Cretaceous African life captured in amber (2010) PNAS SI (original) (raw)
Cretaceous African life captured in amber
Proceedings of The National Academy of Sciences, 2010
Amber is of great paleontological importance because it preserves a diverse array of organisms and associated remains from different habitats in and close to the amber-producing forests. Therefore, the discovery of amber inclusions is important not only for tracing the evolutionary history of lineages with otherwise poor fossil records, but also for elucidating the composition, diversity, and ecology of terrestrial paleoecosystems. Here, we report a unique find of African amber with inclusions, from the Cretaceous of Ethiopia. Ancient arthropods belonging to the ants, wasps, thrips, zorapterans, and spiders are the earliest African records of these ecologically important groups and constitute significant discoveries providing insight into the temporal and geographical origins of these lineages. Together with diverse microscopic inclusions, these findings reveal the interactions of plants, fungi and arthropods during an epoch of major change in terrestrial ecosystems, which was caused by the initial radiation of the angiosperms. Because of its age, paleogeographic location and the exceptional preservation of the inclusions, this fossil resin broadens our understanding of the ecology of Cretaceous woodlands. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences04/2010; 107(16):7329-34. · 9.68 Impact Factor
Cretaceous …, 2008
A Cretaceous amber deposit has recently been discovered in a quarry of Charente-Maritime (southwestern France), at Cadeuil. This paper presents the sedimentary and palaeoenvironmental settings of the uppermost Albian-lowermost Cenomanian series including the amber deposit. A preliminary analysis of the amber samples reveals diverse fossil arthropods (a few mites and at least 20 insect families within 9 orders), as well as numerous micro-organisms, mainly algae and mycelia. A myceloid colony of bacteria, a flagellate algae and four especially well preserved insects are illustrated (Diptera Dolichopodidae, Diptera Chironomidae, Hymenoptera Parasitica, and Heteroptera Tingidae). The abundance of the limnic micro-organisms is discussed in terms of bloom events. Their relative scarcity in almost all the amber pieces containing fossil arthropods is attributed to differences in the origin of resin: production along trunk and branches for amber with arthropods; production by aquatic roots for amber rich in algae. The absence of pollen and spores in amber is attributed to differences in the respective periods of resin and palynomorph production, which may be related to a seasonal climate during the Albian-Cenomanian transition in Western Europe.
Cretaceous …, 2008
A Cretaceous amber deposit has recently been discovered in a quarry of Charente-Maritime (southwestern France), at Cadeuil. This paper presents the sedimentary and palaeoenvironmental settings of the uppermost Albian-lowermost Cenomanian series including the amber deposit. A preliminary analysis of the amber samples reveals diverse fossil arthropods (a few mites and at least 20 insect families within 9 orders), as well as numerous micro-organisms, mainly algae and mycelia. A myceloid colony of bacteria, a flagellate algae and four especially well preserved insects are illustrated (Diptera Dolichopodidae, Diptera Chironomidae, Hymenoptera Parasitica, and Heteroptera Tingidae). The abundance of the limnic micro-organisms is discussed in terms of bloom events. Their relative scarcity in almost all the amber pieces containing fossil arthropods is attributed to differences in the origin of resin: production along trunk and branches for amber with arthropods; production by aquatic roots for amber rich in algae. The absence of pollen and spores in amber is attributed to differences in the respective periods of resin and palynomorph production, which may be related to a seasonal climate during the Albian-Cenomanian transition in Western Europe.
Miocene Ethiopian amber: A new source of fossil cryptogams
Journal of Systematics and Evolution, 2021
Amber is renowned for the exceptional preservation state of its inclusions, allowing detailed morphological analysis and providing relevant environmental, palaeoecological, geographical, and geological information. Amber deposits are predominantly known from North America, Europe, and Asia, and are considered to be rare on the continents that formed Gondwana. The recent discovery of fossiliferous amber deposits in Ethiopia, therefore, provides an inimitable opportunity to close gaps in the fossil record of African terrestrial biota and to study organisms which are otherwise rare in the fossil record. Here we show that diverse cryptogams are preserved in highest fidelity in Miocene Ethiopian amber. We describe gametophyte fragments of four liverworts: Thysananthus aethiopicus sp. nov. (Porellales, Lejeuneaceae), Lejeunea abyssinicoides sp. nov. (Porellales, Lejeuneaceae), Frullania shewanensis sp. nov. (Porellales, Frullaniaceae), and Frullania palaeoafricana sp. nov. (Porellales, Fr...
Fossiliferous amber deposits from the Cretaceous (Albian) of Spain
Comptes Rendus Palevol., 2007
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.
