenozoic

To justify faunistic comparisons of ambers that differ botanically, geographically and by age, we need to determine that resins sampled uniformly. Our pluralistic approach, analysing size distributions of 671 fossilized spider species from different behavioural guilds, demonstrates that ecological information about the communities of two well-studied ambers is retained. Several lines of evidence show that greater structural complexity of Baltic compared to Dominican amber trees explains the presence of larger web-spinners. No size differences occur in active hunters. Consequently, we demonstrate for the first time that resins were trapping organisms uniformly and that comparisons of amber palaeoecosystem structure across deep time are possible.

The phylogeny of Strepsiptera (Hexapoda).

Previous phylogenetic analyses of Strepsiptera have been limited to characters from only males or first instar larvae, and by poor taxonomic sampling. This investigation is the first cladistic analysis to use more than fourfold as many characters as any prior study, and a broader sampling of taxa. The analysis of 189 morphological characters of all stages of representatives of all extant strepsipteran families and characters of adult males of amber fossils results in the following branching pattern: (†Protoxenos+ (†Cretostylops + (†Mengea + (Mengenillidae + (Corioxenidae + (Bohartillidae + (Halictophagidae + (Elenchidae + (†Protelencholax + (Myrmecolacidae + (Callipharixenidae + (Xenidae + Stylopidae)))))))))))). The basal placement of the Baltic amber fossil †Protoxenos and the Burmese amber fossil †Cretostylops is well founded. Even though †Cretostylops is older than †Protoxenos it is almost certainly not the most basal strepsipteran group but the sister group of a clade comprising the Baltic amber fossil †Mengea + Strepsiptera s. str. (excl. stemlineage). Monophyly of Mengenillidae, Stylopidia, Stylopiformia s.l., Corioxenidae, Xenidae, and Stylopidae is confirmed. Mengenillidia is paraphyletic (with respect to †Mengea (Mengeidae)), Elenchidae (with respect to †Protelencholax) and the genus Stichotrema (with respect to the Baltic amber fossils). Thus Protelencholacidae fam. n. is described, and S. weitschati and S. triangulum are transferred to Palaeomyrmecolax. A ground plan of adult male Strepsiptera is provided and evolutionary interpretations are presented based on the obtained cladograms.

Importance of Dominican Republic amber for determining taxonomic bias of fossil resin preservation—A case study of spiders

Fossils preserved in amber represent only a small fraction of the biota which was alive in the amber forest. In order to make accurate palaeoenvironmental reconstructions, it is necessary to determine the biases which affect preservation. Only the Baltic and Dominican Republic amber deposits have had inclusions described in sufficient quantities suitable for quantitative analyses. Baltic amber is twice the age of Dominican, with a correspondingly higher proportion of extinct supraspecific taxa, and was produced in a climate very different to that in the region today. Dominican Republic amber was formed in a tropical climate similar to that in the region today and many of the preserved spider supraspecific taxa are extant. Therefore, the fossil and Recent Hispaniolan faunas are directly comparable ecologically. Spiders (extinct and extant) are significantly more diverse than other groups for which Hispaniolan species diversity data are available. Thus, they form an ideal model for assessing taxonomic bias of Dominican amber preservation. This is the first time that taxonomic richness estimates have been made and compared quantitatively between extant and fossil amber faunas. Extant and extinct (Dominican Republic amber) Hispaniolan spiders are compared at family level. Overall, the two faunas are similar but some distinct differences are apparent. Hispaniolan representatives of the families Cyrtaucheniidae, Microstigmatidae, Ochyroceratidae, Palpimanidae, Tetrablemmidae, Agelenidae, Anapidae and Mysmenidae are known only from amber, whereas Drymusidae, Deinopidae, Desidae, Amaurobiidae, Prodidomidae and Zoridae are known only from the extant fauna. Many families have similar fossil and extant species diversities. Oonopidae and Dictynidae are significantly more diverse in amber. Many families currently known only from Dominican amber probably have undiscovered extant species on Hispaniola. Family species richness estimates were calculated for both fossil and extant spider faunas, but only those for the extant fauna provide results consistent with a neotropical spider assemblage. Fossil richness estimates were excessively high as a result of the large number of singletons. Nevertheless, the Dominican Republic is the only place on Earth where fossils in amber occur in sufficient numbers and that are closely related to the extant fauna, such that direct diversity/ecological comparisons can be made. Given future research directed at identifying spiders and other inclusions in the large amber collections amassed in Museums around the world, detailed comparisons of these faunas will allow us to better determine taxonomic biases associated with amber preservation.

