Conservation, preparation and imaging of diverse ambers and their inclusions

Sadowski, Eva‐Maria; Schmidt, Alexander R.; Seyfullah, Leyla J.; Solórzano-Kraemer, Mónica M.; Neumann, Christian; Perrichot, Vincent; Hamann, Christopher; Milke, Ralf; Nascimbene, Paul C.

doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2021.103653

Cited by 42 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 96 publications

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“…The raw amber piece was ground and polished using thin silicon carbide papers for optimal observation of the insect specimens in frontal, dorsal, and ventral views. The amber piece was ultimately embedded in a block of epoxy resin (Araldite® 2020, Huntsman Advanced Materials, Basel, Switzerland) following the method of Sadowski et al (2021, fig. 8) for consolidation and long-term conservation.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The termite genus Glyptotermes (Isoptera: Kalotermitidae) in Miocene amber from Ethiopia

2021

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A new species of drywood termite (Isoptera: Kalotermitidae) is described from a nearly complete alate specimen preserved in early Miocene Ethiopian amber. Glyptotermes abyssinicus new species is distinguished by its U-shaped head with 12-segmented antennae, the ocelli separated from the eye margin, the right mandible with an obtuse angle between the apical and first marginal teeth, the left mandible with an obtuse angle between the apical and first + second marginal teeth, and the wing venation. This is the first termite reported from Ethiopian amber, and the fourth Miocene species of the extant genus Glyptotermes Froggatt, 1897, together with species previously described from diatomites of China and amber from the Dominican Republic. As the oldest report of the genus known from Africa, G. abyssinicus n. sp. constitutes an interesting new record for the biogeographical history of the kalotermitid lineage. UUID: http://zoobank.org/7670b045-fb31-4809-8116-4d14c4dd275b

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The termite genus Glyptotermes (Isoptera: Kalotermitidae) in Miocene amber from Ethiopia

2021

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“…Amber originates from the hardening of resin produced by trees (Langenheim, 2003; McCoy et al, 2018; McCoy, Soriano, Pegoraro, et al, 2018; Sadowski et al, 2021; Seyfullah et al, 2018). If organisms become trapped in the viscous resin before it hardens, they are sometimes preserved as fossil inclusions within the amber.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fossil inclusions in amber receive a great deal of attention in the study of paleoecosystems and evolutionary history (e.g. Briggs, 2018; Ross, 2021; Sadowski et al, 2021) and represent a critical window to the evolution of terrestrial environments across the Mesozoic–Cenozoic transition (e.g. Labandeira, 2014; Martı́nez‐Delclòs et al, 2004; Penney, 2010; Sadowski et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The amber inclusions are commonly interpreted as mummified remains or hollow moulds, which are sometimes coated or filled with carbonaceous material (e.g. Grimaldi et al, 1994; Henwood, 1992a; Labandeira, 2014; Martı́nez‐Delclòs et al, 2004; McCoy, Soriano, & Gabbott, 2018; McCoy, Soriano, Pegoraro, et al, 2018; Poinar, 1992; Poinar & Hess, 1982; Sadowski et al, 2021; Stankiewicz et al, 1998). These mummified inclusions and moulds could remain organisms' cells, tissues and organs in high fidelity, and these organic matters undergo molecular polymerization (‘carbonization’ or ‘kerogenization’) and survive as carbonaceous material on the body cavities and walls of the moulds.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A number of reports have described amber containing mineralized inclusions, including pyritized insects in Eocene Baltic amber (Baroni‐Urbani & Graeser, 1987; Kowalewska & Szwedo, 2009), pyritized pseudoinclusions in Lower Cretaceous Spanish amber (e.g. Lozano et al, 2020; Martín‐González et al, 2009), possibly pyritized liverwort in mid‐Cretaceous Kachin amber (Sadowski et al, 2021; Seyfullah and Schmidt, 2015) and a phosphatic lizard bone in Miocene Dominican amber, which evidently, underwent a transformation from bioapatite to fluorapatite (Barthel et al, 2020). Such mineralized inclusions in amber have not received much attention, as they are typically considered to be ‘very rare’ (Briggs, 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Widespread mineralization of soft‐bodied insects in Cretaceous amber

et al. 2022

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Fossilized tree resin, or amber, commonly contains fossils of animals, plants and microorganisms. These inclusions have generally been interpreted as hollow moulds or mummified remains coated or filled with carbonaceous material. Here, we provide the first report of calcified and silicified insects in amber from the mid‐Cretaceous Kachin (Burmese) amber. Data from light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy‐dispersive and wavelength‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDX and WDX), X‐ray micro‐computed tomography (Micro‐CT) and Raman spectroscopy show that these Kachin fossils owe their preservation to multiple diagenetic mineralization processes. The labile tissues (e.g. eyes, wings and trachea) mainly consist of calcite, chalcedony and quartz with minor amounts of carbonaceous material, pyrite, iron oxide and phyllosilicate minerals. Calcite, quartz and chalcedony also occur in cracks as void‐filling cements, indicating that the minerals formed from chemical species that entered the fossil inclusions through cracks in the resin. The results demonstrate that resin and amber are not always closed systems. Fluids (e.g. sediment pore water, diagenetic fluid and ground water) at different burial stages have chances to interact with amber throughout its geological history and affect the preservational quality and morphological fidelity of its fossil inclusions.

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Plastome phylogenomics and new fossil evidence from Dominican amber shed light on the evolutionary history of the Neotropical fern genus Pecluma

Regalado,

Appelhans,

Poehlein

et al. 2024

American J of Botany

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PremiseMolecular studies based on chloroplast markers have questioned the monophyly of the fern genus Pecluma (Polypodioideae, Polypodiaceae), which has several species of Polypodium nested within it. We explored the delimitation of Pecluma and its biogeographic pattern by evaluating the phylogenetic position of four Polypodium species not sequenced thus far and integrating the first fossil evidence of Pecluma.MethodsUsing herbarium material, we applied a genome‐skimming approach to obtain a phylogenetic hypothesis of Polypodioideae; assessed the combination of character states observed in the fossil from Miocene Dominican amber using a previously published phylogeny of Polypodioideae based on four plastid markers as framework; calculated divergence times; and conducted an ancestral area estimation.ResultsWithin Polypodioideae, Pecluma was recovered as sister to Phlebodium. Three of the newly sequenced species—Polypodium otites, P. pinnatissimum, and P. ursipes—were recovered with maximum support within the Pecluma clade, whereas P. christensenii remained within Polypodium. The closest combination of character states of the fossil was found within Pecluma. Our biogeographic analyses suggest an Eocene origin of the genus in South America, with several subsequent Oligocene and Miocene colonization events to Mexico–Central America and to the West Indies.ConclusionsAlthough the circumscription of Pecluma is still challenging, our results elucidate the origin and age of the genus. The newly described fossil, Pecluma hispaniolae sp. nov., supports the hypothesis that the epiphytic communities of the Greater Antilles exhibit a constant generic composition since the Miocene. We propose new combinations (Pecluma otites, Pecluma pinnatissima, and Pecluma ursipes) to accommodate three species previously classified in Polypodium.

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Conservation, preparation and imaging of diverse ambers and their inclusions

Cited by 42 publications

References 96 publications

The termite genus Glyptotermes (Isoptera: Kalotermitidae) in Miocene amber from Ethiopia

The termite genus Glyptotermes (Isoptera: Kalotermitidae) in Miocene amber from Ethiopia

Widespread mineralization of soft‐bodied insects in Cretaceous amber

Plastome phylogenomics and new fossil evidence from Dominican amber shed light on the evolutionary history of the Neotropical fern genus Pecluma

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