2002 Lower Cretaceous plant cuticles and amber (Kirkwood Formation, South Africa)
Comptes Rendus Palevol, 2002
Plant cuticle compressions and marble-like amber pieces have been extracted in one particular level from the Middle-Upper Valanginian of the Kirkwood Formation (Eastern Cape Province, South Africa). Preliminary cuticular study indicates high plant diversity and may complete previous data published from impressions only. Cretaceous amber is reported for the first time in Africa and corresponds to the oldest, southernmost record from Gondwanaland. To cite this article: B. Gomez et al., C. R. Palevol 1 (2002) 83-87. 2002 Académie des sciences / Éditions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier SAS plant cuticles / amber / Early Cretaceous / Kirkwood Formation / South Africa Résumé -Cuticules végétales et ambre du Crétacé inférieur (formation Kirkwood, Afrique du Sud). Des compressions végétales avec cuticules préservées et de petites billes d'ambre ont été extraites d'un niveau particulier de la formation Kirkwood datée du Valanginien moyen à supérieur (province du Cap Oriental, Afrique du Sud). L'étude préliminaire des cuticules indique une diversité végétale élevée et complète les données publiées antérieurement et tirées uniquement d'impressions. De l'ambre crétacé est signalé pour la première fois en Afrique et correspond au registre le plus ancien et le plus méridional du Gondwana. Pour citer cet article : B. Gomez et al., C. R. Palevol 1 (2002) 83-87. 2002 Académie des sciences / Éditions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier SAS cuticules végétales / ambre / Crétacé inférieur / formation Kirkwood / Afrique du Sud Version abrégée
Lower Cretaceous plant cuticles and amber (Kirkwood Formation, South Africa
Comptes Rendus Palevol, 2002
Plant cuticle compressions and marble-like amber pieces have been extracted in one particular level from the Middle-Upper Valanginian of the Kirkwood Formation (Eastern Cape Province, South Africa). Preliminary cuticular study indicates high plant diversity and may complete previous data published from impressions only. Cretaceous amber is reported for the first time in Africa and corresponds to the oldest, southernmost record from Gondwanaland. To cite this article: B. Gomez et al., C. R. Palevol 1 (2002) 83-87. 2002 Académie des sciences / Éditions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier SAS plant cuticles / amber / Early Cretaceous / Kirkwood Formation / South Africa Résumé -Cuticules végétales et ambre du Crétacé inférieur (formation Kirkwood, Afrique du Sud). Des compressions végétales avec cuticules préservées et de petites billes d'ambre ont été extraites d'un niveau particulier de la formation Kirkwood datée du Valanginien moyen à supérieur (province du Cap Oriental, Afrique du Sud). L'étude préliminaire des cuticules indique une diversité végétale élevée et complète les données publiées antérieurement et tirées uniquement d'impressions. De l'ambre crétacé est signalé pour la première fois en Afrique et correspond au registre le plus ancien et le plus méridional du Gondwana. Pour citer cet article : B. Gomez et al., C. R. Palevol 1 (2002) 83-87. 2002 Académie des sciences / Éditions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier SAS cuticules végétales / ambre / Crétacé inférieur / formation Kirkwood / Afrique du Sud Version abrégée
A direct association between amber and dinosaur remains provides paleoecological insights
Scientific Reports
Hadrosaurian dinosaurs were abundant in the Late Cretaceous of North America, but their habitats remain poorly understood. Cretaceous amber is also relatively abundant, yet it is seldom found in direct stratigraphic association with dinosaur remains. Here we describe an unusually large amber specimen attached to a Prosaurolophus jaw, which reveals details of the contemporaneous paleoforest and entomofauna. Fourier-transform Infrared spectroscopy and stable isotope composition (H and C) suggest the amber formed from resins exuded by cupressaceous conifers occupying a coastal plain. An aphid within the amber belongs to Cretamyzidae, a Cretaceous family suggested to bark-feed on conifers. Distinct tooth row impressions on the amber match the hadrosaur’s alveolar bone ridges, providing some insight into the taphonomic processes that brought these remains together.