Baltic amber fossils reveal early evolution of sexual dimorphism in stalk-eyed flies (Diptera: Diopsidae)

A cladistic analysis of 16 species of extant and amber fossil stalk-eyed flies of the family Diopsidae places the fossil † Prosphyracephala succini (Loew) as the sister group of all other Diopsinae, the subfamily in which eye stalks occur. The study is based on a scoring including five old and 23 new finds of † P. succini from Baltic amber, and for the first time allows a morphometric analysis of eye span and various body size parameters in this species. The data indicate that sexual dimorphism of the eye stalks already existed in † Prosphyracephala, suggesting that this feature evolved early in the Diopsinae. Contrary to recent views that the ancestral condition of diopsine eye stalks was monomorphic, the new results suggest that sexual selection was involved in the evolution of eye stalks from the very beginning of the lineage.

Distostylus gen. nov., a monotypic therevine genus (Diptera: Asiloidea: Therevidae) from the Caribbean Island of Dominica

A new monotypic genus, Distostylus Webb (Diptera: Therevidae), based on a new species, irwini Webb, is described from specimens collected on the Caribbean island of Dominica. An hypothesis of the placement of the new taxon is generated based on a matrix of 30 morphological characters. This genus is associated with the Lindneria genus group and shows some affinities to the amber fossil species Ambradolon grimaldii Metz & Irwin.

Studies on Fossils in Amber, with Particular Reference to the Cretaceous of New Jersey. Edited by David Grimaldi. Leiden (The Netherlands): Backhuys Publishers. $160.00. viii + 498 p; ill.; index. ISBN: 90–5782–060–9. 2000.

<i>Studies on Fossils in Amber, with Particular Reference to the Cretaceous of New Jersey</i>. <i>Edited by </i>David Grimaldi. <i>Leiden (The Netherlands): Backhuys Publishers</i>. $160.00. viii + 498 p; ill.; index. ISBN: 90–5782–060–9. 2000.

Phylogeny and biogeography of the ant subfamily Myrmeciinae (Hymenoptera : Formicidae)

We investigated phylogenetic relationships among the 'primitive' Australian ant genera Myrmecia and Nothomyrmecia (stat. rev.) and the Baltic amber fossil genus Prionomyrmex, using a combination of morphological and molecular data. Outgroups for the analysis included representatives from a variety of potential sister-groups, including five extant subfamilies of ants and one extinct group (Sphecomyrminae). Parsimony analysis of the morphological data provides strong support (~95% bootstrap proportions) for the monophyly of (1) genus Myrmecia, (2) genus Prionomyrmex, and (3) a clade containing those two genera plus Nothomyrmecia. A group comprising Nothomyrmecia and Prionomyrmex is also upheld (85% bootstrap support). Molecular sequence data (~2200 base pairs from the 18S and 28S ribosomal RNA genes) corroborate these findings for extant taxa, with Myrmecia and Nothomyrmecia appearing as sister-groups with ~100% bootstrap support under parsimony, neighbour-joining and maximum-likelihood analyses. Neither the molecular nor the morphological data set allows us to identify unambiguously the sister-group of (Myrmecia + (Nothomyrmecia + Prionomyrmex)). Rather, Myrmecia and relatives are part of an unresolved polytomy that encompasses most of the ant subfamilies. Taken as a whole, our results support the contention that many of the major lineages of ants – including a clade that later came to contain Myrmecia, Nothomyrmecia and Prionomyrmex – arose at around the same time during a bout of diversification in the middle or late Cretaceous. On the basis of Bayesian dating analysis, the estimated age of the most recent common ancestor of Myrmecia and Nothomyrmecia is 74 million years (95% confidence limits, 53–101million years), a result consistent with the origin of the myrmeciine stem lineage in the Cretaceous. The ant subfamily Myrmeciinae is redefined to contain two tribes, Myrmeciini (genus Myrmecia) and Prionomyrmecini (Nothomyrmecia and Prionomyrmex). Phylogenetic analysis of the enigmatic Argentine fossils Ameghinoia and Polanskiella demonstrates that they are also members of the Myrmeciinae, probably more closely related to Prionomyrmecini than to Myrmeciini. Thus, the myrmeciine ants appear to be a formerly widespread group that retained many ancestral formicid characteristics and that became extinct everywhere except in the Australian region.

