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Loewen EJT, Balkwill MA, Mattioli J, Cockx P, Caicedo MV, Muehlenbachs K, Tappert R, Borkent A, Libke C, Engel MS, Somers C, McKellar RC. New Canadian amber deposit fills gap in fossil record near end-Cretaceous mass extinction. Curr Biol 2024; 34:1762-1771.e3. [PMID: 38521062 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.03.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2023] [Revised: 12/23/2023] [Accepted: 03/01/2024] [Indexed: 03/25/2024]
Abstract
Amber preserves an exceptional record of tiny, soft-bodied organisms and chemical environmental signatures, elucidating the evolution of arthropod lineages and the diversity, ecology, and biogeochemistry of ancient ecosystems. However, globally, fossiliferous amber deposits are rare in the latest Cretaceous and surrounding the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) mass extinction.1,2,3,4,5 This faunal gap limits our understanding of arthropod diversity and survival across the extinction boundary.2,6 Contrasting hypotheses propose that arthropods were either relatively unaffected by the K-Pg extinction or experienced a steady decline in diversity before the extinction event followed by rapid diversification in the Cenozoic.2,6 These hypotheses are primarily based on arthropod feeding traces on fossil leaves and time-calibrated molecular phylogenies, not direct observation of the fossil record.2,7 Here, we report a diverse amber assemblage from the Late Cretaceous (67.04 ± 0.16 Ma) of the Big Muddy Badlands, Canada. The new deposit fills a critical 16-million-year gap in the arthropod fossil record spanning the K-Pg mass extinction. Seven arthropod orders and at least 11 insect families have been recovered, making the Big Muddy amber deposit the most diverse arthropod assemblage near the K-Pg extinction. Amber chemistry and stable isotopes suggest the amber was produced by coniferous (Cupressaceae) trees in a subtropical swamp near remnants of the Western Interior Seaway. The unexpected abundance of ants from extant families and the virtual absence of arthropods from common, exclusively Cretaceous families suggests that Big Muddy amber may represent a yet unsampled Late Cretaceous environment and provides evidence of a faunal transition before the end of the Cretaceous.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elyssa J T Loewen
- Biology Department, University of Regina, 3737 Wascana Pkwy, Regina, SK S4S 0A2, Canada; Royal Saskatchewan Museum, 2340 Albert Street, Regina, SK S4P 2V7, Canada.
| | - Micheala A Balkwill
- Geology Department, University of Regina, 3737 Wascana Pkwy, Regina, SK S4S 0A2, Canada
| | - Júlia Mattioli
- Geotop & Département des sciences de la Terre et de l'atmosphère, Université du Québec à Montréal, C.P. 8888, Succursale Centre-Ville, Montréal, QC H3C 3P8, Canada
| | - Pierre Cockx
- Biology Department, University of Regina, 3737 Wascana Pkwy, Regina, SK S4S 0A2, Canada; Royal Saskatchewan Museum, 2340 Albert Street, Regina, SK S4P 2V7, Canada
| | - Maria Velez Caicedo
- Geology Department, University of Regina, 3737 Wascana Pkwy, Regina, SK S4S 0A2, Canada
| | - Karlis Muehlenbachs
- Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, 116 St and 85 Ave, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E3, Canada
| | - Ralf Tappert
- Geology Department, Lakehead University, 955 Oliver Rd, Thunder Bay, ON P7B 5E1, Canada
| | - Art Borkent
- Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History, 200 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024-5192, USA
| | - Caelan Libke
- Biology Department, University of Regina, 3737 Wascana Pkwy, Regina, SK S4S 0A2, Canada; Royal Saskatchewan Museum, 2340 Albert Street, Regina, SK S4P 2V7, Canada
| | - Michael S Engel
- Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History, 200 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024-5192, USA; Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Av. Óscar R. Benavides 5737, Callao 07006, Lima, Peru; Departamento de Entomología, Museo de Historia Natural, Av. Gral. Antonio Álvarez de Arenales 1256, Jesús María 15072, Lima, Peru
| | - Christopher Somers
- Biology Department, University of Regina, 3737 Wascana Pkwy, Regina, SK S4S 0A2, Canada
| | - Ryan C McKellar
- Biology Department, University of Regina, 3737 Wascana Pkwy, Regina, SK S4S 0A2, Canada; Royal Saskatchewan Museum, 2340 Albert Street, Regina, SK S4P 2V7, Canada; Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, 1450 Jayhawk Blvd, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA
