Darwin, Hooker and Arruda Furtado and the palaeobotany of Azores: Rediscovering the first collections

The historical investigation of the palaeobotany of the Azores Islands led to the recent rediscovery of the leaf fos sils initially collected by Arruda Furtado in the late 19th century. Advised by Sir Charles Darwin and Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker to search for plant fossils, Arruda Furtado found the first specimens in São Miguel Island, and sent them to the UK for further identification. A recent search at the Natural History Museum, UK, revealed that from a total of sixteen specimens, only one specimen survived. In the same tray, two undescribed specimens from Furnas (São Miguel) were found. Here we describe and identify them as Woodwardia radicans, Laurus azorica and an unidentified fern. The taphonomy indicates that these fossils were preserved in a trachytic tuff, possibly related to the explosive episodes of the Furnas volcano, indicating that they could be late Pleistocene to Holocene in age. This report aims to highlight the potential of future palaeobotanical studies of the Azores Islands.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The bicentenary of Georg Hartung, a German pioneer geologist, explorer, and illustrator

We present a tribute to Georg Friedrich Karl Hartung (1821–1891), a less-known, non-academic German geologist, on his 200th birthday anniversary. Influenced by eminent 19th century scientific personalities, such as Oswald Heer, Charles Lyell, and Alexander von Humboldt, he performed pioneer geological observations and sampling in the Azores, Madeira, and Canary Islands volcanic archipelagos. Later in his life, he travelled to the USA and explored the Scandinavian countries. His scientific endeavours were published in several books and papers, many of them co-authored by academic German geologists and palaeontologists. His works on Macaronesia are deemed as classics, and many have been enriched by his detailed geological illustrations.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

First evidence of ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in the early Pleistocene of Madeira Island (Portugal)

To be successfully established on oceanic islands, native ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) have to migrate from the mainland or from nearby islands, crossing the ocean barriers, to find a suitable habitat. Despite the general interest on oceanic islands biotas, nothing is known about the deep-time migration and settling of native ants in these insular ecosystems. Palaeoentomological studies on oceanic islands that could provide palaeobiological information on Formicidae are scarce. Here, we describe and illustrate the first fossil of an ant from the Macaronesian archipelagos (Atlantic Ocean), based on a partial forewing found within 1.3 Ma (Calabrian, Pleistocene) lacustrine sediments from Madeira Island, Portugal. Although unidentifiable beyond the family level, this fossil record provides a minimum age for the presence of ants in the Madeira archipelago. Palaeoecologically, this record indicates the presence of suitable habitats for ants during the early Pleistocene.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The Quaternary plant fossil record from the volcanic Azores Archipelago (Portugal, North Atlantic Ocean): a review

Plant fossils are known from the Azores Islands, yet poorly studied. We present a comprehensive bibliographical review for the archipelago. A first pre-scientific reference dates from late fifteenth century, while the first scientific description was reported in 1821, accounting for trunks in pyroclastic units and silicified plants within hydrothermal deposits. Throughout the second-half of the nineteenth century and the first-half of the twentieth century, prospection by naturalists and geological mapping work, led to the discovery and description of plant fossils in most islands. From the 1970s onwards, the taxonomic interest ceased, and plant fossils were used mainly for 14C dating. Recently, sediment cores from lakes and peatlands were used for palaeoecological reconstructions and to measure anthropogenic impacts. Generally, plant fossils are younger than 50 ka, although older fossils may exist. Azorean plant fossils include somatofossils of leaves, stems, logs and seeds preserved as impressions, compressions, adpressions, permineralizations, lava tree casts and mummifications. The taphonomy of macrofloral elements is usually related to explosive volcanic activity, while palynological record is associated with lake sediments and peat bogs. The persistence in palaeobotanical and palaeopalynological studies will decisively contribute to disentangle the paleodiversity, palaeoecology, and add crucial information on insular plant phylogeny and biogeography.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Is there solid evidence of widespread landscape disturbance in the Azores before the arrival of the Portuguese?

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Climate change and human impact in Macaronesia

Past climate dynamics have helped shape the endemic ecosystems of Macaronesia. However, these insular ecosystems have since been modified following the arrival of human settlers, who had to adapt to the new environments and resources

Inventory and review of the Mio–Pleistocene São Jorge flora (Madeira Island, Portugal): palaeoecological and biogeographical implications