Arthropods in amber from the Triassic Period
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2012
"The occurrence of arthropods in amber exclusively from the Cretaceous and Cenozoic is widely regarded to be a result of the production and preservation of large amounts of tree resin beginning ca. 130 million years (Ma) ago. Abundant 230 million-year-old amber from the Late Triassic (Carnian) of northeastern Italy has previously yielded myriad microorganisms, but we report here that it also preserves arthropods some 100 Ma older than the earliest prior records in amber. The Triassic specimens are a nematoceran fly (Diptera) and two disparate species of mites, Triasacarus fedelei gen. et sp. nov., and Ampezzoa triassica gen. et sp. nov. These mites are the oldest definitive fossils of a group, the Eriophyoidea, which includes the gall mites and comprises at least 3,500 Recent species, 97% of which feed on angiosperms and represents one of the most specialized lineages of phytophagous arthropods. Antiquity of the gall mites in much their extant form was unexpected, particularly with the Triassic species already having many of their present-day features (such as only two pairs of legs); further, it establishes conifer feeding as an ancestral trait. Feeding by the fossil mites may have contributed to the formation of the amber droplets, but we find that the abundance of amber during the Carnian (ca. 230 Ma) is globally anomalous for the pre-Cretaceous and may, alternatively, be related to paleoclimate. Further recovery of arthropods in Carnian-aged amber is promising and will have profound implications for understanding the evolution of terrestrial members of the most diverse phylum of organisms. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences08/2012; 109(37):14796-801. · 9.68 Impact Factor "
Author response: Dinosaur bonebed amber from an original swamp forest soil
2021
Dinosaur bonebeds with amber content, yet scarce, offer a superior wealth and quality of data on ancient terrestrial ecosystems. However, the preserved palaeodiversity and/or taphonomic characteristics of these exceptional localities had hitherto limited their palaeobiological potential. Here, we describe the amber from the Lower Cretaceous dinosaur bonebed of Ariño (Teruel, Spain) using a multidisciplinary approach. Amber is found in both a root layer with amber strictly in situ and a litter layer mainly composed of aerial pieces unusually rich in bioinclusions, encompassing 11 insect orders, arachnids, and a few plant and vertebrate remains, including a feather. Additional palaeontological data-charophytes, palynomorphs, ostracods-are provided. Ariño arguably represents the most prolific and palaeobiologically diverse locality in which fossiliferous amber and a dinosaur bonebed have been found in association, and the only one known
Dinosaur bonebed amber from an original swamp forest soil
Dinosaur bonebeds with amber content, yet scarce, offer a superior wealth and quality of data on ancient terrestrial ecosystems. However, the preserved palaeodiversity and/or taphonomic characteristics of these exceptional localities had hitherto limited their palaeobiological potential. Here we describe the amber from the Lower Cretaceous dinosaur bonebed of Ariño (Teruel, Spain) using a multidisciplinary approach. Amber is found in both a root layer with amber strictly in situ and a litter layer namely composed of aerial pieces unusually rich in bioinclusions, encompassing 11 insect orders, arachnids, and a few plant and vertebrate remains, including a feather. Additional palaeontological data ‒ charophytes, palynomorphs, ostracods‒ are provided. Ariño arguably represents the most prolific and palaeobiologically diverse locality in which fossiliferous amber and a dinosaur bonebed have been found in association, and the only one known where the vast majority of the palaeontological...
Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society
The Early Miocene (16–23 Mya) amber of Ethiopia constitutes a new source of fossil ants for Africa, where they are otherwise poorly documented. Here we report a diversified assemblage of six subfamilies and at least 19 genera that are still predominantly alive in the Afrotropics today. In this first account, a particular reference is made to the subfamily Dolichoderinae, with the description of two new species: Technomyrmex svojtkai Perrichot & Engel sp. nov. and Ravavy goldmani Boudinot & Perrichot sp. nov. The first is illustrated and described based on synchrotron-radiation microcomputed tomography, and the second represents the first fossil record for the tribe Bothriomyrmecini and Ravavy, a Malagasy and Afrotropical genus that was hitherto monotypic. The ant composition in Ethiopian amber is congruent with the global pattern emerging across ants and showing a Neogene diversification almost exclusively within extant genera.
A UNIQUE PIECE OF AMBER AND THE COMPLEXITY OF ANCIENT FOREST ECOSYSTEMS
Palaios, 2009
Vincent Perrichot (left) received his Master's degree in geology and Ph.D. in biology from the University of Rennes, advised by Didier Néraudeau, André Nel (Museum of Natural History, Paris), and Marc Philippe (University of Lyon) on the Mesozoic amber deposits from France and their corresponding forest ecosystems. He spent 2 years at the Berlin Museum of Natural History working with Alexander Schmidt on the combined analysis of arthropods and microorganisms fossilized in amber. Currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Paleontological Institute of the University of Kansas, he works on the systematics, phylogeny, and biogeography of hymenopterans using living species and fossils from various Mesozoic and Cenozoic ambers. He also works on actuopaleontology in tropical and subtropical resin-producing forests. Vincent Girard (right) received an M.S. in geology from the University of Lyon, studying the diversity and paleoecology of early angiosperm woods from the Cretaceous of southeastern France with Marc Philippe. He just received his Ph.D. from the University of Rennes with Didier Néraudeau and Gérard Breton, investigating amber microorganisms and their paleoecological implications. He spent 4 months at Dalhousie University of Halifax comparing a food web of modern soil with that preserved in French amber. He is now a teacher assistant at the University of Rennes.