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Vera EI, Monferran MD, Massaferro J, Sabater LM, Gallego OF, Perez Loinaze VS, Moyano-Paz D, Agnolín FL, Manabe M, Tsuhiji T, Novas FE. A Maastrichtian insect assemblage from Patagonia sheds light on arthropod diversity previous to the K/Pg event. Commun Biol 2023; 6:1249. [PMID: 38072954 PMCID: PMC10711029 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-05596-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2023] [Accepted: 11/15/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Insect faunas from the latest Cretaceous are poorly known worldwide. Particularly, in the Southern Hemisphere, there is a gap regarding insect assemblages in the Campanian-Maastrichtian interval. Here we present an insect assemblage from the Maastrichtian Chorrillo Formation, southern Argentina, represented by well-preserved and non-deformed, chitinous microscopic remains including head capsules, wings and scales. Identified clades include Chironomidae dipterans, Coelolepida lepidopterans, and Ephemeroptera. The assemblage taxonomically resembles those of Cenozoic age, rather than other Mesozoic assemblages, in being composed by diverse chironomids and lepidopterans. To the best of our knowledge, present discovery constitutes the first insect body fossils for the Maastrichtian in the Southern Hemisphere, thus filling the gap between well-known Early Cretaceous entomofaunas and those of Paleogene age. The presented evidence shows that modern clades of chironomids were already dominant and diversified by the end of the Cretaceous, in concert with the parallel radiation of aquatic angiosperms which became dominant in freshwater habitats. This exceptional finding encourages the active search of microscopic remains of fossil arthropods in other geological units, which could provide a unique way of enhancing our knowledge on the past diversity of the clade.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ezequiel I Vera
- División Paleobotánica, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia" (MACN-CONICET), Av. Ángel Gallardo 470, C1405DJR, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Mateo D Monferran
- Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral CONICET y Departamento de Biología, FaCENA-UNNE, Ruta Provincial N° 5, s/n, Km 2,5, 3400, Corrientes, Argentina
| | - Julieta Massaferro
- Programa de Estudios Aplicados a la Conservación de la Biodiversidad CENAC/APN, Fagnano 244, 8400, Bariloche, Argentina
| | - Lara M Sabater
- Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral CONICET y Departamento de Biología, FaCENA-UNNE, Ruta Provincial N° 5, s/n, Km 2,5, 3400, Corrientes, Argentina
| | - Oscar F Gallego
- Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral CONICET y Departamento de Biología, FaCENA-UNNE, Ruta Provincial N° 5, s/n, Km 2,5, 3400, Corrientes, Argentina
| | - Valeria S Perez Loinaze
- División Paleobotánica, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia" (MACN-CONICET), Av. Ángel Gallardo 470, C1405DJR, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Damián Moyano-Paz
- Centro de Investigaciones Geológicas (CIG, CONICET-UNLP), Diagonal 113 #275, B1904DPK, La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Federico L Agnolín
- Laboratorio de Anatomía Comparada y Evolución de los Vertebrados (LACEV), Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia" (MACN-CONICET), Av. Ángel Gallardo 470, C1405DJR, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Fundación de Historia Natural "Félix de Azara", Departamento de Ciencias Naturales y Antropología, Universidad Maimónides, Hidalgo 775, C1405BDB, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Makoto Manabe
- Center for Collections, National Museum of Nature and Science, Tsukuba 305-0005, Tokio, Japan
| | - Takanobu Tsuhiji
- Department of Geology, National Museum of Nature and Science, 3-23-1 Hyakanin-cho, Shinjuku-lu, 1069-0073, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Fernando E Novas
- Laboratorio de Anatomía Comparada y Evolución de los Vertebrados (LACEV), Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia" (MACN-CONICET), Av. Ángel Gallardo 470, C1405DJR, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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First monotreme from the Late Cretaceous of South America. Commun Biol 2023; 6:146. [PMID: 36797304 PMCID: PMC9935847 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-04498-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2022] [Accepted: 01/18/2023] [Indexed: 02/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Monotremata is a clade of egg-lying mammals, represented by the living platypus and echidnas, which is endemic to Australia, and adjacent islands. Occurrence of basal monotremes in the Early Cretaceous of Australia has led to the consensus that this clade originated on that continent, arriving later to South America. Here we report on the discovery of a Late Cretaceous monotreme from southern Argentina, demonstrating that monotremes were present in circumpolar regions by the end of the Mesozoic, and that their distinctive anatomical features were probably present in these ancient forms as well.
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