Bizarre morphology in extinct Eocene bugs (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae)

Newly discovered fossil bugs (Insecta: Hemiptera: Heteroptera:Pentatomidae) from the Eocene of Messel (Germany) andGreen River (North America) exhibit an exaggeratedmorphology including prominent spiny humeral andanterolateral angles of the pronotum and a spiny lateralabdominal margin. Especially the humeral angles are unique;they consist of expansive, rounded projections with strongspines, which is a rare trait among pentatomids. A hypothesisfor the function of this extreme morphology is defence againstsmall vertebrate predators, such as birds or reptiles. The sameprotuberances also produce a disruptive effect camouflagingthe specimen in its environment and provide additionalprotection. Therefore, the extreme morphology providesprimary as well as secondary anti-predator defence. Themorphology ofEospinosus peterkulkaigen. et sp. nov. andE. greenriverensissp. nov. resembles that of Triplatygini, whichtoday occur exclusively in Madagascar, as well as that ofDiscocephalinae or Cyrtocorinae, which today occur in theNeotropics. Due to a lack of conclusive characters, it cannot beexcluded that the fossil species may represent a case ofremarkable convergence and are not related to either taxon.Phylogenetic analyses using parsimony as well as Bayesianalgorithms confirmed that the new genus is a member ofPentatomidae, but could not solve its phylogenetic relationships within Pentatomidae

The first green lacewings from the late Eocene Baltic amber

Pseudosencera baltica gen. et sp. nov. of Chrysopinae (Chrysopidae, Neuroptera) is described from Baltic amber. Additionally, another species, Nothochrysa? sp. (Nothochrysinae), is left in the open nomenclature. Pseudosencera baltica gen. et sp. nov. represents the oldest confident record of Chrysopinae. The new genus lacks the apparent forewing intramedian cell, and possesses three character states not found in other Chrysopinae: the simple AA1, the short basal crossvein between M and Cu, and 5‒6 rings of setae on the antennal flagellomeres. This genus is probably a specialised form in a basal branch of Chrysopinae, that could not be attributed to any of the known tribes. The specimen of Nothochrysa? sp. consists only of fragments of the forewings. The late Eocene Baltic amber represents the oldest horizon where Chrysopinae and Nothochrysinae are found to coexist. It is highly likely that Chrysopidae were extremely rare in these forests

How to extract and analyze pollen from internal organs and exoskeletons of fossil insects

This protocol explains how to extract pollen from fossil insects with subsequent descriptions of pollen treatment. We also describe how to document morphological and ultrastructural features with light-microscopy and electron microscopy. It enables a taxonomic assignment of pollen that can be used to interpret flower-insect interactions, foraging and feeding behavior of insects, and the paleoenvironment. The protocol is limited by the state of the fossil, the presence/absence of pollen on fossil specimens, and the availability of extant pollen for comparison. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Wappler et al. (2015), Ulrich and Grímsson (2020), and Wedmann et al. (2021)

Fossilized Biophotonic Nanostructures Reveal the Original Colors of 47-Million-Year-Old Moths

Original structural colors reconstructed in fossil moths had a dual defensive function and illuminate the evolution of communication strategies in insects

Phylogeographic Analysis Elucidates the Influence of the Ice Ages on the Disjunct Distribution of Relict Dragonflies in Asia

Unusual biogeographic patterns of closely related groups reflect events in the past, and molecular analyses can help to elucidate these events. While ample research on the origin of disjunct distributions of different organism groups in the Western Paleartic has been conducted, such studies are rare for Eastern Palearctic organisms. In this paper we present a phylogeographic analysis of the disjunct distribution pattern of the extant species of the strongly cool-adapted Epiophlebia dragonflies from Asia. We investigated sequences of the usually more conserved 18 S rDNA and 28 S rDNA genes and the more variable sequences of ITS1, ITS2 and CO2 of all three currently recognised Epiophlebia species and of a sample of other odonatan species. In all genes investigated the degrees of similarity between species of Epiophlebia are very high and resemble those otherwise found between different populations of the same species in Odonata. This indicates that substantial gene transfer between these populations occurred in the comparatively recent past. Our analyses imply a wide distribution of the ancestor of extant Epiophlebia in Southeast Asia during the last ice age, when suitable habitats were more common. During the following warming phase, its range contracted, resulting in the current disjunct distribution. Given the strong sensitivity of these species to climatic parameters, the current trend to increasing global temperatures will further reduce acceptable habitats and seriously threaten the existences of these last representatives of an ancient group of Odonata

