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First record of an Icacinaceae Miers fossil flower from Le Quesnoy (Ypresian, France) amber.

ABSTRACT: Flowers embedded in amber are rare. Only about 70 flowers or inflorescences have been described among which only one lamiid is known. Nevertheless, these fossils are important to our understanding of evolutionary process and past diversity due to the exceptional preservation of fragile structures not normally preserved. In this work, a new flower named Icacinanthium tainiaphorum sp. nov. from Le Quesnoy (Houdancourt, Oise, France) is described. Our phylogenetic analysis with extant species suggests that the affinity of this flower lies with the family Icacinaceae, close to Natsiatum or Hosiea. The fossil shows a combination of features unknown in extant Icacinaceae and we thus propose the description of a new fossil genus. It reveals a previously unknown diversity in the family and demonstrates the complementarity of different types of fossil preservation for a better understanding of past floral diversity.

SUBMITTER: Del Rio C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5593952 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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First record of an Icacinaceae Miers fossil flower from Le Quesnoy (Ypresian, France) amber.

Del Rio Cédric C Haevermans Thomas T De Franceschi Dario D

Scientific reports 20170911 1

Flowers embedded in amber are rare. Only about 70 flowers or inflorescences have been described among which only one lamiid is known. Nevertheless, these fossils are important to our understanding of evolutionary process and past diversity due to the exceptional preservation of fragile structures not normally preserved. In this work, a new flower named Icacinanthium tainiaphorum sp. nov. from Le Quesnoy (Houdancourt, Oise, France) is described. Our phylogenetic analysis with extant species sugge ...[more]

PMID: 28894196

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Dispersal is essential for terrestrial organisms living in disjunct habitats and constitutes a significant challenge for the evolution of wingless taxa. Springtails (Collembola), the sister-group of all insects (with Diplura), are reported since the Lower Devonian and are thought to have originally been subterranean. The order Symphypleona is reported since the early Cretaceous with genera distributed on every continent. This distribution implies an ability to disperse over oceans, however symphypleonan Collembola have never been reported in marine water contrary to other springtail orders. Despite being highly widespread, modern springtails are rarely reported in any kind of biotic association. Interestingly, the fossil record has provided occasional occurrences of Symphypleona attached by the antennae onto the bodies of larger arthropods. RESULTS:Here, we document the case of a ~ 16 Ma old fossil association: a winged termite and ant displaying not some, but 25 springtails attached or in close proximity to the body. The collembola exhibit rare features for fossils, reflecting their courtship and phoretic behaviours. By observing the modes of attachment of springtails on different arthropods, the sex representation and ratios in springtail antennal anatomies in new and previously reported cases, we infer a likely mechanism for dispersal in Symphypleona. By revealing hidden evidence of modern springtail associations with other invertebrates such as ants and termites, new compelling assemblages of fossil springtails, and the drastic increase of eusocial insects' abundance during the Cenozoic (ants/termites comprising more than a third of insects in Miocene amber), we stress that attachment on winged castes of ants and termites may have been a mechanism for the worldwide dispersal of this significant springtail lineage. Moreover, by comparing the general constraints applying to the other wingless soil-dwelling arthropods known to disperse through phoresy, we suggest biases in the collection and observation of phoretic Symphypleona related to their reflexive detachment and infer that this behaviour continues today. CONCLUSIONS:The specific case of tree resin entrapment represents the (so far) only condition uncovering the phoretic dispersal mechanism of springtails - one of the oldest terrestrial arthropod lineages living today.

Dataset Information

First record of an Icacinaceae Miers fossil flower from Le Quesnoy (Ypresian, France) amber.

Publications

First record of an Icacinaceae Miers fossil flower from Le Quesnoy (Ypresian, France) amber.

Similar Datasets

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