Ricardo Pérez-de la Fuente

Long-Proboscid Flies as Pollinators of Cretaceous Gymnosperms

The great evolutionary success of angiosperms has traditionally been explained, in part, by the partnership of these plants with insect pollinators. The main approach to understanding the origins of this pervasive relationship has been study of the pollinators of living cycads, gnetaleans, and basal angiosperms. Among the most morphologically specialized living pollinators are diverse, long-proboscid flies. Early such flies include the brachyceran family Zhangsolvidae, previously known only as compression fossils from the Early Cretaceous of China and Brazil. It belongs to the infraorder Stratiomyomorpha, a group that includes the flower-visiting families Xylomyidae and Stratiomyidae. New zhangsolvid specimens in amber from Spain (ca. 105 mega-annum [Ma]) and Myanmar (100 Ma) reveal a detailed proboscis structure adapted to nectivory. Pollen clumped on a specimen from Spain is Exesipollenites, attributed to a Mesozoic gymnosperm, most likely the Bennettitales. Late Mesozoic scorpionflies with a long proboscis have been proposed as specialized pollinators of various extinct gymnosperms, but pollen has never been observed on or in their bodies. The new discovery is a very rare co-occurrence of pollen with its insect vector and provides substantiating evidence that other long-proboscid Mesozoic insects were gymnosperm pollinators. Evidence is thus now gathering that visitors and probable pollinators of early anthophytes, or seed plants, involved some insects with highly specialized morphological adaptations, which has consequences for interpreting the reproductive modes of Mesozoic gymnosperms and the significance of insect pollination in angiosperm success.

A rich and diverse tanaidomorphan (Crustacea: Tanaidacea) assemblage associated with Early Cretaceous resin-producing forests in North Iberia: palaeobiological implications

The extinct tanaidomorphan diversity from Early Cretaceous Spanish amber, currently comprising 26 specimens, is reassessed. The fossil family Alavatanaidae Vonk & Schram, 2007, described from Spanish amber, is revised on account of new preparation of type specimens and the discovery of new material. The described tanaidomorphan taxa are classified within the superfamily Paratanaoidea. An emended diagnosis for Alavatanaidae is provided, as well as for the genera Alavatanais Vonk & Schram, 2007 and Proleptochelia Vonk & Schram, 2007, and their respective species Alavatanais carabe Vonk & Schram, 2007 and Proleptochelia tenuissima Vonk & Schram, 2007. Three new species, two of them classified in a new genus each, are described: Alavatanais margulisae Sánchez-García, Peñalver & Delclòs sp. nov., Eurotanais terminator Sánchez-García, Peñalver & Delclòs gen. et sp. nov. and Electrotanais monolithus Sánchez-García, Peñalver & Delclòs gen. et sp. nov. Proleptochelia euskadiensis Vonk & Schram, 2007 is considered a junior synonym of A. carabe, and the genus Proleptochelia, together with its type and only species P. tenuissima, is left without familial placement within Paratanaoidea. Within this superfamily, Alavatanaidae is closely related to Leptocheliidae. Also, morphological variability due to sexual dimorphism in the studied paratanaoids has been determined. Multiple lines of taphonomic and palaeobiological evidence indicate that the Spanish amber tanaids were most likely inhabitants of wet or moist forest floors. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:DC943B18-A01C-412C-8378-C644FEFDA716

Early evolution and ecology of camouflage in insects

Taxa within diverse lineages select and transport exogenous materials for the purposes of camouflage. This adaptive behavior also occurs in insects, most famously in green lacewing larvae who nestle the trash among setigerous cuticular processes, known as trash-carrying, rendering them nearly undetectable to predators and prey, as well as forming a defensive shield. We report an exceptional discovery of a green lacewing larva in Early Cretaceous amber from Spain with specialized cuticular processes forming a dorsal basket that carry a dense trash packet. The trash packet is composed of trichomes of gleicheniacean ferns, which highlight the presence of wildfires in this early forest ecosystem. This discovery provides direct evidence of an early acquisition of a sophisticated behavioral suite in stasis for over 110 million years and an ancient plant–insect interaction.

Long‐proboscid brachyceran flies in Cretaceous amber (Diptera: Stratiomyomorpha: Zhangsolvidae)

The monophyletic family Zhangsolvidae comprises stout‐bodied brachyceran flies with a long proboscis and occurring only in the Cretaceous, originally known in shale from the Early Cretaceous Laiyang Formation (Fm.) in China (Zhangsolva Nagatomi & Yang), subsequently from limestones of the Early Cretaceous Crato Fm. of Brazil. Cratomyoides Wilkommen is synonymized with Cratomyia Mazzarolo & Amorim, both from the Crato Fm.; Cratomyiidae is synonymized with Zhangsolvidae. Two genera and three species of Zhangsolvidae are described: Buccinatormyia magnifica Arillo, Peñalver & Pérez‐de la Fuente, gen. et sp.n. and B. soplaensis Arillo, Peñalver & Pérez‐de la Fuente, sp.n., in Albian amber from Las Peñosas Fm. in Spain; and Linguatormyia teletacta Grimaldi, gen. et sp.n., in Upper Albian–Lower Cenomanian amber from Hukawng Valley in Myanmar. Buccinatormyia soplaensis and Linguatormyia teletacta are unique among all Brachycera, extant or extinct, by their remarkably long, flagellate antennae, about 1.6× the body length in the latter species. A phylogenetic analysis of 52 morphological characters for 35 taxa is presented, 11 taxa being Cretaceous species, which supports placement of the family within Stratiomyomorpha, although not to any particular family within the infraorder.

