Arthropods in modern resins reveal if amber accurately recorded forest arthropod communities

Amber is an organic multicompound derivative from the polymerization of resin of diverse higher plants. Compared with other modes of fossil preservation, amber records the anatomy of and ecological interactions between ancient soft-bodied organisms with exceptional fidelity. However, it is currently suggested that ambers do not accurately record the composition of arthropod forest paleocommunities, due to crucial taphonomic biases. We evaluated the effects of taphonomic processes on arthropod entrapment by resin from the plant Hymenaea, one of the most important resin-producing trees and a producer of tropical Cenozoic ambers and Anthropocene (or subfossil) resins. We statistically compared natural entrapment by Hymenaea verrucosa tree resin with the ensemble of arthropods trapped by standardized entomological traps around the same tree species. Our results demonstrate that assemblages in resin are more similar to those from sticky traps than from malaise traps, providing an accurate representation of the arthropod fauna living in or near the resiniferous tree, but not of entire arthropod forest communities. Particularly, arthropod groups such as Lepidoptera, Collembola, and some Diptera are underrepresented in resins. However, resin assemblages differed slightly from sticky traps, perhaps because chemical compounds in the resins attract or repel specific insect groups. Ground-dwelling or flying arthropods that use the treetrunk habitat for feeding or reproduction are also well represented in the resin assemblages, implying that fossil inclusions in amber can reveal fundamental information about biology of the past. These biases have implications for the paleoecological interpretation of the fossil record, principally of Cenozoic amber with angiosperm origin

Datziinae as a new subfamily name for the unavailable name Protopsychodinae Stebner et al., 2015, (Diptera: Psychodidae)

In a recent paper a new subfamily of Psychodidae was inadequately named Protopsychodinae. This nomenclatural act cannot be considered as a valid name under ICZN regulations because the subfamily name is not based on the type genus Datzia Stebner et al., 2015, and furthermore the fossil genus Protopsychoda Azar et al., 1999 was originally described under the subfamily Psychodinae. Therefore, the new family-group name Datziinae is herein proposed

Moth flies and sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) in Cretaceous Burmese amber

One new subfamily, four new genera and 10 new species of Psychodidae are described from Burmese amber which significantly increases our knowledge about this group in the Cretaceous. Protopsychodinae n. subfam. probably represents the oldest known ancestor of modern Psychodinae and includes three species within two genera: Datzia setosa gen. et sp. n., Datzia bispina gen. et sp. n., and Mandalayia beumersorum gen. et sp. n. Sycoracinae and Phlebotominae are represented by two genera each in the studied material, Palaeoparasycorax globosus gen. et sp. n., Palaeoparasycorax suppus gen. et sp. n., Parasycorax simplex sp. n., and Phlebotomites aphoe sp. n. and Phlebotomus vetus sp. n., respectively. Bruchomyiinae is represented by Nemopalpus quadrispiculatus sp. n. Furthermore, one genus of an incertae sedis subfamily, Bamara groehni gen. et sp. n., is described. The systematic positions of the new taxa are discussed

Biting Midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) from Cambay Amber Indicate that the Eocene Fauna of the Indian Subcontinent Was Not Isolated

<div><p>India’s unique and highly diverse biota combined with its unique geodynamical history has generated significant interest in the patterns and processes that have shaped the current distribution of India’s flora and fauna and their biogeographical relationships. Fifty four million year old Cambay amber from northwestern India provides the opportunity to address questions relating to endemism and biogeographic history by studying fossil insects. Within the present study seven extant and three fossil genera of biting midges are recorded from Cambay amber and five new species are described: <i>Eohelea indica</i> Stebner & Szadziewski n. sp., <i>Gedanohelea gerdesorum</i> Stebner & Szadziewski n. sp., <i>Meunierohelea cambayana</i> Stebner & Szadziewski n. sp., <i>Meunierohelea borkenti</i> Stebner & Szadziewski n. sp., and <i>Meunierohelea orientalis</i> Stebner & Szadziewski n. sp. Fossils of species in the genera <i>Leptoconops</i> Skuse, 1889, <i>Forcipomyia</i> Meigen, 1818, <i>Brachypogon</i> Kieffer, 1899, <i>Stilobezzia</i> Kieffer, 1911, <i>Serromyia</i> Meigen, 1818, and <i>Mantohelea</i> Szadziewski, 1988 are recorded without formal description. Furthermore, one fossil belonging to the genus <i>Camptopterohelea</i> Wirth & Hubert, 1960 is included in the present study. Our study reveals faunal links among Ceratopogonidae from Cambay amber and contemporaneous amber from Fushun, China, Eocene Baltic amber from Europe, as well as the modern Australasian and the Oriental regions. These findings imply that faunal exchange between Europe, Asia and India took place before the formation of Cambay amber in the early Eocene.</p></div

Corrigendum: A fossil biting midge (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) from early Eocene Indian amber with a complex pheromone evaporator

The life-like fidelity of organisms captured in amber is unique among all kinds of fossilization and represents an invaluable source for different fields of palaeontological and biological research. One of the most challenging aspects in amber research is the study of traits related to behaviour. Here, indirect evidence for pheromone-mediated mating behaviour is recorded from a biting midge (Ceratopogonidae) in 54 million-year-old Indian amber. Camptopterohelea odora n. sp. exhibits a complex, pocket shaped structure on the wings, which resembles the wing folds of certain moth flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) and scent organs that are only known from butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera) so far. Our studies suggests that pheromone releasing structures on the wings have evolved independently in biting midges and might be much more widespread in fossil as well as modern insects than known so far

Plate tectonic history of the Indian subcontinent from the Late Cretaceous to Present and distribution of select biting midge taxa (maps modified after data supplied by “Global Paleogeography and Tectonics in Deep Time 2016 Colorado Plateau Geosystems Inc.”).

<p><b>A</b>. Late Cretaceous. <b>B</b>. Cretaceous-Paleogene Boundary. Dashed lines showing possible dispersal routes between India and Africa/Asia (Oman-Kohistan-Dras Island Arc, summarized in Chatterjee & Scotese [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0169144#pone.0169144.ref005" target="_blank">5</a>]). <b>C</b>. Early Eocene. Circles and hexagon showing fossil (†) genera of <i>Gedanohelea</i>, <i>Mantohelea</i> and <i>Eohelea</i> in Eocene ambers. Abbreviations: Ba = amber from the Baltic Region, Ca = Cambay amber, Fu = Fushun amber, Sa = Sakhalin amber. <b>D</b>. Present. Circles and hexagon showing fossil (†) genera in Eocene ambers and recent representatives of <i>Meunierohelea</i> and <i>Camptopterohelea</i>.</p

A fossil biting midge (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) from early Eocene Indian amber with a complex pheromone evaporator

The life-like fidelity of organisms captured in amber is unique among all kinds of fossilization and represents an invaluable source for different fields of palaeontological and biological research. One of the most challenging aspects in amber research is the study of traits related to behaviour. Here, indirect evidence for pheromone-mediated mating behaviour is recorded from a biting midge (Ceratopogonidae) in 54 million-year-old Indian amber. Camptopterohelea odora n. sp. exhibits a complex, pocket shaped structure on the wings, which resembles the wing folds of certain moth flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) and scent organs that are only known from butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera) so far. Our studies suggests that pheromone releasing structures on the wings have evolved independently in biting midges and might be much more widespread in fossil as well as modern insects than known so far