Corrigendum to: Phylogeny and biogeography of the ant subfamily Myrmeciinae (Hymenoptera : Formicidae)

We investigated phylogenetic relationships among the 'primitive' Australian ant genera Myrmecia and Nothomyrmecia (stat. rev.) and the Baltic amber fossil genus Prionomyrmex, using a combination of morphological and molecular data. Outgroups for the analysis included representatives from a variety of potential sister-groups, including five extant subfamilies of ants and one extinct group (Sphecomyrminae). Parsimony analysis of the morphological data provides strong support (~95% bootstrap proportions) for the monophyly of (1) genus Myrmecia, (2) genus Prionomyrmex, and (3) a clade containing those two genera plus Nothomyrmecia. A group comprising Nothomyrmecia and Prionomyrmex is also upheld (85% bootstrap support). Molecular sequence data (~2200 base pairs from the 18S and 28S ribosomal RNA genes) corroborate these findings for extant taxa, with Myrmecia and Nothomyrmecia appearing as sister-groups with ~100% bootstrap support under parsimony, neighbour-joining and maximum-likelihood analyses. Neither the molecular nor the morphological data set allows us to identify unambiguously the sister-group of (Myrmecia + (Nothomyrmecia + Prionomyrmex)). Rather, Myrmecia and relatives are part of an unresolved polytomy that encompasses most of the ant subfamilies. Taken as a whole, our results support the contention that many of the major lineages of ants – including a clade that later came to contain Myrmecia, Nothomyrmecia and Prionomyrmex – arose at around the same time during a bout of diversification in the middle or late Cretaceous. On the basis of Bayesian dating analysis, the estimated age of the most recent common ancestor of Myrmecia and Nothomyrmecia is 74 million years (95% confidence limits, 53–101�million years), a result consistent with the origin of the myrmeciine stem lineage in the Cretaceous. The ant subfamily Myrmeciinae is redefined to contain two tribes, Myrmeciini (genus Myrmecia) and Prionomyrmecini (Nothomyrmecia and Prionomyrmex). Phylogenetic analysis of the enigmatic Argentine fossils Ameghinoia and Polanskiella demonstrates that they are also members of the Myrmeciinae, probably more closely related to Prionomyrmecini than to Myrmeciini. Thus, the myrmeciine ants appear to be a formerly widespread group that retained many ancestral formicid characteristics and that became extinct everywhere except in the Australian region.

First amber fossils of the extinct family Protopsyllidiidae, and their phylogenetic significance among Hemiptera

AbstractTwo new species of a new genus, Postopsyllidium rebeccae and P. emilyae, are described, which are preserved in amber from northern Myanmar and central New Jersey, USA (100-90 myo), respectively. These are the first specimens of the hemipteran family Protopsyllidiidae found in amber and the latest occurrence of the family, some 50 my later than previous records; all others are compressions in rocks (many of them just wings) from the Late Permian to the Early Cretaceous. Postopsyllidium emilyae is also the first record of the group from the Western Hemisphere. A catalogue of Protopsyllidiidae is provided as well as an hypothesis of phylogenetic relationships among genera, though monophyly of the family is ambiguous. Postopsyllidium appears to be a recently derived genus, and four genera are removed from the family. Complete preservation in amber allows new insight into relationships, specifically that Postopsyllidium, and perhaps most or all Protopsyllidiidae, represent an extinct sister group to the Sternorrhyncha that retain features of some Auchenorrhyncha. Radiations of true Sternorrhyncha began in the Jurassic and Cretaceous, by which time the Protopsyllidiidae were apparently already relicts.

Review of the Tertiary microbombyliids (Diptera: Mythicomyiidae) in Baltic, Bitterfeld, and Dominican amber

The Tertiary amber fossil Mythicomyiidae are reviewed. One genus is described as new: Carmenelectra Evenhuis, gen.n. from Baltic amber; five species are described as new: Glabellula grimaldii Evenhuis, sp.n., Glabellula brunnifrons Evenhuis, sp.n., Mythicomyia dominicana Evenhuis, sp.n., Mythenteles baltica Evenhuis, sp.n., and Carmenelectra shechisme Evenhuis, sp.n. A new genus, Borissovia, gen.n. is described for the Cretaceous species Proplatypygus rohdendorfi Zaitzev. A total of 6 genera and 11 species of Mythicomyiidae are currently known from Tertiary amber. All Tertiary amber species are placed in extant genera except for those in the extinct genera Carmenelectra and Proplatypygus.

A Review of the Order Mantophasmatodea (Insecta)

The newly discovered insect order Mantophasmatodea, known from two Recent species in tropical Africa and some fossils in Baltic amber, is reviewed, with all the material currently known being listed. A new genus and species is described: Praedatophasma maraisi Zompro & Adis, n. gen., n. sp. Complete information available at present on habitats and the biology is given.

&lt;strong&gt;New records of mosses from Dominican amber&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;

Hypnum cupressiforme, Entodon macropus, Homalia glabella and Calyptothecium duplicatum are recorded as new from Dominican amber. Earlier records of Neckera spec. have to be transferred to Calyptothecium duplicatum. These records raise the total number of all mosses known from Dominican amber to 14. All mosses so far reported from Dominican amber are extant species which occur today in the Dominican Republic. This could indicate that the mossflora in the island of Hispaniola has not changed during the past 20-40 Mio years, but also falsifications of fossils in amber have to be taken into account, which can be suspected from the quality of some of the specimens.