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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] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [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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Rees-Owen RL, Newton RJ, Ivanovic RF, Francis JE, Riding JB, Marca AD. A calibration of cellulose isotopes in modern prostrate Nothofagus and its application to fossil material from Antarctica. Sci Total Environ 2021; 754:142247. [PMID: 33254952 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2020] [Revised: 08/21/2020] [Accepted: 09/04/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Carbon and oxygen isotopes (δ13C and δ18O) in tree rings are widely used to reconstruct palaeoclimate variables such as temperature during the Holocene (12 thousand years ago - present), and are used increasingly in deeper time. However, their use is largely restricted to arboreal trees, which excludes potentially important data from prostrate trees and shrubs, which grow in high latitude and altitude end-member environments. Here, we calibrate the use of δ13C and δ18O as climatic archives in two modern species of southern beech (Nothofagus) from Tierra del Fuego, Chile, at the southern limit of their current range. We show that prostrate trees are potentially suitable archives for recording climatological means over longer periods (on the order of decades), which opens up these important environments for tree ring isotope analysis. We then apply our new understanding to a remarkable late Neogene (17-2.5 Ma) fossil Nothofagus assemblage from the Transantarctic Mountains, Antarctica, representative of a prostrate tundra shrub growing during a period of significant ice sheet retreat. The δ13C of the fossil cellulose was found to be ~4‰ enriched relative to that of the modern tress. This is likely to be due to a combination of a more positive δ13C of contemporaneous atmospheric CO2 and enhanced water use efficiency at the fossil site. Using the cellulose-δ18O in the fossil wood, we are able to reconstruct precipitation oxygen isotopes over the Antarctic interior for the first time for this time period. The results show that δ18Oprecip over Antarctica was -16.0 ± 4.2‰, around 12‰ enriched relative to today, suggesting changes in the hydrological cycle linked to warmer temperatures and a smaller ice sheet.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Robert J Newton
- School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
| | - Ruza F Ivanovic
- School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | | | | | - Alina D Marca
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
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McKellar RC, Jones E, Engel MS, Tappert R, Wolfe AP, Muehlenbachs K, Cockx P, Koppelhus EB, Currie PJ. A direct association between amber and dinosaur remains provides paleoecological insights. Sci Rep 2019; 9:17916. [PMID: 31784622 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-54400-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2019] [Accepted: 11/08/2019] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Hadrosaurian dinosaurs were abundant in the Late Cretaceous of North America, but their habitats remain poorly understood. Cretaceous amber is also relatively abundant, yet it is seldom found in direct stratigraphic association with dinosaur remains. Here we describe an unusually large amber specimen attached to a Prosaurolophus jaw, which reveals details of the contemporaneous paleoforest and entomofauna. Fourier-transform Infrared spectroscopy and stable isotope composition (H and C) suggest the amber formed from resins exuded by cupressaceous conifers occupying a coastal plain. An aphid within the amber belongs to Cretamyzidae, a Cretaceous family suggested to bark-feed on conifers. Distinct tooth row impressions on the amber match the hadrosaur’s alveolar bone ridges, providing some insight into the taphonomic processes that brought these remains together.
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Juvik OJ, Nguyen XHT, Andersen HL, Fossen T. Growing with dinosaurs: natural products from the Cretaceous relict Metasequoia glyptostroboides Hu & Cheng-a molecular reservoir from the ancient world with potential in modern medicine. Phytochem Rev 2015; 15:161-195. [PMID: 27065758 PMCID: PMC4799292 DOI: 10.1007/s11101-015-9395-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2014] [Accepted: 02/10/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
After the sensational rediscovery of living exemplars of the Cretaceous relict Metasequoia glyptostroboides-a tree previously known exclusively from fossils from various locations in the northern hemisphere, there has been an increasing interest in discovery of novel natural products from this unique plant source. This article includes the first complete compilation of natural products reported from M. glyptostroboides during the entire period in which the tree has been investigated (1954-2014) with main focus on the compounds specific to this plant source. Studies on the biological activity of pure compounds and extracts derived from M. glyptostroboides are reviewed for the first time. The unique potential of M. glyptostroboides as a source of bioactive constituents is founded on the fact that the tree seems to have survived unchanged since the Cretaceous era. Since then, its molecular defense system has resisted the attacks of millions of generations of pathogens. In line with this, some recent landmarks in Metasequoia paleobotany are covered. Initial spectral analysis of recently discovered intact 53 million year old wood and amber of Metasequoia strongly indicate that the tree has remained unchanged for millions of years at the molecular level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ole Johan Juvik
- Department of Chemistry and Centre for Pharmacy, University of Bergen, Allégt. 41, 5007 Bergen, Norway
| | - Xuan Hong Thy Nguyen
- Department of Chemistry and Centre for Pharmacy, University of Bergen, Allégt. 41, 5007 Bergen, Norway
| | - Heidi Lie Andersen
- University Museum of Bergen, University of Bergen, Thormøhlensgt. 53 A, 5007 Bergen, Norway
| | - Torgils Fossen
- Department of Chemistry and Centre for Pharmacy, University of Bergen, Allégt. 41, 5007 Bergen, Norway
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Jin B, Tang L, Lu Y, Wang D, Zhang M, Ma J. Temporal and spatial characteristics of male cone development in Metasequoia glyptostroboides Hu et Cheng. Plant Signal Behav 2012; 7:1687-1694. [PMID: 23221679 PMCID: PMC3578910 DOI: 10.4161/psb.22898] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Metasequoia glyptostroboides, a famous relic species of conifer that survived in China, has been successfully planted in large numbers across the world. However, limited information on male cone development in the species is available. In this study, we observed the morphological and anatomical changes that occur during male cone development in M. glyptostroboides using semi-thin sections and scanning electron microscopy. The male cones were borne oppositely on one-year-old twigs that were mainly located around the outer and sunlit parts of crown. Male cones were initiated from early September and shed pollen in the following February. Each cone consisted of spirally arranged microsporophylls subtended by decussate sterile scales, and each microsporophyll commonly consisted of three microsporangia and a phylloclade. The microsporangial wall was composed of an epidermis, endothecium, and tapetum. In mid-February, the endothecium and tapetum layers disintegrated, and in the epidermal layer the cell walls were thickened with inner protrusions. Subsequently, dehiscence of the microsporangia occurred through rupturing of the microsporangial wall along the dehiscence line. These results suggest that the structure, morphology, architecture and arrangement of male cones of M. glyptostroboides are mainly associated with the production, protection and dispersal of pollen for optimization of wind pollination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Biao Jin
- College of Horticulture and Plant Protection, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu, PR China.
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