An assemblage of large-sized insect traces in paleosols from the middle Miocene of northern Patagonia related to the climatic optimum

Insect trace fossils as indicators of climatic conditions during the uppermost Pleistocene deposits in southern Brazilian Atlantic coast

“…Climate also influences the biogeographical distribution of ectotherm organisms, such as insects. Termites and hymenopteran insects (bees and wasps) have been used in the ichnological literature as key indicators of substrate moisture, the former suggesting more humid conditions and the latter drier conditions (e.g., Genise et al, 2000Genise et al, , 2004Genise et al, , 2010Genise, 2017;Sánchez et al, 2021). The dominance of termite structures has been interpreted as colonization in more humid conditions than those that characterize the Celliforma-dominated suites (Genise et al, 2000;Duringer et al, 2007).…”

“…Insect burrows usually exhibit specific morphologies due to the high speciation capacity of the group, which facilitates identification of the edaphic paleofauna preserved in the geological record, especially after the Cretaceous (Genise, 1995). Climate and environmental conditions play an important role in the biogeographic distribution of many insect groups, particularly termites, bees, and wasps, making their nests good indicators of paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic conditions (e.g., Genise et al, 2000; Genise, 2017; Sánchez et al, 2021). Considering the remarkable presence of insect trace fossils and rhizoliths in the eolian deposits of LBS III in the Osório region, this study aims to (1) characterize these trace fossil suites, (2) use them as relative proxies to infer the climate regimes that controlled LBS III sedimentation, and (3) better understand the climate changes that controlled the study area coastal dynamics that culminated in the LGM.…”