Snakefly diversity in Early Cretaceous amber from Spain (Neuropterida, Raphidioptera)

Abstract The Albian amber from Spain presently harbors the greatest number and diversity of amber adult fossil snakeflies (Raphidioptera). Within Baissopteridae, Baissoptera? cretaceoelectra sp. n., from the Peñacerrada I outcrop (Moraza, Burgos), is the first amber inclusion belonging to the family and described from western Eurasia, thus substantially expanding the paleogeographical range of the family formerly known from the Cretaceous of Brazil and eastern Asia. Within the family Mesoraphidiidae, Necroraphidia arcuata gen. et sp. n. and Amarantoraphidia ventolina gen. et sp. n. are described from the El Soplao outcrop (Rábago, Cantabria), whereas Styporaphidia? hispanica sp. n. and Alavaraphidia imperterrita gen. et sp. n. are describedfrom Peñacerrada I. In addition, three morphospecies are recognized from fragmentary remains. The following combinations are restored: Yanoraphidia gaoi Ren, 1995, stat. rest., Mesoraphidia durlstonensis Jepson, Coram and Jarzembowski, 2009, stat. rest., and Mesoraphidia heteroneura Ren, 1997, stat. rest. The singularity of this rich paleodiversity could be due to the paleogeographic isolation of the Iberian territory and also the prevalence of wildfires during the Cretaceous.

Ticks parasitised feathered dinosaurs as revealed by Cretaceous amber assemblages

Ticks are currently among the most prevalent blood-feeding ectoparasites, but their feeding habits and hosts in deep time have long remained speculative. Here, we report direct and indirect evidence in 99 million-year-old Cretaceous amber showing that hard ticks and ticks of the extinct new family Deinocrotonidae fed on blood from feathered dinosaurs, non-avialan or avialan excluding crown-group birds. A †Cornupalpatum burmanicum hard tick is entangled in a pennaceous feather. Two deinocrotonids described as †Deinocroton draculi gen. et sp. nov. have specialised setae from dermestid beetle larvae (hastisetae) attached to their bodies, likely indicating cohabitation in a feathered dinosaur nest. A third conspecific specimen is blood-engorged, its anatomical features suggesting that deinocrotonids fed rapidly to engorgement and had multiple gonotrophic cycles. These findings provide insight into early tick evolution and ecology, and shed light on poorly known arthropod–vertebrate interactions and potential disease transmission during the Mesozoic.Fossils of ticks are rare, and little is known about their ancient hosts. Here, Peñalver and colleagues describe ticks in Cretaceous amber, including representatives of the new family Deinocrotonidae, which are associated with a dinosaur feather and nest biota.

A defensive behavior and plant-insect interaction in Early Cretaceous amber--The case of the immature lacewing Hallucinochrysa diogenesi.

Amber holds special paleobiological significance due to its ability to preserve direct evidence of biotic interactions and animal behaviors for millions of years. Here we review the finding of Hallucinochrysa diogenesi Pérez-de la Fuente, Delclòs, Peñalver and Engel, 2012, a morphologically atypical larva related to modern green lacewings (Insecta: Neuroptera) that was described in Early Cretaceous amber from the El Soplao outcrop (northern Spain). The fossil larva is preserved with a dense cloud of fern trichomes that corresponds to the trash packet the insect gathered and carried on its back for camouflaging and shielding, similar to that which is done by its extant relatives. This finding supports the prominent role of wildfires in the paleoecosystem and provides direct evidence of both an ancient plant-insect interaction and an early acquisition of a defensive behavior in an insect lineage. Overall, the fossil of H. diogenesi showcases the potential that the amber record offers to reconstruct not only the morphology of fossil arthropods but, more remarkably, their lifestyles and ecological relationships.

A new Early Cretaceous snakefly (Raphidioptera: Mesoraphidiidae) from El Soplao amber (Spain

Abstract A virtually complete specimen of the family Mesoraphidiidae (Insecta: Raphidioptera) is described as Cantabroraphidia marcanoi n. gen., n. sp. It was found in early Albian amber from a new deposit named El Soplao within the Las Peñosas Fm. in northwestern Cantabria (Spain). It has been compared to all adult fossils placed in the Mesozoic family Mesoraphidiidae. Some taxonomical comments are provided, and we propose to restore the genus Yanoraphidia Ren 1995 and the combination Yanoraphidia gaoi Ren 1995 stat. rest., provisionally retained in the family Mesoraphidiidae.

Unearthing the secrets of ancient immature insects.

Jurassic fossils of a bizarre fly larva that lived in water as a blood-sucking parasite highlight how much can be learnt from the study of the fossils of immature insects.

New lagonomegopid spiders (Araneae: †Lagonomegopidae) from Early Cretaceous Spanish amber

Four new species belonging to the enigmatic fossil spider family Lagonomegopidae Eskov & Wunderlich, 1995 are described from Albian Spanish amber. Two new genera are created: Spinomegops gen. nov., based on two specimens described as S. arcanus sp. nov. from Álava amber (Peñacerrada I outcrop, Burgos), and S. aragonensis sp. nov. from San Just amber (Teruel); and Soplaogonomegops gen. nov., represented by the type species S. unzuei sp. nov. from El Soplao amber (Cantabria). A single specimen from Álava amber is tentatively assigned to Lagonomegops Eskov & Wunderlich, 1995 and described as L.? cor sp. nov. We confirm the existence of previously contentious numerous tarsal and metatarsal trichobothria on Burlagonomegops alavensis Penney, 2005, and reinterpret the mouthpart morphology of Grandoculus chemahawinensis Penney, 2004. In light of our new data, the family diagnosis for Lagonomegopidae is emended and the family Grandoculidae Penney, 2011 is synonymized with Lagonomegopidae. http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:67DF253C-4DD8-46B5-8FD4-540D53F6E90B