Fossiliferous amber deposits from the Cretaceous (Albian) of Spain

Delclòs, Xavier; Arillo, Antonio; Peñalver, Enrique; Barrón, Eduardo; Soriano, Carmen; Valle, Rafael López Del; Bernárdez, Enrique; Corral, Carmelo; Ortuño, Vicente M.

doi:10.1016/j.crpv.2006.09.003

Cited by 124 publications

(80 citation statements)

References 18 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…100-113 Ma). The presence of two pseudoscorpions was reported by Delclòs et al (2007), but no further details are available. The images provided in this publication suggest that these fossils belong to the superfamily Cheliferoidea, similar to the fossils preserved in Archingeay amber, but a detailed description of these fossils is lacking.…”

Section: áLava Ambermentioning

confidence: 99%

The fossil history of pseudoscorpions (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones)

Harms

Dunlop

2017

Foss. Rec.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Pseudoscorpions, given their resemblance to scorpions, have attracted human attention since the time of Aristotle, although they are much smaller and lack the sting and elongated tail. These arachnids have a long evolutionary history but their origins and phylogenetic affinities are still being debated. Here, we summarise their fossil record based on a comprehensive review of the literature and data contained in other sources. Pseudoscorpions are one of the oldest colonisers of the land, with fossils known since the Middle Devonian (ca. 390 Ma). The only arachnid orders with an older fossil record are scorpions, harvestmen and acariform mites, plus two extinct groups. Pseudoscorpions do not fossilise easily, and records from the Mesozoic and Cenozoic consist almost exclusively of amber inclusions. Most Mesozoic fossils come from Archingeay and Burmese ambers (Late Cretaceous) and those from the Cenozoic are primarily from Eocene Baltic amber, although additional fossils from, for example, Miocene Dominican and Mexican ambers, are known. Overall, 16 of the 26 families of living pseudoscorpions have been documented from fossils and 49 currently valid species are recognised in the literature. Pseudoscorpions represent a case of morphological stasis and even the Devonian fossils look rather modern. Indeed, most amber fossils are comparable to Recent groups despite a major gap in the fossil record of almost 250 Myr. Baltic amber inclusions indicate palaeofauna inhabiting much warmer climates than today and point to climatic shifts in central Europe since the Eocene. They also indicate that some groups (e.g. Feaellidae and Pseudogarypidae) had much wider Eocene distributions. Their present-day occurrence is relictual and highlights past extinction events. Faunas from younger tropical amber deposits (e.g. Dominican and Mexican amber) are comparable to Recent ones. Generally, there is a strong bias in the amber record towards groups that live under tree bark, whereas those from litter habitats are underrepresented. We also discuss challenges in interpreting fossils: their cryptic morphology warranting novel techniques of morphological reconstruction, the massive gap in the fossil record between the Palaeozoic and Mesozoic, and problems with the classification of (historically) old amber material. Finally, we discuss aspects of the palaeoecology and biology of the fossils compared with the Recent fauna, such as phoresy.

show abstract

Section: áLava Ambermentioning

confidence: 99%

The fossil history of pseudoscorpions (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones)

Harms

Dunlop

2017

Foss. Rec.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…References to Peñacerrada I refer to the "Álava amber" deposit found in Burgos, to distinguish it from Peñacerrada II which is found in Basque Country (not cited in this article). The age, composition, and fauna of Spanish amber were briefly reviewed by Alonso et al (2000), Delclòs et al (2007), and Najarro et al (2010).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diverse scelionid wasps in Early Cretaceous amber from Spain (Hymenoptera: Platygastroidea)

Ortega-Blanco¹,

McKellar²,

Engel³

2014

Bull. Geosci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…The fossils we report here are only the sixth occurrence of feathers in Cretaceous amber, together with those from Lebanon (Schlee 1973;Schlee & Glö ckner 1978), Myanmar (Grimaldi et al 2002), Spain (Alonso et al 2000;Delclò s et al 2007) and the USA (Grimaldi & Case 1995). Further fossils mentioned from the Late Cretaceous ambers of Canada, Japan and Siberia (Kurochkin 1985;Grimaldi & Case 1995) have yet to be properly described or illustrated.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The early evolution of feathers: fossil evidence from Cretaceous amber of France

et al. 2008

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The developmental stages of feathers are of major importance in the evolution of body covering and the origin of avian flight. Until now, there were significant gaps in knowledge of early morphologies in theoretical stages of feathers as well as in palaeontological material. Here we report fossil evidence of an intermediate and critical stage in the incremental evolution of feathers which has been predicted by developmental theories but hitherto undocumented by evidence from both the recent and the fossil records. Seven feathers have been found in an Early Cretaceous (Late Albian, ca 100 Myr) amber of western France, which display a flattened shaft composed by the still distinct and incompletely fused bases of the barbs forming two irregular vanes. Considering their remarkably primitive features, and since recent discoveries have yielded feathers of modern type in some derived theropod dinosaurs, the Albian feathers from France might have been derived either from an early bird or from a non-avian dinosaur.

show abstract

Fossiliferous amber deposits from the Cretaceous (Albian) of Spain

Cited by 124 publications

References 18 publications

The fossil history of pseudoscorpions (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones)

The fossil history of pseudoscorpions (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones)

Diverse scelionid wasps in Early Cretaceous amber from Spain (Hymenoptera: Platygastroidea)

The early evolution of feathers: fossil evidence from Cretaceous amber of France

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About