Small jewels in the oil shale:

Die Fossillagerstätte Grube Messel ermöglicht durch die sehr gute Erhaltung ihrer Fossilien einzigartige Einblicke in die Zeit des Eozäns vor etwa 47,5 Millionen Jahren. Insekten waren im ehemaligen Ökosystem sehr häufig und werden oft in den Ölschiefer-Sedimenten gefunden. Bei vielen der Insekten sind die Strukturfarben fast unverändert, so dass sie in ihren ursprünglichen Farben leuchten. Besondere Funde wie die eines fossilen Wandelnden Blattes, von Weberameisen oder von bizarr gestalteten Baumwanzen erlauben nicht nur Einblicke in die enorme Vielfalt der ehemaligen Lebensgemeinschaften, sondern erlauben auch Rückschlüsse zur Evolution und zur Biogeographie. Ohne diese Fossilnachweise wären z. B. biogeographische Rekonstruktionen unvollständig. Analysen der auf manchen Fossilien vorhandenen Pollenkörner ermöglichen neue Erkenntnisse zur Lebensweise, zur Bestäubung und zum Fressverhalten, die beispielsweise bei den Netzfliegen noch nicht für die heutige Gruppe bekannt waren.Due to the exceptionally good preservation of its fossils, the Fossillagerstätte Grube Messel provides unique insights into the Eocene period, approximately 47.5 million years ago. Insects were very common in the former ecosystem and are often found in the oil shale sediments. In many of the insect fossils, the structural colours are almost unchanged, thus shining in their original hues. Special finds, for example those of a fossilized walking leaf, weaver ants, or bizarrely shaped shield bugs, do not only provide insights into the tremendous diversity of past communities but also offer clues as to evolution and biogeography. Without these fossil records, biogeographic reconstructions, for instance, would be incomplete. Analyses of pollen grains present on some fossils provide new insights into lifestyle, pollination, and even feeding behaviour that were previously unknown for certain groups, such as the tangle-veined flies

A Revision of fossil Bibionidae (Insecta: Diptera) from the Oligocene of Germany

Skartveit, John, Wedmann, Sonja (2021): A Revision of fossil Bibionidae (Insecta: Diptera) from the Oligocene of Germany. Zootaxa 4909 (1): 1-77, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4909.1.

First records of fossil tremecine hymenopterans

Volume: 41Start Page: 929End Page: 93

Data for geometric morphometric analyses of the wing venation of wasps (Vespinae, Vespidae, Hymenoptera, Insecta)

This dataset includes wing landmark coordinates for Vespinae specimens (Vespidae, Hymenoptera, Insecta). The data were used in the geometric morphometric analyses of Abels & Wedmann (2022). Information on the different Vespinae specimens are archived separately in PANGAEA (see Related to section, Abels & Wedmann 2021). Perrard et al. (2014, 2015) provided data of 19 landmark coordinates of 1025 measured Vespinae wings, of which 17 landmarks are resorted and reproduced in this data set. The following five specimens and their wing landmarks are added: Vespula rufa (photo "Rødveps Vespula rufa (Linnaeus, 1758)" by Arnstein Staverløkk CC BY-SA 4.0, https://www.artsdatabanken.no/Pages/F21128, accessed 21.02.2021), Vespula nursei (Kumar & Carpenter 2018: Fig. 5), Vespula pensylvanica (Snelling 1981: Fig. 66), the fossil Palaeovespa socialis (Poinar 2005: Fig. 14) and the species Vespula? hassiaca described in Abels & Wedmann (2022). For details on data acquisition and analysis see Abels & Wedmann (2022)