The occurrence of plant fossils on Madeira Island has been known since the mid-nineteenth century. Charles Lyell and George Hartung discovered a leaf bed rich in Lauraceae and fern fossils at S~ao Jorge in 1854. The determinations were controversial but a full review was never performed. Here we propose possible geological settings for the fossiliferous outcrop, and present an inventory and a systematic review of the surviving specimens of the S~ao Jorge macroflora. The S~ao Jorge leaf bed no longer outcrops due to a landslide in 1865. It was possible to establish the two alternative volcano stratigraphical settings in the sedimentary intercalations from the Middle Volcanic Complex, ranging in age from 7 to 1.8 Ma. The descriptions of Heer (1857), Bunbury (1859) and Hartung & Mayer (1864) are reviewed based on 82 surviving specimens. From the initial 37 taxa, we recognize only 20: Osmunda sp., Pteridium aquilinum, Asplenium cf. onopteris, aff. Asplenium, cf. Polystichum, cf. Davallia, Woodwardia radicans, Filicopsida gen. et sp. indet. 1 and 2, Ocotea foetens, Salix sp., Erica arborea, cf. Vaccinium, Rubus sp, cf. Myrtus, Magnoliopsida gen. et sp. indet. 1 to 3, Liliopsida gen. et sp. indet. 1. Magnoliopsida gen. et sp. indet. 4 is based on one previously undescribed flower or fruit. The floristic composition of the S~ao Jorge fossils resembles the current floristic association of temperate stink laurel (Ocotea foetens) forest, suggesting a warm and humid palaeoclimate and indicating that laurel forests were present in Macaronesia at least since the Gelasian, a time when the palaeotropical geofloral elements were almost extinct in Europe.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The Quaternary palaeobotany of Madeira and Azores volcanic archipelagos (Portugal) : insights into the past diversity, ecology, biogeography and evolution

Palaeobotanical research on oceanic islands has been largely ignored despite its importance to provide empirical proofs to disentangle insular plant diversity, evolution, ecology and biogeography. Here we use the oceanic archipelagos of Madeira and Azores as a ‘testing ground’, via fieldwork, laboratorial and collection-based research, to demonstrate the existence of well-preserved and palaeobiological informative plant fossils. In Madeira Island, mid-19th century collections from São Jorge leaf bed were stratigraphically and taxonomically reappraised revealing the presence of the stink-laurel forest at 7-1.8 Ma, similar to the extant community. Porto da Cruz sediments exploration and new 40Ar-39Ar dating revealed of the existence at 1.3 Ma of the extinct Eurya stigmosa (Theaceae), the neoendemic Melanoselinum decipiens (Apiaceae) and the probable ancestor of the Madeiran besom heath, Erica scoparia (Ericaceae). Preliminary prospection and dating of limnic sediments revealed the presence of a suitable Pleisto-Holocene palynological content for palaeoecological reconstruction. In Azores archipelago, the historical fossil collection and palaeobotanical review, revealed the existence of plant fossils on all islands. On Faial Island, charcoalified wood found within the 1200 yr BP ignimbrite revealed the presence of abundant Prunus lusitanica subsp. azorica, today a rare endemic tree due to anthropic impacts. Fanal Bay leaf-beds (Terceira Island), were prospected during 2016, revealing an in-situ leaf litter forest, but these were destroyed in 2018, despite being within the Azores Geopark. Here I demonstrate, for both archipelagos, the presence of an abundant and well-preserved plant fossil record, ranging probably from the Miocene, but mostly Pleistocene to the Holocene. These plant fossils are valuable, as they provide minimum ages for future phylogeny calibration, clues on the evolution of insular syndromes and allow the inference of the anthropic impact on pristine insular vegetation. However, this information can only be retrieved if the palaeobotanical geoheritage in these archipelagos are protected and properly studied.ARDITI - Agência Regional para o Desenvolvimento da Investigação, Tecnologia e Inovação, projecto M1420- 09-5369-FSE-00000

