Fossil bee cells from the Canary Islands. Ichnotaxonomy, palaeobiology and palaeoenvironments of Palmiraichnus castellanosi

Genise, Jorge Fernando; Castillo, Carolina; Quesada, María Luisa Calvache; García-Gotera, Cristo M.; Nuez, J. de la

doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2014.05.012

Cited by 21 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…In localities where fossil bee cells are abundant, like those from Uruguay and the Canary Islands, the percentage of traces with successful emergence of adults is very high: about 96% in Uruguay (Genise & Hazeldine ) and about 95% in the Canary Islands (La Roche et al . ). In the former, the presence of traces in traces (Lazaichnidae) produced by intruders is also high (Genise & Bown ; Genise & Hazeldine ; Mikuláš & Genise ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Walking on ashes: insect trace fossils from Laetoli indicate poor grass cover associated with early hominin environments

Genise

Harrison

2018

Palaeontology

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More than 4000 insect trace fossils collected in recent years from Pliocene deposits at Laetoli in northern Tanzania provide new insights on early hominin palaeoenvironments. These trace fossils include: Fictovichnus gobiensis, Coprinisphaera murguiai, C. kheprii, Coprinisphaera ispp., Quirogaichnus isp., Teisseirei linguatus isp. nov., Celliforma ritchiei isp. nov., C. spirifer, C. germanica, C. cfr. curvata, Celliforma ispp., Rosellichnus isp., Vondrichnus planoglobus, Laetolichnus kwekai igen. et isp. nov. and Krausichnidae indet. They reveal that at least one species of moth, three dung beetles and five other coleopterans, nine taxa of solitary bees, and an indeterminate number of taxa of termites inhabited the Lower Laetolil environments. The Upper Laetolil environments, which have yielded a rich diversity of vertebrate fossils, including the early hominin Australopithecus afarensis and its putative footprints, supported several taxa of termites, one dung beetle, five other coleopterans, and eleven taxa of bees. The Upper Ndolanya environments, which have yielded the hominin Paranthropus aethiopicus, record four taxa of dung beetles, four other coleopterans, and two taxa of bees. The record of larval mortality and lack of intruder activity, revealed by the absence of emergence and intruder traces, may be associated with the anoxic/hypoxic conditions caused by the instantaneous burial of soils under thick volcanic ashes. The record of the Celliforma Ichnofacies in the Upper Laetolil environments indicates the dominance of shrubland to woodland with limited grass cover. This is supported also by the absence of Coprinisphaera, which suggests a scarcity of fresh grasses and a low abundance of large mammal grazers.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Walking on ashes: insect trace fossils from Laetoli indicate poor grass cover associated with early hominin environments

Genise

Harrison

2018

Palaeontology

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“…Although a few papers have described microscope images of thin sections of fossil bee cells in the past, only one has mentioned the possible presence of an organic lining. La Roche et al (2014) described a fossil bees’ nest from the Canary Islands [ 28 ]. Mentioned in the paper is the presence of an organic lining within a thin section.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fossil Carder Bee's Nest from the Hominin Locality of Taung, South Africa

2016

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The Buxton-Norlim Limeworks southwest of Taung, South Africa, is renowned for the discovery of the first Australopithecus africanus fossil, the ‘Taung Child’. The hominin was recovered from a distinctive pink calcrete that contains an abundance of invertebrate ichnofauna belonging to the Coprinisphaera ichnofacies. Here we describe the first fossil bee’s nest, attributed to the ichnogenus Celliforma, from the Plio-Pleistocene of Africa. Petrographic examination of a cell lining revealed the preservation of an intricate organic matrix lined with the calcitic casts of numerous plant trichomes–a nesting behaviour unique to the modern-day carder bees (Anthidiini). The presence of Celliforma considered alongside several other recorded ichnofossils can be indicative of a dry, savannah environment, in agreement with recent work on the palaeoenvironment of Plio-Pleistocene southern Africa. Moreover, the occurrence of ground-nesting bees provides further evidence that the pink calcrete deposits are of pedogenic origin, rather than speleogenic origin as has previously been assumed. This study demonstrates the potential value of insect trace fossils as palaeoenvironmental indicators.

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“…(2015) list seven beetle (Coleoptera) species that are potentially extinct. This hypothesis is also confirmed by the rare finding of fossil insects from Madeira (Heer, 1857; Góis‐Marques et al ., 2019c) and insect‐induced trace fossils from the Canary Islands ( Palmiraichnus castellanosi, Rebuffoichnus guanche and R. casamiquelai ; Genise et al ., 2013; La Roche et al ., 2014 and literature therein). In the Canary Islands, also taxonomically unspecified galls and domatia on Holocene leaves have recently been described (Álvarez et al ., 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Plant–insect interactions in the Quaternary fossil record of the Azores Archipelago (Portugal)

Pokorný

Borges

2023

J Quaternary Science

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The fossil record of the Azores still lacks evidence of terrestrial invertebrates. Based on a study of the collections of Quaternary fossil plant imprints from the Azores, located in the depositories of public collections and also newly conducted field research, several samples of fossil leaves with traces of plant-animal interactions were found. These are evidence of marginal feeding (Phagophytichnus ekowskii) and anophionome mine (Cuniculonomus isp.). One specimen with traces of boring in fossil wood (Xylonichnus trypetus), previously only briefly mentioned in the literature, was also described in detail. In addition to a detailed description of the found traces, the present study also discusses the possible trace-makers, using a comparison with the recent phytophagous fauna in relation to the original vegetation of the Azores (that includes laurisilva forest). It is thus possible to consider butterfly caterpillars (group Macrolepidoptera) or locust larvae (Orthoptera/Caelifera) as possible originators of marginal feeding. The ophionome mine could have been caused by the larvae of leaf-miner flies (Agromyzidae) or moths from the group Microlepidoptera (Gracillariidae). Wood-destroying beetles could be the cause of the boring in fossil wood.

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Fossil bee cells from the Canary Islands. Ichnotaxonomy, palaeobiology and palaeoenvironments of Palmiraichnus castellanosi

Cited by 21 publications

References 57 publications

Walking on ashes: insect trace fossils from Laetoli indicate poor grass cover associated with early hominin environments

Walking on ashes: insect trace fossils from Laetoli indicate poor grass cover associated with early hominin environments

Fossil Carder Bee's Nest from the Hominin Locality of Taung, South Africa

Plant–insect interactions in the Quaternary fossil record of the Azores Archipelago (Portugal)

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