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Álvarez-Parra S, Pérez-de la Fuente R, Peñalver E, Barrón E, Alcalá L, Pérez-Cano J, Martín-Closas C, Trabelsi K, Meléndez N, López Del Valle R, Lozano RP, Peris D, Rodrigo A, Sarto I Monteys V, Bueno-Cebollada CA, Menor-Salván C, Philippe M, Sánchez-García A, Peña-Kairath C, Arillo A, Espílez E, Mampel L, Delclòs X. Dinosaur bonebed amber from an original swamp forest soil. eLife 2021; 10:72477. [PMID: 34844669 PMCID: PMC8631943 DOI: 10.7554/elife.72477] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2021] [Accepted: 11/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Dinosaur bonebeds with amber content, yet scarce, offer a superior wealth and quality of data on ancient terrestrial ecosystems. However, the preserved palaeodiversity and/or taphonomic characteristics of these exceptional localities had hitherto limited their palaeobiological potential. Here, we describe the amber from the Lower Cretaceous dinosaur bonebed of Ariño (Teruel, Spain) using a multidisciplinary approach. Amber is found in both a root layer with amber strictly in situ and a litter layer mainly composed of aerial pieces unusually rich in bioinclusions, encompassing 11 insect orders, arachnids, and a few plant and vertebrate remains, including a feather. Additional palaeontological data—charophytes, palynomorphs, ostracods— are provided. Ariño arguably represents the most prolific and palaeobiologically diverse locality in which fossiliferous amber and a dinosaur bonebed have been found in association, and the only one known where the vast majority of the palaeontological assemblage suffered no or low-grade pre-burial transport. This has unlocked unprecedentedly complete and reliable palaeoecological data out of two complementary windows of preservation—the bonebed and the amber—from the same site.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergio Álvarez-Parra
- Departament de Dinàmica de la Terra i de l'Oceà and Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio), Facultat de Ciències de la Terra, Universitat de Barcelona, c/Martí i Franquès s/n, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
| | | | | | - Eduardo Barrón
- Museo Geominero (IGME, CSIC), c/ Ríos Rosas 23, Madrid, Spain
| | - Luis Alcalá
- Fundación Conjunto Paleontológico de Teruel-Dinópolis/Museo Aragonés de Paleontología, Av. Sagunto s/n, Teruel, Spain
| | - Jordi Pérez-Cano
- Departament de Dinàmica de la Terra i de l'Oceà and Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio), Facultat de Ciències de la Terra, Universitat de Barcelona, c/Martí i Franquès s/n, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Carles Martín-Closas
- Departament de Dinàmica de la Terra i de l'Oceà and Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio), Facultat de Ciències de la Terra, Universitat de Barcelona, c/Martí i Franquès s/n, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Khaled Trabelsi
- Université de Sfax, Faculté des Sciences de Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia.,Université de Tunis El Manar II, Faculté des Sciences de Tunis, LR18 ES07, Tunis, Tunisia.,Department of Geology, University of Vienna, UZA 2, Vienna, Austria
| | - Nieves Meléndez
- Departamento de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria, Madrid, Spain
| | - Rafael López Del Valle
- Museo de Ciencias Naturales de Álava, c/ Siervas de Jesús 24, 01001, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
| | - Rafael P Lozano
- Museo Geominero (IGME, CSIC), c/ Ríos Rosas 23, Madrid, Spain
| | - David Peris
- Departament de Dinàmica de la Terra i de l'Oceà and Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio), Facultat de Ciències de la Terra, Universitat de Barcelona, c/Martí i Franquès s/n, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ana Rodrigo
- Museo Geominero (IGME, CSIC), c/ Ríos Rosas 23, Madrid, Spain
| | - Víctor Sarto I Monteys
- Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA), Edifici Z - ICTA-ICP, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - César Menor-Salván
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, United States.,Departamento de Biología de Sistemas/Instituto de Investigación Química "Andrés del Río" (IQAR), Universidad de Alcalá, 28805, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
| | - Marc Philippe
- Univ. Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, ENTPE, UMR 5023 LEHNA, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Alba Sánchez-García
- Departament de Botànica i Geologia, Facultat de Ciències Biològiques, Universitat de València, c/ Dr. Moliner 50, Burjassot, Spain.,Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, United States
| | - Constanza Peña-Kairath
- Departament de Dinàmica de la Terra i de l'Oceà and Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio), Facultat de Ciències de la Terra, Universitat de Barcelona, c/Martí i Franquès s/n, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Antonio Arillo
- Departamento de Biodiversidad, Ecología y Evolución, Facultad de Biología, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, c/ José Antonio Novais 12, Madrid, Spain
| | - Eduardo Espílez
- Fundación Conjunto Paleontológico de Teruel-Dinópolis/Museo Aragonés de Paleontología, Av. Sagunto s/n, Teruel, Spain
| | - Luis Mampel
- Fundación Conjunto Paleontológico de Teruel-Dinópolis/Museo Aragonés de Paleontología, Av. Sagunto s/n, Teruel, Spain
| | - Xavier Delclòs
- Departament de Dinàmica de la Terra i de l'Oceà and Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio), Facultat de Ciències de la Terra, Universitat de Barcelona, c/Martí i Franquès s/n, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
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