Ichneumonidae Latreille 1802

Family Ichneumonidae Latreille, 1802 Genus and species indet. Material: UMad-P500a (part: Fig. 2B) and UMad-P500b (Counter-part: Fig. 2C). Description: Incomplete hind wing, composed of incarbonized venation, 10.6 mm (base of wing to the RSb apex) × 3.16 mm (2A apex to SC+R), venation more or less complete, except R1, and the missing vein C; bulla present in rs-m and CU-a. Vein 1-A partly detached from the sediment. Remarks: Hind wing fossil architecture and size correspond to the Ichneumonidae (Fig. 2A). It is distinct from similar Braconidae hind wings, due to the enclosed VI cell (Fig. 2A and D) (Broad, 2011), and vein rs-m apical to separation of veins RSa and RSb (Goulet & Huber, 1993). Further identification is prevented, although the size and venation points to a large ichneumonid parasitoid wasp. Genera with similar hind wing size and venation occur today in Madeira, including Amblyteles, Ophion, Ichneumon, and Rhyssa (Aguiar, 2008; Aguiar et al., 2017). However, to identify the specimen to genus and/or species, more complete fossil specimens are needed, as Ichneumonidae taxonomy is based on fore wing and body morphology (e.g. Goulet & Huber, 1993). Today, Madeiran Ichneumonidae are represented by 98 spp., of which, 30 spp. are single island endemics (Aguiar, 2008). Notwithstanding the high number of endemic species, literature reveals that Madeiran ichneumonids are understudied, being restricted mainly to check lists and taxonomy (e.g. Aguiar, 2008; Aguiar et al., 2017). Recent efforts include those of Santos et al. (2011), who demonstrated through host dissection and DNA barcoding that on Macaronesian Islands, parasitoids including Ichneumonidae, had a higher number of generalists (idiobionts) when compared to mainland. Studies dealing with immigration, evolution and divergence of ichneumonid parasitoid wasps in Madeira are currently lacking. However, the existence of a parasitoid wasp in Madeira Island at 1.3 Ma, certainly points to a complex trophic system already installed in the island. We conclude that insect somatofossils on oceanic islands are rare, but when found, they can provide interesting palaeontological information. The specimen described is the first record for Madeira island and Macaronesia. It corresponds to a fossilized hind wing of an ichneumonoid parasitoid wasp from the Calabrian stage (1.3 Ma) in Madeira Island, implying also the existence of their hosts. Further entomological and palaeoentomological efforts are needed to understand the evolution of these wasps in an insular context.Published as part of Góis-Marques, Carlos A., Jesus, José, Sequeira, Miguel Menezes De & Madeira, José, 2019, The first Ichneumonid fossil from the Early Pleistocene of Madeira Island (Portugal), pp. 447-450 in Zootaxa 4612 (3) on page 448, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4612.3.13, http://zenodo.org/record/323510

The first Ichneumonid fossil from the Early Pleistocene of Madeira Island (Portugal)

In oceanic islands, well age-constrained deposits containing arthropod somatofossils (body fossils) are rare. However, when available, these are important for providing empirical and independent minimum ages for molecular phylogenetic dating and complementary data on taxonomy, evolution and palaeobiogeography information of the biological groups found as fossils. This is especially important for taxa that speciated within oceanic islands, many becoming single island endemics (SIE). Recently, associated with a 1.3 Ma (Calabrian) fluvial and lacustrine sedimentary deposit from Porto da Cruz in Madeira Island (Fig. 1), a wing, putatively identified as Hymenoptera, was found. Here we describe this wing fossil as belonging to Ichneumonidae, a group with ca. 30% of SIE in Madeira Island. Moreover, this is the first somatofossil of ichneumonid parasitic wasps found in Madeira Island and in Macaronesian islands (i.e. Azores, Madeira, Canaries and Cabo Verde). Since the 19th century, oceanic island attracted several naturalists due to the high probability of finding taxonomical novelties (e.g. Vieira, 2005). Darwin (1859) amplified this interest, as oceanic islands biota presented a central role to explain evolution. Today oceanic islands became the ideal locations to study evolution, biogeography and ecology (e.g. Whittaker et al., 2017). Madeira Island (Central Atlantic Ocean; Fig. 1), geologically a shield volcano of 7 Ma (Ramalho et al., 2015 and references therein), is considered an insect diversity hotspot where 3019 species and subspecies are known, of which 665 are SIE (Borges et al., 2008). This diversity is most probably explained by stepping-stone through palaeo-Macaronesian islands and isolation (Triantis et al., 2010; Fernández-Palacios et al., 2011). Palaeoentomological records are rare in Madeira. The only known record is from the Mio-Pleistocene deposit of São Jorge (see Góis-Marques et al., 2018), where Heer (1857) described an extinct coleopteran, Laparocerus wollastoni, based on fossilized elytra. Machado (2006) in a taxonomic review of Laparocerus considers this taxon as nomen dubium, due to the missing holotype and the impossibility of reapraising its taxonomy. On other Macaronesian archipelagos, especially in the Canaries Islands, several deposits with insect ichnofossils have been described (e.g. Edwards & Meco, 2000; Meco et al., 2011; La Roche et al., 2014). In Azores only xylophagous ichnoentomological traces in charcoal wood are known (Góis-Marques et al., 2019b). The fossil wing was found within laminated lacustrine fine sandstone, associated with plant fossils. The sediments are constrained by two 40Ar-39Ar dates to 1.3 Ma, Calabrian stage (Góis-Marques et al., 2019a). Fossils are kept in the palaeobotanical collection at the Madeira University herbarium (UMad-P) with the numbers UMad-P500a (part) and UMad-P500b (counter-part). The wing fossil was studied under a stereo microscope, and its identification was performed through several sources (e.g. Goulet & Huber, 1993) and specific guidebooks (Prehn & Raper, 2016). Wing description follows the Comstock-Needham system as described by Quicke (2015)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio